Kotarah shares deeply emotional debut album, "Illuminate"
On her debut album titled Illuminate, emerging artist Kotarah has put together a cohesive and perplexing performance that has taken by us hold in the best way possible. Please read on for our full analysis of the record, in addition to a background on this musician.
Having written, produced, and recorded every single second of Illuminate by herself, the need to call Kotarah a master of her craft is obvious. However what we’ve experienced on the record as a whole is a deeply complex and layered listen that is bursting at the seams with innovative melodies and surprises coming left and right. Truly, we can’t wait for everyone to get their ears on this album as soon as they can.
Taking inspiration from some of the current greats like Banks and Billie Eilish, Kotarah has still managed to create something so uniquely her own. What you’re going to experience on this record is a wide mix of alternative pop spanning every corner of the genre. At a total of 10 songs, spanning just around 34 minutes in length, she’s spared no time at all getting to the point and showcasing her beauty. We always find it incredibly impressive when an artist takes the production into their own hands and the final product turns out as if they had a team of pros working on it.
Pure in its intentions and emotional to its core, nearly every song on the record has taken on a life of its own. Looking back at the album’s lead single “Goodbye Bitch”, you’d think that the promo for the record would be the best representation of it all. We disagree though because every song here is on par quality wise with what could be categorized as the “best”. In particular, songs like “I Found Peace” and “No More” were emotional juggernauts that are as pretty in their sound as they are moving in their lyricism.
Without giving too much away, because the main intent here is to get you to listen, this was an unsuspecting album that hit us in unimaginable ways. What we thought might be a straightforward pop listen turned out to be a collection of songs that made us feel closer to an artist we’ve never met. Do yourselves the biggest favor and check out the links below where you can listen and follow along for more.
Like what you read? Follow our social media and playlist for the latest in independent music: