Last spring, a New York City based singer-songwriter was struck with inspiration. In January, Sarah Kinsley spoke with the °1824 division of Universal Music Group about her upcoming EP, Fleeting. The artist is releasing five songs exploring vulnerability, impermanence, and the cinematic beauty of music. 

Kinsley has been consistently releasing music for seven years, with Fleeting being her fifth EP. She said that this has been the longest gap between creating a project and releasing it. Written in her current home of New York City, Kinsley worked to shape the meaning of cinematic pop. All parts of creating a song are equally important, but production has a special place in Sarah Kinsley’s heart. “I love noise,” she said with a laugh. It’s not uncommon for her to fill a work with layers of sonic elements to evoke a specific texture, but on this project, she made an effort to be intentional about her sound. 

She spoke about building out the sonic world of a song, specifically in the most recent single titled “Lonely Touch”. It’s her favorite song off the EP because of how the production builds toward the end of the track. Listeners get to be wrapped in a wildly calculated cacophony of sound derived from pure emotion. “Lonely Touch” is “the sonic representation of what I felt,” Sarah explained. “Unrelenting desire or yearning that you can’t separate yourself from”.

As a whole, Fleeting is inspired by the quiet moments of catharsis found in city living. Kinsley recounted a story about a wild night out, where she was enamored by a beautiful sunrise back home in her apartment. On the subject of living in New York, she said, “It’s a huge privilege to be constantly inundated with newness.” The EP takes inspiration from stories like those, times where one takes a step back and allows themselves to feel the rawness of their emotions. The project is for the times of reflection on how sometimes, things don’t last, and there is a beauty within that.

Kinsley took inspiration from all musical facets of her life. She cited various British synth-pop artists as inspiration for Fleeting. She mentioned Hats (specifically “Let’s Go Out Tonight”) from The Blue Nile, Substance by New Order, and the discography of Blood Orange to be her soundtrack for creation. Cocteau Twins, however, is her favorite band. Her classical background also played a part in her process. “The first bridge between my classical world and becoming a more alternative pop artist was through film score,” Kinsley said. She talked about watching Phantom Thread and delving into Luca Guadagnino’s films for this venture. 

As a child, Sarah Kinsley studied piano, which was part of what led her to study music at Columbia University. She found a love for Impressionist composers like Debussy and Ravel, as well as Romantic composers like Chopin and Brahms through the course of her ongoing musical journey. Kinsley shared sentiments about being part of an orchestra in her youth. “You learn from a really young age how to be part of something,” she said. She reminisced fondly on those memories and the competitive nature they instilled.

“The rules around making music are the most intense ever,” Kinsley said. She explained the challenge between trusting her intuition and staying true to music theory. Figuring out how to “unlearn” her classical training in order to make music that aligns with her emotions has proven to be a challenge. She sees her training as a countervoice, something that lives within her, but she must actively try not to follow. 

On Fleeting, Kinsley is engaging in vulnerability. This is a running theme in her discography, but it reaches a new level in these five tracks. In the past, Kinsley would adorn her songs with metaphors in an effort to remain ambiguous about their meanings. While she wrote about her life with accuracy, she could deflect questions about the true meanings due to the flowery language.

This EP marked a shift. “Being super honest about what I want and what I desire is actually very freeing,” she said. Kinsley even opened herself to collaboration. “After All” will be the first collaboration on her discography with Paris Paloma, an indie and folk pop singer from England. Despite creating this track, the two singer-songwriters have yet to meet in person. Still, it was daunting for Kinsley to be “inviting someone into my world of song for the first time.” She chalked up the nerves to be a case of self-proclaimed perfectionism. It was incredibly special to hear the vocals that Paloma sent over. This was the first time, besides fan covers, that Kinsley heard someone else sing her lyrics.

On fan interactions, Sarah Kinsley holds her community in high regard. At the conference, she recognized one of the publications as she had recently read some of their work. She spoke with gratitude about the kindness of her fans and admired their level of comfort at her live shows. Creating a bond with the crowd takes two elements: Half of the work is Kinsley’s, and the other is the divine energy from the crowd. All of this is amplified by her adoration for the visual side of music. Kinsley mused about how she feels there’s a psychospiritual connection between the fans and the stage. Moments that are as small as making eye contact with a fan help her to better understand her own repertoire.

When asked to find a common thread through her discography, Sarah Kinsley said, “I have an ever-changing, ever-growing fear of time passing.” Listeners can indulge in that fear, along with other emotions, in the new world that is Fleeting.

Fleeting will be available for download and on streaming on February 13.