KeepVibesNear. KVN as some may refer to him. East London’s very own. Of what feels like a long-awaited return, the east end stalwart talks to Wonderland off the back of his latest release “Over Now,” produced by Gwadalean, and ahead of his 2024 project release “Noir.”

I’ve always said to KeepVibesnear that his introductions to songs are annoyingly distinctive, in a good way, the catchy way. That pre-verse artist tag and it reminds me of a young Charlie Wilson, and who doesn’t like Charlie Wilson? The legend is still performing the “OOOOHWEEE” to date. These signifiers are timeless and as we see with KeepVibesNear, he has the same unique mark to characterise a verse on entry.

His most recent solo release “Over Now,” is an introspective take, a depiction of disarming himself and being honest to himself. To interpret this track, it doesn’t require a blueprint, and the emotions are so on the nose – these are the sort of records that always warrant a replay from fans. It’s unpretentious and has an easily attainable narrative. This is the track that’s the first block in paving the way to the next stage of his development.

Through getting to know KeepVibesNear over the years, from the start of his journey to now, one of the best things is to see if the integrity to his identity, and that for sure is always there. Whether sonically or lyrically, the new page turns and it’s exciting to unpick what’s to come.

Listen to “Over Now”…

Read the interview…

Good to see you back Kevin bro…
It’s good to be back. I feel like it’s been bare long. It’s taken a bit of time for me to get the backend of the project sorted. Now it’s finally on the way.

What do you think it is that you have experienced since we last spoke, that has evolved your sound for your new project “Noir?”
I came out of my last relationship and was forced to realise a few things about myself. It’s an interesting situation to be in. Sometimes I feel like I manifest stuff in my songs. I’ll be talking about emotional situations that I may be in at the time or maybe relating to my friends or I’m relating to a movie I watched the day before. Then maybe six months down the line, some of the words will start manifesting in their own way and presenting themselves.

And even though your previous music is heartfelt, this new material feels different?
Listening back to the older songs I made, like “SRS” or “M25,” those songs are made in a headspace of pondering on my acts, all of the stuff to do with that. Some of these songs are like the revelation, because they were the dark period after, whereas my last project was like in the turmoil. It really forced me to see, like, this is where you went wrong. I really think I can connect the dots. Now I feel more mature.

More mature?
I feel more mature and I feel that I’m in a position now where I genuinely act more mature, and it’s coming across in my music. When I step in a session now, I’m just putting that hat on while I’m thinking okay, what is really happening? How do I really want to approach this song? Especially now I’m in more sessions now with bigger producers that have a lot more input. When you’re making music with these guys, they’re going to tell you to do it again if it doesn’t land or they will question my lyrics and what they’re trying to say. It forces me to think about these things sooner. Whereas before I was thinking about them in the aftermath.

When working with Gwadalean on “Over Now,” how did he allow you to access the instrumental in the desired way?
He really cares in the stuff he likes and I feel like we really like clicked in that way. We like a lot of similar sounds, similar melodies and similar chords. When we were making over now, I think it was like a late, late, night at Harvey’s (Harvey Whyte) and Harvey wasn’t even there. It was just me and him and I think he started with keys and that was the essence of the tune. When Gwadalean made that song, it was interesting because I’d written over the keys in the song and the beat advanced so much before I even got to record that. I really felt I needed to match the vastness of the production with the vocals, just because it felt kind of epic.

A good synergy then…
I appreciate Gwadalean’s production, he’s a precise guy. I’ve never seen someone spend so much time on a beat. He will just keep touching it up. And every time he sends it back, I’m like, oh that’s sounds mad. Sonically it travels a lot, just the way it comes with the keys and it’s got that crazy baseline. It’s not like a simple baseline. It comes in maybe like four times on the beat shit and then the bongos come in, and it’s like, why are there bongos?

Do you think just working with more producers has developed your Outlook then?
Yeah because now I feel like I’m capable… more capable. I’d like to think of myself as that guy that writes songs. However, since I’ve been working with more producers, I feel like they’ve been testing me, in a way of trying to get me out of my comfort zone. They’ve been putting me on to more stuff that maybe you wouldn’t expect me to be up on. Because they’ve tried to give me a challenge, I’ve answered, and I’ve made it work and then those records end up being my favourite songs. It’s been a great journey in terms of advancing.

One question I’ve never asked you is about your relationship with R&B, when was the moment you realised it was this route, rather than rapping, because I’ve heard you rap?
I used to rap so much and be able to freestyle for hours. I swear to God, I could not do it now. Right now, I think of like, lyrics to make songs. Back in the day when you and I used to go to the open mics, I used to write on the train, or there’d be someone performing, and I heard a line I liked and then I’d put something down in my notes for my next studio session and go from there. I love that I write love songs. You know, how many love songs can you write? There’s so many different feelings, aspects and different angles that you can write about and from.

What is it that allows you to access your emotions?
I grew up a bit of an outcast init, like working men grew up in Romford, Essex, and I’m not a typical Essex boy – man’s been against the grain. Growing up with that, alongside being a good handsome young boy. Ahahaha. But yes, all that malarkey. I experienced things that made me realise my emotions quickly, and I’m not the sort of person who’s going to be in denial about stuff like that. I really had to come to terms with it. I feel strong about it, man.

When you sat down with Henry Croston who shot the video for “Over Now,” why did you want it to be black and white, was this a conscious decision based on how you want relationships to transpire, feelings to be black or white?
Yeah! It was meant to show a contrast in like the literal black and white. Then obviously, to go along the whole ‘Noir’ concept being black. It was very fitting.

The stream of music is back for fans…
It’s exciting to be consistent again. I’m setting the tone and there’s so much music to come. It’ll be nice to keep it rolling and keep feeding those records through while I’m making new music. I’m getting excited about that as well.

When does the next project drop?
It’s coming in February. Obviously, we just dropped “Over Now” recently, and then my new one with The Silhouettes Project – “Venus” released this week, so now I’m going to enjoy Christmas.