Q&A: Asi Kemera Puts Listeners in Dream-like Trance in Debut Album, ‘Do Your Angels Start To Sing’

May 30

With the release of her debut album, Do Your Angels Start To Sing, New York-based artist Asi Kemera emerges as a vessel of elegance and ethereal energy. Throughout the album, listeners are brought into Kemera’s world, a delicate balance of raw emotion and haunting beauty. Born from a darker chapter in her life, Kemera effortlessly transforms pain into poetry, allowing listeners to resonate and feel seen.

PLEASER: From your very first release on Spotify in 2019 to your most recent album, you’ve stayed true to your soft-spoken sound, which has developed into a more alternative sound. When you think of the evolution of your music over time, what were some of those formative moments?

ASI KEMERA: I went through a lot as a person, and I went through a lot of different challenging things. I feel like my sound shifted with my headspace. At first, it was really dreamy because I was in a different headspace, and then it became darker because I was going through darker things. It’s really just the changes of life.

The opening track on the album, “8”, is the introduction to this chapter. In what ways do you feel like this sets the scene for the rest of the album?

AK: The drums are really loud, like the dynamics of the song are really exaggerated, and I feel like that's present throughout the whole album. There are soft ballads, and then there’s a heavy guitar, grunge vibe. I think that song shows what dynamics are going to be throughout the album and what to expect sound-wise.

In track two, “How You Plead”, my interpretation of it was yearning for a feeling that may no longer exist, whether that be romantic or in a general sense. Do you feel like that’s an accurate interpretation?

AK: That’s exactly what the song is about. It’s about a relationship I was in, and the song is extremely personal to me.

When you think of the album in a visual sense, what do you envision?

AK: I pretty much just saw my bedroom when I was making the song. I remember being in that house. I really, really loved that house. So that's all I can really picture when I listen to that album, which is really nostalgic for me because it was a great time. Now I live in this tiny, cramped, New York apartment.

As someone who discovered your music through this album, and for those who may be discovering you from this interview, what songs aside from the ones on the album would you guide new ears to?

AK: “Feel Many Ways” is a really good place to start. I love “8” and “How You Plead.” But, I think “Feel Many Ways” and “8” capture me really well.

If you could describe the essence of this album in three words, what would they be?

AK: Cute, fun, and sad.

What did your creative process look like throughout the making of the album?

AK: I would start with the chords, and then work on melodies after. I really lean into dreamy chords most of the time, but for this album, I also dabbled in darker chords. I was listening to a lot of Alice in Chains. Chords are very important to me. And then, the melodies and lyrics that I produced surrounded that. And then I recorded it again with other producers in their studio with good professional gear.

What’s coming up next for you in the near future that you can share?

AK: I actually have a single coming out in June called “have you seen her?”. I'm really excited about that one. It's a completely different sound, but it's still me, but it's a lot more fun and light-hearted, and it's cute. It feels colorful compared to Do Your Angels Start To Sing. It’s completely different, it’s sort of a resolution, I got it out of my system. On to a happier chapter.