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Video Premiere: KRISTEENYOUNG – ‘Life Kills’

KRISTEENYOUNG

KRISTEENYOUNG is sharing her brand new single and video, “Life Kills,” the first song from her upcoming LP, The Beauty Shop.

The upcoming album revolves around the life of a serial killer, each song taking one one major emotion, though it’s also about how life can kill our emotions and asserts that everyone is part victim, part perpetrator.

Young wrote, arranged, produced, co-mixed, and played almost every instrument on the album, and she also made the album art and visuals, even the clothing.

We caught up with her ahead of the release to talk more about the single and album:

What made you choose “Life Kills” as the first single off this upcoming project? Can you describe it to anyone that has yet to hear it?
It’s definitely not the most “single-esque” of the album. But it’s the most like what my soul looks like and what the album’s soul looks like. It’s emotionally aggressive. It has dissonant, hard-bashing piano piano in it. The voice does so much. I scream. I wail high notes. I mumble to myself. And then it goes to an (almost pretty?) emotional cry at the end. It’s like an operetta in three-and-a-half minutes. Which I like because I get bored. Also, the idea for the video came to me almost simultaneously as the song. So, I couldn’t wait to make it and get it out of my head.

Regarding the track’s accompanying visual, which you also edited/shot on your own, can you describe your inspiration and the process behind the scenes?

The album is called, The Beauty Shop … which means many things to me. In a literal sense, I grew up in a beauty shop. Before my parents got me (I was a foster kid who was adopted by my foster parents … that’s why I say “got”) my dad walled in the carport to make a beauty shop where my mom could do hair. It was part of the house. So I really did grow up in there. My playpen was in there.

Her customers were like aunts to me. But, in another way, yes, the album is a song cycle based on the life of a serial killer and each song is based on a major emotion. Life Kills is based on rage. But, really the whole thing is about how life can kill our emotions until we are just an empty shell. I also thought of the Beauty Shop as being a symbol of this country (the United States). But, hopefully, all of this doesn’t really matter and the songs are just cathartic fun. None of anything matters unless it’s stimulating and moves you without thinking about it. 
 
I knew I wanted to shoot at an old beauty salon. The older the better … and I was hoping I could find a place that hadn’t been updated in awhile. Sort of like the one I grew up in … was hoping someone’s grandma had a shop out of her home or something like that. But, those seemed to be almost non-existent now. I went home to St. Louis to look for a salon for location because I thought I was more likely to find a place there … and I know St. Louis better, since I grew up there. But, I just drove around until I found a place. And I was EXTREMELY lucky with the place I found  (Renditions on Route 66 in St. Louis). The owner was so welcoming and excited about the project. 
 
I’ve always been obsessed with shampoo bowls … how they look like a guillotine. And so much of beauty and the business of beauty is about almost killing who we are and rising up a different person. No matter how superficial or if that superficiality seeps in deeper and becomes NOT skin deep. 
 
Technically, I shot it all on an iPhone using a ring light and sometimes a large rectangular LED light with a red gel. I’d set up the shot, press record and then get in front of the lens. I edited using iMovie (on my phone) and a couple of apps for extra effects. But I didn’t use a lot of effects on this one … just the basics like reverse, changing the speed and some extra transitions.  

You’ve described your upcoming album as a “song cycle based on the life of a serial killer, with each song taking on a major emotion.” Which of those emotions was the most difficult to write about, and which song came out of that particular emotion?
I’ve always been overly emotional. Every single report card I have from elementary school says I am “emotionally immature.” Ha. Which really just meant I had too many and they appeared at inappropriate times. I can tell you … people do not like it. I’ve been trying to work on this my whole life. Meaning: I had no trouble conjuring up any emotion. There are eight songs on the album. “Life Kills” is rage. “Your Mouth is Going to Get You In All Kinds of Trouble” (which is the second video I’ll release. I’m editing it now.) is ecstasy. “The Monster in the Moon” is terror. “Sue Veneer” is admiration. “Sara Get the Baby” is amazement or excitement. “Anonymouse” is grief. “Absence Makes the Heart Grow Father” is (self?) loathing. And the song “The Beauty Shop,” is vigilance.

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Watch the video for “Life Kills” here:

For more from KRISTEENYOUNG, find her on Instagram, Facebook, and her official website.

Photo courtesy of KRISTEENYOUNG

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