Kalmly, How Things Will Go Review

Kalmly (Shaan Kambli) is a 19-year-old singer/songwriter and producer from Mumbai, India. The moniker Kalmly stands for a brand of contemplative pop music. The goal for creating the persona was to share positive approaches to dealing with negative life experiences. Kalmly is behind the music totally, writing, recording and producing the music all himself. His focus is the duality in voice and its use as a digital instrument. In 2018, Kalmly released a four song EP title, More of a Cold Blue. He has also released multiple singles. At the beginning of 2019 he released his debut album called Decadence. The seven tracks further explored his vocal abilities and focus on production. Kalmly is now releasing his latest single titled, “How Things Will Go.”

Positives: With attention to details, “How Things Will Go” is constructed with mindful musical intent on creating a solid song form and melody.

 Bottom Line: “How things Will Go” starts with Kalmly’s strong falsetto voice singing the chorus to a full sounding synth bass line. The vocal sound is natural, as he does not over process the vocal sound or use an auto-tuner. This instantly pulls the attention of the listener and allows his unique vocal qualities to be heard. The use of vocal harmonies fills out the melody and add a full musical texture. The orchestration of using a kalimba to be the rhythmic driving force in the verse is a wonderful choice. This allows the lower register melody to be clear and intimate. Kalmly says this of the inspiration for the lyrics, “’How Things Will Go,’ this equates to dealing with uncertainty. The future has been observed to become something that is increasingly feared. I’ve heard so many people speak about issues with anxiety recently – maybe I feel it too taking up music and unsure of how things are to take off haha. I wanted to write a pop anthem about a positive approach to the mysteries of tomorrow.”  The second chorus is developed with subtle vocal layers and more rhythmic activity in the backing instruments. The multiple feels within the song form keep the music moving and evolving. The bridge is a rhythmic exploration of using the human voice through electronics to create an interesting texture. Overall, Kalmly displays a solid production skill and his vocal abilities are certainly impressive. That’s the short of it!

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