After taking a 4-year break from music, Lindsay Kay is back with an all-new intimate song.
Inspired by the isolation and yearning for connection that many felt through the pandemic, the Canadian singer/songwriter released her sex-positive anthem “Through The Phone” last month (February 16).
In an exclusive interview with Celeb Secrets, Kay explained that the romantic, sensual new track celebrates the freedom of sexual expression and she hopes that listeners feel “understood” after hearing the song.
“I hope listeners will hear some of their own experiences or emotions mirrored back to them and will feel understood. Even if they perhaps haven’t gone through exactly the same circumstances, I hope there is something within the song that resonates,” she said.
“I do feel passionately about women, especially in the singer-songwriter realm, feeling freer to write about their own sexuality in a more honest, literal, raw way. If a fellow artist heard my song and felt compelled to write more vulnerably about their own sexuality, that would be the greatest honor!” she added.
In addition to releasing the sultry song, Kay dropped the stunning Parisian music video earlier this month (March 2). The vulnerable visual sees Lindsay coming home to a beautifully decorated artisan apartment where she delicately adorns herself in lace and poses for her long distance lover in the glow of her phone. Art directed by Kay herself, the video was directed by Anastasia Delmark.
“We actually filmed the music video in an Airbnb (with their permission!) that I was staying in when I first moved to Paris, before I had found an apartment of my own. I absolutely ripped that Airbnb to shreds to make it look like what I envisioned for the video, and I spent days both setting it up for filming and putting the place back together afterwards,” Lindsay shared.
“Through the Phone” follows Kay’s previous album, For the Feminine by the Feminine, which was also focused on womanhood and femininity. Women and female-identifying pros took part in the creation of the album from start to finish, and it received an Independent Music Award for her rendition of, “Lush Life.”
Celeb Secrets (virtually) sat down with the singer-songwriter to talk about all “Through The Phone,” her return to music almost 4-years later, and what’s to come from her upcoming releases later this year. You can check out the full Q&A below and connect with her on Instagram at @lindsaykaymusic.
Don’t forget to let us know what you think of “Through The Phone” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet @celebsecrets.
Celeb Secrets: Hello Lindsay, thanks for talking with us! Congratulations on your latest single “Through The Phone.”
Lindsay Kay: “It’s my pleasure!”
CS: First off, what made you focus on a sex-positive, intimate theme for your music video?
LK: “I didn’t necessarily go into writing the song or the video treatment with the intention of communicating a ‘sex-positive; message per say, though sex-positivity is important to me and I think the video does express that. I was simply reflecting on my experience and wanted to create art that paid homage the intimacy of the song as honestly as possible.”
CS: The music video was produced and written by you, who or what was the inspiration behind it?
LK: “Phone sex. ;)”
CS: What was it like filming this music video? Were you nervous?
LK: “While filming the video I felt very safe actually, I think in large part because I was working with my frequent collaborator Anastasia Lebedeva Delmark, who directed the video, and on set there were only a small number of people, all of which were women. So I felt free to express myself and everyone was very respectful of the vulnerable position I was in. I also didn’t have a lot of time to get nervous, as we had very limited time to film the video and were jumping from scene to scene quickly!”
CS: What do you hope your fans take from “Through The Phone?” What’s the message behind it?
LK: “Just like with any of my songs, I hope listeners will hear some of their own experiences or emotions mirrored back to them and will feel understood. Even if they perhaps haven’t gone through exactly the same circumstances, I hope there is something within the song that resonates.”
CS: How do you think your music will bring confidence to other women, especially when it comes to topics like intimacy, which are almost always looked down on by society.
LK: “Well, I’m not sure, it’s not really for me to say whether my music will have an impact on other women or not. But I hope so, and I do feel passionately about women, especially in the singer-songwriter realm, feeling freer to write about their own sexuality in a more honest, literal, raw way. If a fellow artist heard my song and felt compelled to write more vulnerably about their own sexuality, that would be the greatest honor!”
CS: What made you release new music now, after 4 years?
LK: “Has it been four years?! Throughout those years I was still constantly creative, performing lots, working on plenty of musical projects, collaborating. So somehow it doesn’t feel like that much time has passed. In the current industry there seems to be a significant emphasis on ‘content creation’ and releasing music constantly. That doesn’t really resonate with the artist that I am. I like to take a lot of time with my work, not rush. Last summer when I jumped into the studio to record the bones of ‘Through the Phone,’ it just felt like the right moment to share something new.”
CS: Can you share the biggest takeaway you have had as an artist since your return?
LK: “That the music industry has changed a lot, even just since I put out my last album in 2018, and I’m not altogether happy about the changes I’m seeing. The emphasis on metrics and algorithms is frankly a bit soul-crushing, and I feel a bit worried about the future of music. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any going back…”
CS: Have you noticed any progress in your songwriting or the music ideas you’ve had since?
LK: “I haven’t been doing too much songwriting since I released ‘Through The Phone.’ I’m currently working on my Master’s in Creative Writing, so I’ve been writing quite a bit of poetry and prose. I’ll get back to my songwriting in a few months once the Master’s slows down a little!”
CS: How different would you say this song is compared to the music you have done in the past?
LK: “I think sonically it still lives in the same world as my last album. It’s perhaps a little edgier both in terms of sound and lyrical content, and certainly it is sexier, bolder, and more vulnerable in certain ways. But ultimately I hope my listeners still recognize the sound and the artist.”
CS: Is “Through the Phone,” initiating the return of more music? Is there an album in the making?
LK: “I have quite a few new songs written and intend to spend the better part of this summer writing more. I definitely plan to start working on a new full-length album sometime in the coming year, but as I mentioned prior, I like to take my time, be methodical, and not rush, so when that could be finished is a mystery to us all!”
CS: What advice do you give musicians that want to change up their lyrics to something “riskier” or different than their original music?
LK: “Hmm, I don’t think it’s something that can be forced, really. If your storytelling naturally starts to explore new territory, I would say just follow that thread as far as it goes, and write the thing, even if it feels like too much or scary to imagine sharing. I can say that reading more creative writing by women who approach sex in their work in a very clear, almost brutal way was instrumental for me in finding the language and resisting the urge to drape everything in metaphors, and some of my other newer songs explores that even more.”
CS: Since we’re Celeb Secrets, what secret or fun fact do you have about yourself or your music video that fans don’t know about yet?
LK: “We actually filmed the music video in an Airbnb (with their permission!) that I was staying in when I first moved to Paris, before I had found an apartment of my own. I absolutely ripped that Airbnb to shreds to make it look like what I envisioned for the video, and I spent days both setting it up for filming and putting the place back together afterwards. We changed out lightbulbs, took every picture off the wall, rolled up rugs and moved furniture into corners, essentially redecorated the place completely. After the filming was over, I had to consult the extensive pictures I took of the place to put everything back as it was, and I spent at least two hours trying to scrape hardened wax off of the dining room table from the million candles we had lit on it for one of the scenes. It was exhausting and I was so nervous the host would notice something out of place, but she didn’t! She even thanked me for leaving it so spotless – a triumph!”
With edits by Juliet Schroder.
