![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.audiofemme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Kinlaw-Cameron-Tidball.jpg\")
\r\nI stumbled upon the expansive world of prolific multidisciplinary artist Kinlaw<\/a> many years ago, when I promoted a show with her then-band SoftSpot at the now-shuttered Brooklyn DIY space Shea Stadium. This goes to show how deeply ingrained they have become in the NYC music and arts community; since then, the composer, choreographer, and artist (who uses both she and they pronouns) has made a name for herself with both solo performances and productions with as many as two hundred performers, gracing institutions like MoMA, Pioneer Works, National Sawdust, and more. Last Friday she released her first solo album via Bayonet Records<\/a>, The Tipping Scale<\/em> – a stunning, dynamic dark-pop album that nearly forces you to move despite the heavy themes it tackles.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n As an artist whose primary medium is choreography, it comes as no surprise that Kinlaw\u2019s process for writing this record was anything but orthodox, beginning with mere movement. “Years ago, working with a band, [songwriting] would start with someone having an idea and then suddenly there\u2019d be a lot of sound, and quite a lot of noise, and then [we’d] kind of shape it down,\u201d she explains. Their songwriting process as a solo artist happens nearly in reverse. \u201cThe entry point for a lot of these is really super quiet,\u201d they explain. \u201cI would start with a gesture, and let it build until a memory attached itself to it.\u201d Different gestures intuit different sounds, associating smoother gestures with vowel sounds and those that were more \u201ccrinkled and quick\u201d with consonants. \u201cIt’s all just a huge trip but it works for me,\u201d she says. \u201cIt makes it so I don\u2019t feel intimidated by the songwriting process. It makes it so that I feel like I\u2019m making material that feels of the moment to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n