Kamille - K1

‘K1’ opens with two bars of beat-driven claps, and aptly so; an award-winning songwriter for names as glittery as Dua Lipa, Little Mix and Kylie, Kamille is no stranger to applause - the difference is now, the spotlight is squarely on her. Having worked at the vanguard of pop for over a decade but faced pushback about her desire to release music herself, this debut project is her independently released, self-produced, two fingers up to the doubters. It won’t come as a shock that the Nile Rodgers-featuring ‘Muscle Memory’ is a disco-indebted gem; driven by funk rhythms and a prominent bassline, it’s a natural lead single, with a 1980s influence that can be traced further into the project. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Kamille excels at collaboration: ‘Options’, with Tamera and Bellah, is a cooly nonchalant groove from this power trio of emerging R&B artists; while ‘Manifesting’ injects a refreshing change of pace with Kamille’s braggadocio-laden flow. Elsewhere, some tracks feel a little familiar (no doubt because we’re subconsciously very well acquainted with Kamille’s writing) and the project’s momentum stalls slightly, but overall ‘K1’ is a noteworthy debut - a mini-album that sees its author firmly stake her claim as an artist in her own right. Fingers crossed for a second instalment.