TDP Recommends: Hiatus Kaiyote

I recently became obsessed with Hiatus Kaiyote after my voice teacher showed me some of their music. My music taste at the moment is mainly rooted in R&B and soul, so this band was right up my alley! The lead singer, Nai Palm, has such a unique quality to her voice that I almost immediately latched onto. She also has her own original music aside from that of the band and released her solo album Needle Paw, which I have also been listening to, in October. Her song “Crossfire/So Into You” is my current “I-put-this-on-repeat-for-days-because-I-love-it-so-much” song; it’s also on the TDP Editor’s Picks Spotify playlist, so you shoulddefinitely check it out if you’re interested! You won’t regret it, I promise.

Hiatus Kaiyote, which includes members Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield, Paul Bender, Simon Mavin and Perrin Moss, refer to themselves as a “future-soul” band. I definitely think is an accurate genre title, as their music has many qualities of soul music while also having a distinct, futuristic vibe. They use different types of sounds outside of the standard instrumentals, which is partially why I find this band so entertaining. Also, Hiatus Kaiyote utilizes a variety of tempos and intensities in their songs: some are smooth and flowing while others are more upbeat and faster-paced. I always look for these different dimensions of songs while listening to any band, and Hiatus Kaiyote is easily at the top of my list for ingenuity in this respect. I hope more people come to know and (hopefully) love them in all of their amazingness!

You can find Hiatus Kaiyote and Nai Palm’s albums on basically any music service (Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora, etc.). Here’s one of my favorites from Hiatus Kaiyote’s second-most recent album, Choose Your Weapon, called “Fingerprints”. Dig It, Devils!