Andrea Kristin Touches Upon Spirituality, Overcoming Oppression, Metamorphosis and Empowerment on Debut Album ‘BROWN KOHINOOR’ 

Although multi-faceted artist Andrea Kristin was born in Mangaluru, she spent only three months there before her parents moved to Riyadh and then to Dubai. Kristin returned to Mangaluru for high school and is now currently based in London. From being part of her church choir to scribbling down lyrics whenever she got the chance, she tells us that she’s always wanted to pursue music. “I was seven when I made my first song. I used to put on these little concerts for my family, depending on whatever artist I was obsessed with that month,” she says.  

Kristin began releasing music in December 2019 on SoundCloud. Her first track was titled “RED.” “It was a little indie song, basically bedroom production, and since it got a good response, I was encouraged to start releasing professionally,” she says. The artist followed “RED” up with more tracks and also began integrating rap music into her R&B flow. Now, Kristin is out with her 11-track debut album, BROWN KOHINOOR.  

In this interview with Rolling Stone India, the artist breaks down her album for us, talks about her future plans, and more.  

When did work on your debut album begin and what do you recall from the writing process? 

The work for my album began sometime in March 2021. Don’t get me wrong, I love every song I’ve ever made. But I wanted to make something with substance, I think good music dares to be different and take a stance on something. Hip-hop has always served as a conduit for social change and it was like an epiphany; I knew I wanted to talk about different stuff that means something to me. I just drew from my experiences. I wanted to touch on themes that have molded me, which have been expressed in tracks like ‘Fake Friends,’ ‘Seat at the Table’ and ‘Immigrant.’  

Making the album was an elaborate process. Even curating the track list was. I think I had a good 32 songs that I kept arranging and rearranging as the creation progressed. I finally boiled it down to the 11 that you see on BROWN KOHINOOR.  

What can you tell me about the album itself?  

The album was made to touch on themes such as spirituality, overcoming oppression, metamorphosis and empowerment amongst people of color. I wanted to include other creative disciplines, so I had some poetry narration composed into the tracks as well. The words in each song have been chosen very carefully; as a person and a listener I give emphasis to lyrics so that’s what takes precedence in my songs as well.  

I think ‘Things I Imagined – Interlude’ and ‘Everything You Imagine is Real’ were cool experiments – story-wise they are from the same narrative, that’s why the names are so similar, ‘Things I Imagined’ being an external portrayal of persona and ‘Everything You Imagine is Real’ being the internal reality. ‘Everything You Imagine is Real’ doesn’t really have a song structure, the whole track is a call and response between me and the choir with the choir representing different emotions, and the intrusive thoughts.  

What was the recording and production process for the album like? 

The album was entirely self-produced. ‘Daniel 10’ was the only song that has two other co-producers who helped me arrange the track, because my production skills are currently limited and I am still learning. My friend and brilliant guitarist Ian helped me record the album. We had pages of the lyrics all highlighted and scribbled with notes to emphasize on certain words to indicate certain meanings, and he made sure I followed them. My friend Mark helped me with the mix and master of the album, and there were multiple Zoom mixing sessions because there would always be one more alteration sneaking into the studio. It was really fun.  

The way the music is paired with the lyrics and narrative of the song is also something I made sure was maintained. For example, the beginning of ‘Hostage/Ransom’ sounds a bit off-beat and out of place, which was done to reflect the confusion of the narrative. I know it may not have been as sonically pleasing as expected but I wanted to reflect that, and that’s why the music only comes together when the lyrics start. 

What plans do you have to promote the album?  

Definitely at least two music videos, the scripts for which have already been conceptualized. I’d also love to perform the songs from the album in cities other than London, especially back in India. It would be amazing to show some love to my community back home, especially when the album is meant to represent us all. 

What’s next? 

I think when you’re in a creative field there’s always room for growth. I’ve just been working on different styles of production, and I’ve made a catalogue of new singles set to be released next year. [There will maybe even be] some collaborations with other producers and artists. My favorite thing was recording and composing for the choir, so I definitely want to do more of that on a larger scale. 

Stream ‘BROWN KOHINOOR’ on Spotify below and on other platforms.