Dutch soul singer-songwriter Kymara joins Brighton Festival

She stayed to study and hasn't left – and is delighted to be returning to the MOVES Festival, an all-day celebration of female talent at The Old Market as part of the Brighton Festival.

The full line-up is IYAMAH, Kymara, Harleighblu, Tara Lily, Moon Idle, Sinead Campbell and Ellie Pepper on Sunday, May 18 from 3pm-11pm.

“I moved to Brighton about eight years ago,” Kymara says. “I had done auditions in the Netherlands for music singing studies without any luck for three years and so I went to an open day at BIMM Brighton and I stayed. I finished a long time ago, about four years ago but it was there that I started writing my own songs for the first time. I studied vocals, not songwriting but being surrounded by songwriting I just thought that I should give it a go. The songs were and still are very soulful.”

Which means?

“I mean songs that make me feel happy. Or at least make me feel something. Sometimes they don't make me feel happy but the main thing is that you just feel something when you're listening to them, that they are songs that get to you and connect with you and go to your heart.

“As a band we write the songs together. The band members change but I have a couple of band members that have been there from the very beginning. The core band I would say is seven people but when we're playing at a festival it could be ten or 12 people on stage. I bring in horns and percussion. I like a big sound.

“We had our first EP about four years ago and most of the songs are out now for the second EP. The full EP will be released in the summer. I don't know the name of it yet, but the EP is very much about friendships. When we were writing it, I was looking at a lot of things like distanced friendships or about maybe choosing my own path, about friendships where you are maybe putting more into it than the other person and the fact that that doesn't mean that the friendship is over but maybe it is just not for now.”

The real encouragement is that Brighton is such a great place to make music: “It is the best place! I remember walking out of the train station for the first time and just feeling at home straight away. I think it's something that Brighton does. And the way that our music has been received for the last few years just feels so good. When everything is so new it's really nice that you are reaching so many people that are so supportive and come along to our shows and want to be part of the journey.”