Have we got a strong debut single for you. Producer and pop songwriter, Karamilk, is reintroducing herself to the Australian music scene with her real name Erin Foster. To accompany this, Foster is making a splash with her debut single ‘Birthday’. It’s a cool, calm and collected pop track that is sure to be played on repeat by Triple J, before taking over the indie charts on Spotify.
“My boyfriend was feeling down and out on his birthday this year. And I get it because I get that way too on my birthday. It’s a self-appraisal you can’t avoid and he felt the weight of it. I think it is natural to feel a sense of responsibility for your partner’s happiness, but I also think it’s important to identify when someone’s discontentment is beyond you and possibly nothing to do with you. Although when I showed the track to him it seemed to really cheer him up,” says Foster when explaining how ‘Birthday’ came to be.
The track’s production is excellently done, giving it an almost foreboding feel. At first listen, we thought about potential influences on the track’s sound. Halsey and Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ came to mind. However, knowing that Foster produced the track herself (“in her bedroom, under pink LED strip lighting”), it’s clear to hear that Foster was doing her own thing in capturing her immediate environment and morphing it into a hazy, beat-driven soundscape. Very subtly, there’s also a computerised sound in the back as if something was creeping across Foster’s floor and she wanted to place it in ‘Birthday’. It’s obvious that Foster has experience in producing and ‘Birthday’ is her outlet to let her creative ear soar.
At the same time, Foster’s vocals deserve to be recognised. She has a beautiful voice that caresses you from the very first note. It’s light and sweet, a perfect combination of commercial with indie artist’s homegrown relatability. In this way, Foster gives ‘Birthday’ a crossover appeal that is sure to lead to the start of a promising career.
To sum it up, ‘Birthday’ is an A+ single that any up-and-coming artist would dream to have. It has everything that people want in a pop song. Carefully penned lyrics, emotional vocals and top notch production. Foster is one to watch and we’re keeping our eyes peeled.