Kalmly Feels Like an “Intuitive Monkey” in New Single

Kalmly is a 20-year old vocalist from Mumbai, India. Writing and producing music independently, he tries to maintain his visions in the most raw form possible. This commitment has resulted in movie-like music videos, lyrics that were conceptualized as theater scripts, and surreal illustrations of visuals that inspired the music.

While early in his career, Kalmly has already been making headlines in his home country. He was selected as one of the top 24 independent artists in the nationwide talent-hunt, Nexa Music, in association with Grammy award-winning artist, A.R. Rahman. Kalmly has also been featured on the front page of RollingStone India.

His upcoming project, The Soundtrack of Life, is a transcription of the music he hears playing in the back of his head as he experiences different emotional journeys through life. Aiming to celebrate the human condition, this project will be an unrefined exposition of his world view.

“Intuitive Monkey” is his latest single and reflects how, regardless of how successful he may feel, he often still feels like a monkey, fulfilling people’s lackluster requirements rather than taking control due to the fear of driving anyone away. Singing over a self-produced beat, Kalmly centers his lyrics on a relationship where he feels like a puppet with his strings being pulled. The song has a very neo-soul vibe to it, featuring a very jazzy main instrumental accompanied by sultry hums and vocalizations. Even though Kalmly recognizes that he’s willing to bend over backward in this relationship for someone who wouldn’t do the same for him, he also accepts that he will stick around because of his fear of what walking away would result in.

The music video, shot at the London Natural History Museum by André Sebastian, was built out of several concepts related to the feeling in the song. Kalmly is on an offbeat date, where the woman shows more interest in the exhibits than him. There is unaddressed discomfort, dead things ominously preserved to look alive, a marionette puppet weirdly bent out of shape, and a cloudy night sky over a well-lit street.