Kingsley Ibeneche looks to live life on his own terms in “So Kind”

Kingsley Ibeneche has been building to something big in recent years. Following up on last year’s otherworldly Realms EP, the Camden, New Jersey singer, songwriter, and dancer has released a stunning string of one-off electro-pop singles: this spring’s emotive “My Freedom,” the dreamlike Ivy Sole / Lee Clarke collab “Evaporate,” and now a new track called “So Kind.”

The song glides to the bump of hand percussion and humming Wurlitzer, with Ibeneche’s shimmering voice once again reflecting on that idea of freedom, of personal escape, and what he seeks to find — and lose — in the process. “Disappear, get away from here / I want to move myself,” he sings, and as a statement on Bandcamp puts it, the song is a meditation on how we act, and react, to our surroundings.

“Kingsley Ibeneche’s single ‘So Kind’ asks what it would be like to simply pursue freedom rather than niceness; to choose spontaneity rather than tacit reactivity.”

According to Ibeneche’s label Astro Nautico Records, these releases have been building to a debut full-length that will drop in 2021. Ibeneche debuted in 2017 with the self-released CHi EP, revisit his Key Studio session here, and listen to the new “So Kind” below.