About

Kayla Painter is an experimental artist and producer.

Painter’s immersive, ever-evolving AV performances, made in collaboration with visual artist Jason Baker, are a natural consequence of the entire writing process – the visuals figure into the earliest stages of her music; 2019 saw her playing at events such as The Great Escape, Camp Elsewhere, Bluedot, and the inaugural edition of Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here festival. She has also crafted remixes for a string of well-regarded acts and labels including W.H. Lung (Melodic Records), Teddy Hunter (Bubblewrap Records) and Scrimshire (Albert's Favourites), as well as appearing on releases by the likes of Jilk (Project Mooncircle), among others.

Supported through Gilles Peterson's ‘Future Bubblers’ talent development program, Kayla has continued to make a lasting impact on key tastemakers in the UK. Her releases have received heavy airplay and features, with spins from Mary-Anne Hobbs, Gilles Peterson, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone and Huw Stephens on BBC 6Music, as well as Phil Taggart (BBC Radio 1) and BBC Introducing. She has written music for Disney, Channel 4, Discovery Channel and a range of independent films, as well as having been commissioned by Universal Publishing to write an EP for synch.

Having grown up a multi-instrumentalist, and playing in more conventional bands at University, Painter’s personal journey led her deeper into electronic music production. Her academic work focuses on the human relationship with sound, and this is reflected in her compositions. She is a passionate explorer of the creative potential within field recording; her compositions bristle with self-sourced timbres captured in an enduring spirit of experimentation. She also uses her platform to explore specific themes both personal and external: 2018’s Cannibals At Sea grappled with her mixed Fijian-British heritage, juxtaposing Pacific islander beliefs with British working class values in a compelling exploration of her own identity and the wider world around her.

Kayla Painter is a visiting lecturer in creative composition and production at University of Gloucester and dBs music. Her teaching branches across a broad range of areas relating to music, including philosophy and political economy.  She additionally runs workshops and sessions for music charities, works as an artist mentor, hosts and takes part in live panel discussions, and offers one to one private tuition.

2020 saw Painter release two acclaimed AA singles (Prey at Night/Blood Orange Beach; Made of Light/Sacrifice the Other), mixes for CRACK Magazine, Selector Radio and Worldwide FM, along an international compilation which is part of a collaboration between Merrie Records in China, Worldwide FM facilitated by British Council and Xintiandi.

Kayla is currently working on a new EP to be released in 2021.