Kayla Painter

About

Kayla Painter is an experimental musician, producer and keen field recorder.

Kayla Painter blends electronic basslines, fractured rhythms, ambient synths and environmental recordings into an intricate sound world that is all her own. With an equal aptitude for sonic experimentation and ear-worm melodies, the Bristol-based, Fijian-British musician has generated a huge following via a prolific run of independent releases and music on acclaimed labels like Castles in Space, Quiet Details and Brownswood Recordings. Her tracks are frequently played on Radio 6, Radio 1 and NTS, while Painter’s live show is a dazzling 3D audio-visual spectacle.“When I started writing music as a producer on my laptop, I always felt that it had a visual element before I was even playing live,” she says. 

Painter has graced stages all across the UK with her own headline shows, played live at Tate Modern, and performed at festivals such as Glastonbury, We Out Here, Simple Things, Bluedot, The Great Escape, Northern Ireland’s Stendhal and Peel Slowly and See in The Netherlands, while also supporting high profile acts like Clark, Rival Consoles, Carl Cox, Colin Stetson and Kelly Moran.

Painter began a new series of EPs in 2023, ‘Ambient Owl Core’. Leaning into her beatless atmospheric side, here she used field recordings she’d made in Bristol and in the surrounding countryside of owls calling in the night. Inspired by the thought that these wild birds could thrive in the city, she wanted to capture their sounds and spotlight them. Recordings drawn from her life experience have become an important part of her musical identity. 

‘Ambient Owl Core’, now on its fourth EP, has resonated with her fans and earned her plenty of new ones. “The fact it's been popular is such a gift to me, because it just gives me a purpose to go and be out in nature more, which is pretty cool.”

Painter shared her long-awaited debut album ‘Fractures’ in 2024. The record is an epic imagining of the voyage of NASA’s Europa Clipper space probe on its mission to one of Jupiter’s icy moons, which may harbour life. Exploring her techno side, the track ‘Clipper’ loops fragments of vocal over an addictive, unfurling synth bassline and spine-tingling melodies, while the tranquility of ‘Ice Shells’ crescendoes with hefty sub-bass and drum machine beats. Above all, Painter wanted the record to be timeless, something listeners could return to again and again.

Painter’s latest record, 2025’s ‘Tectonic Particles’, was released via the ambient Quiet Details label. Interpreting the label name and ethos, over eight tracks she weaves together found sounds with diaphanous piano loops and crackling textures. The tune ‘Pure White Stalactite’ imagines a stalactite forming over thousands of years, the glacial process mirrored by its abstract synth pads and skittering effects. 

“I was thinking in that kind of way – of small things in our planet and then how they can create big things over time.”

Kayla Painter has made music for Disney, Discovery and Channel 4, and transfers her knowledge to upcoming musicians as a visiting lecturer. She has taught at University of South Wales and Bath Spa University, and guest lectured at University of Gloucester, Kingston University and University of Arts London, while mentoring artists and running music workshops. She likes to encourage students to think beyond their perceived barriers, and enjoys music education as a way of learning herself.
“I find other people's creativity really interesting,” she says. “I think we all think about stuff slightly differently, so I get a lot from it, and see it as a mutual exchange.”

She has appeared on several music discussion panels, including one with Laurie Anderson and Hannah Peel, chaired by Bishi. In 2025 she was the keynote speaker at the international music research conference Innovation In Music. 
Painter also runs a Patreon and Bandcamp subscription service, which invites subscribers to see behind the scenes of her creative processes and provides support for upcoming musicians navigating the music industry.

Painter is currently resident artist at Bristol Beacon, and has plenty more projects coming up, including new music, production work for other artists and a venture into brand-new territory, writing a chapter for ‘Entrepreneurship in Music & Music Production’, a Routledge book. Asked why she thinks her music resonates with listeners so much, and she puts it down to its sense of space.

“I think my music has space in it enough for people to interpret it however they want, and maybe take it with them on a journey,” she says. “I’ve had a few people message me and say things like, ‘I listened to this while I was travelling across Japan and it was so helpful’. That’s really lovely.”