Track By Track: Kit Genesis' 'Romanticism'

Ever since Melbourne-based alt-indie artist Kit Genesis launched their debut single, Pride, earlier this year, it’s been clear that they’ve been building to something really special.

With their work exploring the intimate journey of self-love, queer identity, and the complexities of modern romance, the appetite for new material has since been satiated with the arrival of more singles in recent months in the lead-up to Kits’s debut EP, Romanticism.

Effortlessly switching between emotional and tender delicateness and a self-confident approach to indie rock, the EP is a culmination of Kit’s deeply personal journey, crafting a body of work that reflects their experiences with love, identity, and self-discovery.

As Kit explains, “This project feels like a true reflection of where I’m at. I’m grounded, more comfortable in my body, and proud of the stories I’ve putinto the world through this music.”

With the new EP out in the world today, and with a handful of shows scheduled to take place around Victoria across the next month, Kit Genesis has shared a track-by-track write-up of each of the songs on the EP, looking at their personal importance, how they came to be, and the stories behind them.

01. Romanticism

Romanticism is a song that is very personal to me, written at a time of the beginnings of a relationship. It's about being encapsulated and completely swept off your feet by the feelings of love. That first initial stage where everything slightly feels just out of your control and descends into it being all consuming. With them occupying all of your heart and mind.

This song encapsulates finding a sense of home in someone, feeling safe, seen, loved, and whole. It’s a realisation that the fantasy of love can exist for me and feel so real and pure. It’s the desire to hold onto these whirlwind feelings, to cherish this person and quite literally wanting to build a home and future together with them.

For the music video, I collaborated with Co-Exist, a dance collective from Melbourne, Director Wheeler Maurer, and DOP Al Hopkins. With the song's nature being so centered around love and meeting someone, we really wanted to capture the feeling of being caught up in that emotion and that whirlwind, where you almost feel out of control in being swept up by this person.

We took to my friends’ charming and homely share house in Thornbury and spent the day shooting the clip, encapsulating the meaning of this song through dance. It was such a beautiful and lively day and I think the music video is a credit to all the creatively talented people in the house that day.

02. Explode At The Thought

This track captures the electric excitement of flirty chemistry – the kind that makes your heart race. It’s cheeky, seductive, and layered with ambient guitars and an irresistible groove.

Post-top surgery, I’m feeling more confident and sexy in my body. Dropping this track feels like a celebration of owning my queerness and feeling hot!

03. Pride 

Pride is one of my oldest songs. I wrote this song when I was 19 and had just experienced my first queer heartbreak. She was my first girlfriend and my first queer experience. 

It’s about letting go of my first queer relationship with someone and the bittersweet feelings of a breakup.

The song follows the story of a moment when I caught up with my ex for coffee.

“Maybe it’s a pride thing, I’m not gonna tell you how much I’ve been missing you”, wanting, craving and desiring the person in front of you, but not allowing yourself to show these feelings.

It was my first sexual and romantic experience with a woman. It taught me what queer love could be like and that I was deserving of this kind of love. At the time, the breakup felt more like a rejection of this experience.

Upon reflection, I can see that my first queer relationship wasn’t the love I feel now, but it helped validate my queerness and showed me the type of love I wanted in my life. 

At the time when I wrote this song in 2017, we were at the point in Australian history where it was put out to the public to decide if queer or same-sex couples should be allowed to get married through the Marriage Equality Plebiscite.

I was seeing the controversy and political opinions of others, while still trying to figure out my own queer identity and feel proud and confident within myself. 

It was hard to see the controversy at the time and feel as though my newly accepted identity was being debated. But thank God it was a ‘Yes’! 

In a fairly short amount of time, I’ve seen more positive representation and acceptance in our society. There’s still more to do though and it’s still important for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to feel just as worthy, accepted and supported in our society as straight, cis people.

Although this song is so old now, it holds a lot of significance to me and feels like a reminder of how far I’ve come. Years later it’s out, and by releasing this song it feels like an ode to my teenage self – when I was still figuring out my identity and finding love and confidence within myself. Now I can reflect back and see how far I’ve come since originally writing this song.

04. Love Me

This song is about the apprehension of love. I wrote it at a time when I felt quite scarred from intimacy and dating and I was feeling cautious to put my heart on the line and be vulnerable with another person. Sonically this guitar-driven track encapsulates this tumultuous time in my life where I lacked some love for myself but seeked validation from love interests.

05. Couch

A short stripped back interlude track, with a nylon, string guitar and voice, recorded on one microphone through a tape machine. It’s a sweet little love song about wanting nothing other than to spend the day with the person I love on the couch.

It is a snapshot of feeling as though I have everything I need in this moment by being with this person, while the world carries on. 

06. The Fire

I wrote this song at a time when I started dating someone. It’s about the whirlwind feelings of knowing that I liked this person, unaware if these feelings were reciprocated. The doubts and uncertainties of putting my heart on the line were challenged by one question. How would I know it’s worth it if I don’t just try?

Kit Genesis’ Romanticism is out today.

Kit Genesis – Romanticism VIC Tour

Sunday, October 13th – Venue TBA, Geelong, VIC
Tickets

Saturday, November 9th – Volta, Ballarat, VIC
Tickets

Sunday, November 17th – The Gasometer, Melbourne, VIC
Tickets