Last year, we posted singer-songwriter Kawehi’s cover of Nirvana’s beloved “Heart-Shaped Box,” and now we’ve got her first single from her new EP. “Battlefield” shows off the Honolulu-born artist’s measured, smooth voice and skills as an looping aficionado. There’s a definite Janelle Monáe vibe going on, right down to the robot mythology (check Evolution‘s album art and her last EP, Robot Heart), but that’s not a bad thing. Almost looking from an outsider perspective on, she’s conscious of the standards that pressure female artists and preaches a body-positive message: “You’d be better off if you could learn / to love what you got / fucking with your body won’t make you hot.” The precise production and disjointed orchestral swells play perfectly off of Kawehi’s lush harmonies and slinky soprano. Stream it below, and look out for the Kickstarter-funded Evolution EP later this year.
