- 6 Nov album release
- 1st album, her debut
- 6 Toronto musicians on the record
- Cello her first instrument
Toronto songwriter Kyla Marlena has shared “Bit the Bullet”, the latest single from her debut album, Hold Time, which arrives on 6 November through Idée Fixe Records.
This one makes the petty thoughts you’d never say out loud sound awfully pretty.
Kyla says the song came from wanting to bring some lightness to a sad story. “Bit the Bullet felt like infusing some levity into a heartbreak story,” she says. She’s also clear that one of its lines isn’t how she really feels. “A lyric like ‘I guess that I’m the winner, I had the final say’ is not a real belief I hold. There are no winners and losers. But it felt liberating to express ‘forbidden’ thoughts.”
The energy in the studio was high for this one, and she kept some of the playful moments the room mics picked up because by the end they felt like part of the song.
From Cello to Songwriting
Kyla spent her early years writing instrumental pieces as a cellist, then taught herself guitar and moved into songwriting. Hold Time is also the first time she has put a band together and let other musicians help shape her songs, with players from Toronto’s downtown scene, including Ben Whiteley and Karen Ng of The Weather Station, and Felix Fox, who has played with BADBADNOTGOOD.
Side Quest Why Is the Cello Called a Cello?
“Cello” is short for violoncello, an Italian term that roughly means “little violone,” with the violone being a large, deep member of the old viol family. Over time, the shortened name stuck. You can read more about the cello.
She also credits growing up with a dedicated hi-fi listening room. Her dad would sit with her and listen to whole records from start to finish, talking about how they were recorded as well as the music. “I think that instilled a kind of deep listening in me from a young age,” she says.
Pop it on, and let yourself be a little bit petty for one song.
- Tears Laughs
- Dreamy Rocking
Stay unruly.
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