Kimberly Anne, also known as LANTA, is a singer/songwriter from South London and a truly extraordinary talent. You may recognise her voice from Sam Feldt’s hit cover of Show Me Love, but despite her chart-topping success as a vocalist, Kimberly isn’t going to let anyone tell her what music she should be making. Someone who doesn’t need a leg up from anyone, now publishing songs under the pseudonym LANTA, Kimberly continues to create the same remarkable songs she has always done – oh boy you’re in for a treat.
I could talk all day about any of Kimberly’s old tracks back from her days as simply ‘Kimberly Anne’, but let me share the very first song of hears I listened to, one which stopped me dead in my tracks; ‘Bury It There’, released in 2012.
This track is, and I say this with no hesitation, nothing short of genius – a pure blend of acoustic pop with soul, beats inspired by different cultures and powerful lyrics fit for an equally powerful voice… Oh, how I envy you hearing this tune for the very first time.
The release of Bury It There and subsequent 5-track EP deservedly earnt Kimberly Anne much attention from the UK music scene and festival slots alongside the likes of First Aid Kit, Haim and The Rolling Stones.
After discovering Kimberly’s music, it wasn’t long before I began asking people ‘have you heard of Kimberly Anne?’ ‘You must have?’ ‘She’s incredible!’
Brought up on the music of Van Morrison, The Cure and Bloc Party, Kimberly taught herself to play the guitar before studying percussion for a time in West Africa – an experience which has given her tunes some refreshingly unique characteristics.
After the release of her EP Ballads in 2017 and her feature in Sam Feldt’s hit dance track (although house was not really my thing), I eagerly awaited to hear more original work from the songwriter, whose talent can only be truly appreciated by listening to the songs she writes herself.
Years went by and nothing came. I wondered what had happened to Kimberly, as did most of her following at the time. An empty website, all social media channels gone and a youtube comment section begging for more incredible music, it wasn’t easy to track her down. Then in 2019, she relaunched as LANTA – a new name and a statement to the music industry that she wasn’t going to be snatched up by labels looking to ride on the back of her chart success. She wanted to make music that really mattered to her – and that we applaud!
Through her new ’80s soaked soul tracks, LANTA writes about the things that matter in her life, her sexuality, her mental health and her confidence – through this she is slowly becoming a role model for lots of young individuals and a much-needed voice for today’s openly gay black women, a role model she admits she never had growing up.
A new name for her music and newfound confidence, but the same brilliant songwriter. As a former student of The BRIT School who studied there around the same time as Adele, there’s nothing now standing in the way of Kimberly Anne/LANTA becoming just as triumphant. It’s still early days for her new musical persona, but with a voice and talent this big, she surely won’t go unnoticed in times to come.
Listen to LANTA’s new singles now on Spotify.
