Going after a new kind of sound

IT'S common for singer-songwriters to struggle with the "second album syndrome" - where they face a serious case of writer's block after hitting the big time with their debut. Thankfully it didn't happen to New Zealand-born pop diva Kimbra.

That's because after the whirlwind success of her first album Vows (2010) and after winning two Grammys (Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her work with Australian dance artiste Goyte on his mega-hit, Someone That I Used to Know), the 25-year-old decided to give herself a reality check by moving to a sheep farm in Los Angeles to start work on her follow-up in 2013. That gave her the head space she needed to record The Golden Echo, released to critical acclaim late last year.

The experimental electro-pop album sounds a mile away from the straightforward baroque-pop of Vows. "It has more layers and I was fascinated with creating dimensions sonically," explains Kimbra over the phone from New York, where she recently moved to after spending two-and-a-half years in Los Angeles. "It's about putting on your headphones and living inside those layers."