Kiah Victoria's soulful "I Ain't Goin Nowhere" stands in stoic defiance of self-doubt

14 July 2016, 10:30 | Written by Charlotte Krol

(Tracks)

(Kiah Victoria)

"I feel like this song is my anti-self-doubt mantra”, declares Kiah Victoria. "We dance with the idea that we're not worthy, but all the while, we already know what's good. I'm capable. We're capable. Good shit is happening and I can simply take it in and run with it. In other words."

True to that statement, the New York singer's latest song explores the limits we impose on ourselves. "I've been drowning in my daydreams feels like forever/[...]but they don't understand/they can't change me but I can/despite the danger," she sings, her soulful vocals rubbed with an assertive, irresistible husk.

The music, too, seems to battle that self-doubt. Propulsive, nu-garage percussion thrusts the track forward, while bulky choral harmonies form a united front.

The production is splendid. Residual vocals droop and lift subtly between verse and chorus as if Victoria's defiant army remains rooted to her side. The tempo change towards the end of the song is also perfectly executed, petered out with a long recycling of vocal fragments, warm synths, and skittering beats.

Stream "I Ain't Goin Nowhere" below - it's Song Of The Day.