Kimaya Diggs released Green this month, taking the lead producer role and engineering more of her recordings as she explored belonging after loss, chronic illness and rebuilding her voice following surgery.
The Western Massachusetts singer-songwriter, poet and producer connects the album to questions of home, drawing on her experiences as a Black and Desi artist raised in a predominantly white region.
Her relationship with the area includes both social isolation and connections to its land, rivers, wildlife and creative community.
A more intuitive writing process
For Green, Diggs changed how she developed songs. She worked quickly instead of waiting for inspiration or ideal circumstances, switching songs whenever she remained stuck for more than five minutes.
She then assembled the resulting verses, choruses and chord progressions into different combinations, removing material as the songs took shape.
Diggs said her identity affects everyday encounters, creating a sense of being outside the predominantly white community around her. Writing from those particular experiences, she explained, can help listeners recognise their own feelings.
She values messages from listeners who connect with her work more than streaming totals or social media followings. Some messages have become so familiar that she recalls them during moments of self-doubt.
Belonging through music
Diggs described finding satisfaction at opposite ends of musical participation:
- Blending anonymously into a large choir or ensemble.
- Creating her own work with room for theatricality, experimentation and personal expression.
She linked her desire to create with an earlier feeling of being misunderstood.
“But I create to be understood and to be known, and I think that originally came from this sense of not being understood.”
Greater control in the studio
Taking the lead producer role and handling more engineering gave Diggs greater control over Green. Earlier in her recording career, doubts about her taste and limited technical skills had constrained her ability to realise her ideas.
The title refers to the brief spring period when leaves unfurl and transform the landscape, a sense of possibility she wanted the album to convey.
Diggs said losing her mother changed her perspective, encouraging her to experiment, follow her intuition and trust her collaborators.
82 artists contributed across the recordings, music videos, styling, photography and other work on the album.
