VICE Spotlight: KHYA

The first time I saw KHYA perform live was on an Autumn night at Melbourne’s Forum in 2021. As soon as her performance ended, I turned to her manager, Cass, and said, “She’s got that thing. She’s gonna be big.”

Though Chilean-Australian KHYA has been around for a few years, seemingly experimenting with her sound, her first official single, “maryjane”, was released only a few weeks ago – a seductive, slow-moving ballad with breathy vocals incising delicate, 90s R&B. It’s dreamy, provocative and tells the story of a fem love affair: overwhelming desire, yearning and alignment. 

“I make music for the sirens (sex workers) and gays, so naturally its aura feels liberating and seductive. There’s a duality in my voice, even though it's soft and airy - the feelings are still very intense,” KHYA tells VICE.

“As a deeply emotional person, the essence of what I’m feeling is always captured - this is the main thing that translates into my music because it’s naturally how I am. I have a hard time hiding how I feel, you either hear it in my voice or see it on my face before the words ever make it to my lips.”

Raw emotiveness – hard to hide – extends past KHYA’s music and peaks in her live shows. While it’s often hard to describe what makes someone so captivating when sharing their music with an audience, the slow and sensual nature of KHYA’s sound — alongside the way she moves across a stage —  can leave you hanging on every word.

In one part, it could be because of her transdisciplinary background. KYHA is an avid performer in the ballroom scene but also is a dancer, singer and artist. Or it could be because of the raw quality of her music that makes space for genuine vulnerability and connection.

“I can tell my microphone the most depressing, horny, passionately messy tea and she’ll always turn it into something beautiful, even when it’s not,” she said.

“I can embrace even the scariest parts of myself without feeling misunderstood. That being said - I hope that anyone listening (especially the queer community) can feel a sense of playfulness and nostalgia. I imagine my music echoing in the spaces of somebody’s most intimate moments where healing, loving, crying emanates from the room.”

To date, the only frustrating thing about KHYA’s music is the want for more. Over the years, many have patiently, even tirelessly, waited for sequential releases. It’s worth waiting for.

“I remember meeting this random angel in the bathroom at a club one night who turned out to be a fan, they were literally dragging my ass through the pits of hell about how frustrating it was for them to have no access to more of my music,” she said.

“It's easy to over-obsess//over-think on the things that are delicate and special to us, but being fearful of yourself will only take you so far in your own journey. It’s important to remember those in your community who can look up to and feel empowered by what you do, do it for them.” 

While “maryjane” is the artist’s first official release, whetting the palates of fans and keeping them subdued until her next, the future looks bright for the rising R&B singer in Australia who already has a cult following in Melbourne and Sydney. Fans aside, KHYA looks to a near-present that can see her making art without limitation, specifically for the queer/poc community.

“I want my art to allow me to keep creating, without limitations, to push boundaries within myself and challenge the way people view and consume queer/poc artists,” she said.

“I want to be able to represent my community in a way that honours its truest essence, and to be able to create safety and security for the people that I love.”

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