K.Raydio is a vocalist from the Twin Cities who is most notable for her collaborations with Psymun and O-D. It’s been a couple of years since her last project, but she enters 2019 by releasing 1:11, the first in a series of demo EPs, self-produced and recorded.

While K.Raydio established herself as a vocalist a while ago, this is really our first introduction to K.Raydio the beatmaker, and it’s a good one. Granted, these are all demos, so they’re not in polished, final draft form, but once you adjust your ears you can tell how good the material is on 1:11. First and foremost, the beats don’t sound basic. K.Raydio has clearly picked up a thing or two from working with other producers, and she does some pretty interesting things in terms of looping, layering horn samples and vocals, and whatnot. While this is all good and promising, you’re also reminded of what a good vocalist K.Raydio is, how she has such great control of her instrument, with a great feel for phrasing and dynamics. Basically, this EP serves as a reminder that K.Raydio is one of the gems of the Twin Cities music scene, but it also serves as notice that she’s embarking on a new and exciting phase of her career. Frankly, I would love it if these songs were finished up, polished, mixed, mastered, and released again. The material is that strong.

K.Raydio found her voice as a singer who works in funk, hip hop, and R&B years ago. She has kept pushing and learning, and now she’s producing her own beats as well. 1:11 is a promising start to 2019 for K.Raydio, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.