Kelsie Kimberlin is a 24-year-old American - Ukrainian musician and singer.  Her work is not only accessible and entertaining but also steeped with important social themes and dual meanings underscoring her deep understanding of the power of creative music to evoke change. From an early age, Kelsie immersed herself in music, singing in choirs, participating in Yoko Ono’s Peace Project, and spending much of her childhood in music studios working on an endless stream of original songs. She participates in every aspect of her art -- writing, recording, performing, and filming her videos. 
     Kelsie is not afraid to speak openly about the problems affecting all of humanity. In “Lobotomy,” she sings about the willingness of people to give up critical thinking for a demagogue; in “American Guns,” she makes a stinging rebuke of America’s obsession with weapons of war to kill fellow Americans; and in “Masterpiece,” like an enchanting siren, she lures everyone to embrace the beauty inside them, and to extend that self-love to the entire globe.   Despite the social awareness and powerful messages of some of her recent songs, Kelsie’s sentimental and emotional performances about love (“Hazy Day”) and loss (“Dusty Road”) demonstrate that she is able to bring her authenticity to any song. 
     “Right now, the world is going through cataclysmic and historic changes that are affecting every person on the planet. How we respond to them will determine the fate of life on earth for future generations. I want to use my music to shine light on some of these issues and give people hope that together we can unite in our humanity for the common good."

© 2021 Copyright by Kelsie Kimberlin ©

FOLLOW KELSIE KIMBERLIN: 
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kelsie-kimberlin 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kelsiekimberlin 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsiekimbe... 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KelsieKimberlin 
Website: https://www.kelsiekimberlin.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KelsieKimberlinofficial

Kelsie Kimberlin

Hazy Day

My world, like everyone's lately, is a bit crazy yet I find solace in my relationships with family and close friends. Hazy Day is about the comfort and love I find with someone very special. When I am having a rough day or having trouble coping, that special person calms me down and lets me know that everything is going to be ok. "Soma medicated" comes from Aldous Huxley's famous novel, "Brave New World," where people are given "soma" to keep them happy and satisfied no matter what. I want to thank everyone who helped bring this beautiful song to life. 

HAZY DAY

I woke up to a world so crazy
then I saw you, looking at me

You pulled me up close to your body
whispered to me that you want to get naughty
so we hooked up 
right there in our bed 
 
You just make my world seem less a mess
when I’m with you everything’s the best
You make my life so uncomplicated
I feel like I’m soma medicated
 
Coming back late and feeling so stressed out
lie on the couch and I sulk and pout
Then you come home 
and you smile at me

Turned the music on and you stood there
then I dropped my dress and I saw you stare
Then you took me 
away from this place

You just make my world seem less a mess
when I’m with you everything’s the best
You make my life so uncomplicated
I feel like I’m soma medicated
 
Soma medicated, some medicated,
Some medicated, soma medicated

© 2021 Copyright by Kelsie Kimberlin © 

FOLLOW KELSIE KIMBERLIN: 
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kelsie-kimberlin 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kelsiekimberlin 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsiekimbe... 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KelsieKimberlin 
Website: https://www.kelsiekimberlin.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KelsieKimberlinofficial

Buy & Listen

The concept for this video began in 2017 when I finished a demo version of the song and sent it to the great Ukrainian composer and film director Sergiy Krutsenko in Kyiv. He wrote an orchestral score and brought in the Kyiv Radio Symphony Orchestra to play it. He then invited me to Ukraine to film the video in an epic production at a former Soviet prison camp and a centuries-old castle. The filming was both grueling and exhilarating.  The story is about a dystopian society where music is banned and musicians are executed for violating the "law of silence."  I play the role of the protagonist musician who opposes the dictator while his army of misfits constantly try to stop me but I always get away at the last second. This story is not only a metaphor for the actions of authoritarian regimes around the world but it foretold, in a sense, the 2022 full invasion of Ukraine by a dictator with a misfit army. And the lyrics of the song are the perfect power anthem for Ukraine with the chorus a defiant and unapologetic war cry toward victory--"We are the promise, we are the glory, we are the story."  Initially, we created the video not just for the song but as a pilot for a series on cable.  Unfortunately, COVID hit in 2020 before we could finish it, then the big war started in February 2022, and then my friend and mentor, Sergiy Krutsenko, died suddenly on  January 6, 2023 while he was at his workstation editing the video.   So his team in Ukraine finished it and hopefully, he is pleased with the final result. We will now actively push for a cable company to fulfill Sergey's dream to create a hard-hitting film series where famous musicians can make cameo appearances with me to fight against fascism.  On the anniversary of Sergiy's death, I dedicate this video to him and the people of Ukraine.   Please share, comment, like, and spread the new Ukrainian power anthem--"We are the promise, we are the glory, we are the story."

We Are The Promise

Armageddon is a song about how Ukraine is fighting to stop the armageddon unleashed by the Russian Federation against the world.

Armageddon

My new song and video "Another Chance To Live Again" are about the profound feelings of loss that so many people in Ukraine have experienced since they were attacked by war criminals starting in 2014.   
I wanted to express and encapsulate the feelings not only of individual people but of an entire country and society so I used religious and spiritual references in the music and lyrics.  
I traveled to Ukraine to film the video in some of the locations of the worst atrocities in Irpin and Bucha.  The video begins at a destroyed cultural center that was once the go-to place for plays, concerts and other happy community events. Out back was the Irpin soccer stadium where teams and children played and practiced.  It is now pockmarked with dozens of artillery holes and thousands of shrapnel wounds. The other building in the video was filled with hundreds of apartments where people lived before it was attacked with missiles. The destroyed bridge was initially used by Ukrainians trying to escape the enemy bombings until the enemy massacred hundreds of civilians driving across it.  The Ukrainian Armed Forces blew it up so the enemy could not advance with tanks and heavy equipment. The church scarred with shrapnel is located right next to the bridge.  
We filmed with the permission of the Armed Forces while air raid sirens were blaring and attack drones and missiles were being shot down overhead.  It was all very emotional for me because I knew that families with their children died right where I was filming.  I talked to many people who lost loved ones and told them that I was there to tell their stories to the world. 
Please like, comment, share and support Ukraine.  
After I returned from Ukraine, I launched a foundation to help those injured and to raise funds for reconstruction.   Please donate if you can. www.KelsieKimberlinFoundation.org

Another Chance To Live Again

My new song and video "Turn Back" is the third of the trilogy of videos I filmed in Ukraine in August, 2023. It has multiple meanings depending on the place in which you find yourself.  For many people, it is a plea to a loved one who looking for something somewhere else to find it right there at home.  But for me, this song and video are about Ukraine. First, it is a call for those millions of refugees who left Ukraine after the war began to come back home to help Ukraine rebuild.  Ukraine needs you and this is where your heart remains.  Second, it expresses the longing of all those Ukrainians who have a  friend or family member fighting near or far to come back home alive. In the video, you can see photos of thousands of soldiers who died defending Ukraine. Those photos are posted on The Wall of Remembrance next to St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv, the bells of which were heard all over Kyiv in December 2013 at the beginning of the “Revolution of Dignity” of Euromaidan. Ten years ago, there were only 100 photos on that wall of the “Heavenly Hundred” who were killed by terrorists at Maidan in Kyiv. Now there are more than ten thousands photos with more added every day. The destroyed enemy tanks and heavy military equipment shown in the video are set up in the square next to the cathedral to remind people of the terror unleashed against innocent Ukrainians. These three videos form a trilogy of modern Ukrainian history, showing the dignity, strength and desire that ordinary Ukrainians stand for despite horrific difficulties.  They went through "Armageddon" to get "Another Chance to Live Again" and finally "Turn Back" to a normal life where there is love, happiness and independence. Through these songs and videos, I am acting as a chronicler, calling on people from all over the world not only to feel the severity of the war, but also to help the Ukrainians get back what belongs to them.  My harmonies are in a polyphonic form where separate vocals alternately hand off or differentiate the melody with a mesmerizing, haunting and calming effect.

Please like, comment, share and support Ukraine. After I returned from Ukraine, I launched a foundation to help those injured and to raise funds for reconstruction. Please donate if you can. www.KelsieKimberlinFoundation.org 

TURN BACK 
Honey, where are you going to, turn back you belong with me
There is nothing out there for you, you got everything here

No I don’t think that you can make it by yourself
And I don’t think that you can stay away for long

You gotta come home to me, it is where you are most happy
You gotta come home you’ll see, it is where you ought to be

You are looking for something, I know where you’ll find it
Come on back from where you left from, I am here waiting

Keep me close to your heart, when you’re out there alone
Searching, I know that you find me, right here back at our home

No I don’t think that I can make it by yourself
And I don’t think that I can live here without you

You gotta come home to me, it is where you are most happy
You gotta come home you’ll see, it is where you ought to be

Turn Back

I am American-Ukrainian and I have been very supportive of Ukraine in its war against russian terrorist regime.  This song is about the leader of that regime.

Vlad

Kelsie Kimberlin is an American - Ukrainian musician and singer. Her work is not only accessible and entertaining but also steeped with important social themes and dual meanings underscoring her deep understanding of the power of creative music to evoke change. From an early age, Kelsie immersed herself in music, singing in choirs, participating in Yoko Ono’s Peace Project, and spending much of her childhood in music studios working on an endless stream of original songs. She participates in every aspect of her art — writing, recording, performing, and filming her videos.

“Right now, the world is going through cataclysmic and historic changes that are affecting every person on the planet. How we respond to them will determine the fate of life on earth for future generations. I want to use my music to shine light on some of these issues and give people hope that together we can unite in our humanity for the common good.“