keshi began writing his latest EP always immediately after the release of his EP bandaids in March. The entirety of always was written in quarantine, in between online gaming sessions with friends, Netflix binges, and doing a lot of cooking. His fiancé is also working from home, so they have been able to spend a lot of time together. “Sometimes we play this one game called ‘why are you doing it that way, you should do it my way’ and there are no winners,” says keshi.
The EP’s title track is an R&B charged homage to John Mayer that delves into the realization of taking someone you loved for granted, having thought that they would never actually leave. The electric piano is the backbone of the song, but the smooth guitar solos take up the foreground of the track. All the main instruments were played live instead of using plugins or synths.
“more” brings a mellow hip-hop edge to the mix. “It’s about balancing the two dreams I hold dearest to my heart,” keshi explains. “My fiance and my art.” The lyrics are a raw page torn from keshi’s life, and an expression of the frustration of having to juggle his personal life with his professional one without making compromises.
Melancholic single “drunk” bridges the gap to “talk,” a danceable sonic standout that details the bargaining phase of denial. “I think a lot of us teeter on ‘what ifs’ and try to put band-aids on wounds instead of fixing what’s fundamentally broken between relationships,” says keshi of his favorite track.
“B.Y.S.” was written about someone who was playing coy, and over the course of several months. keshi played with one of his earlier beats, stitching in a rap-like portion and meticulously crafting his lyrics. It’s a last burst of energy before the record closes with heartfelt ballad “us.” “us” is all about surrendering and walking away from someone, and knowing you’ll be better off for it, despite the hurt.
