Carina: Tracks That Shaped My Sound

The sensational carina, the latest signee to tastemaker imprint Don’t Sleep, today releases her single Summer Air Buzz, in a track that encapsulates exactly what the title is about, and is the young artist’s most R&B influenced single to date. Along with the latest single release, she has just announced her debut EP titled ‘spaceout!’ Music has always been a form of therapy for carina and her mental health has also been the inspiration behind the immersive soundscape she weaves into her music.

The chorus for ‘summer air buzz’ was written during the middle of a heatwave in London, and was inspired by the lyric from lausse the cat in redstripe rhapsody, that sings: “Mood nice and mellow, cool air kept by a sun so yellow, mood smooth like the sun play cello.” ‘summer air buzz’ is fuelled by mature lyrics that make for a sonic escape through the lens of a teenager feeling all the angst of youth, giving her a unique way of expressing complex emotions simply.

Named by her father after the constellation ‘Carina’, the debut EP titled ‘spaceout!’ is more than fitting; not just for the obvious space theme but also because spacing out is something that comes with the struggles of dissociation disorder which the artist has been dealing with her whole life. Music has always been a form of therapy for carina and her mental health has also been the inspiration behind the immersive soundscape she weaves into her music. Growing up in a family of talented writers, she has always written stories and books as a way to communicate her emotions accurately and find solace in the words she put on paper to cope with trauma and grief.

Taking inspiration from other young female talents like Tate McRae and Billie Eillish, the artist is fully in the driving seat as she puts music out for herself and not for the accolades or clout: “ultimately I like my music and I have a community working with me who also like it, so that’s all that really matters. I have a wonderful cake right now and anything else is just icing.” With the majority of her music made and released from her bedroom in 2021, the music has been given a new lease of life with updated lo-fi beats. This is a london influenced, dreamy, teenage soundscape for the young but with a sprinkling of magic to reach the masses.

Here are carina’s 4 songs and little comments on each for Babystep feature LAVA/TREACLE - ELIZA FT JESSE JAMES SOLOMON

the first song, i love the beat and the summery imagery.

LAUSSE THE CAT - Redstripe Rhapsody [NO INTERLUDE]

Lyricism unmatched also immersive sounds.

Childish Gambino - Feels Like Summer

Obviously, the theme is the same, but it conveys that spacey overheated feeling that i was going for.

Jarreau Vandal - Ginger Tea

I liked the simplicity of this song and how it allows a spaciousness to the sound, which i wanted to have in summer air buzz