Last Friday, multi-hyphenate star KYLE dropped a video for his latest single ‘Sunday,’ which follows the singer through dreamy melon-toned visuals of Los Angeles set to a beat that samples Craig David’s “7 Days” and borrows the framing from the song’s chorus to tell a tale of the fleeting qualities of love in 2021.
“Started vibin’ On Monday, then you started trippin’ on Tuesday. And now we makin’ love by Wednesday, and even Thursday and Friday and Saturday. You tell me that we break-in’ up on Sunday.” Sings KYLE, over some plucked Spanish guitar, thumping 808s, and skittering hi-hats.
“Every time I make music I try to discover something new about myself and what I make,“ KYLE tells me over the phone while discussing the origins of the track. “I was listening to a lot of late Garage music, I wanted to make uptempo R & B but I was having a hard time finding that. I made ‘Sunday’ out of complete fandom for Craig David and how smooth his records and vocals were over these really fast-moving tracks.”
Despite being heavily indebted to the source material, KYLE’s ‘Sunday’ presents a different vibe to David’s original, which keeps it from sounding like a straight-up cover. Instead what we get is an expert interpolation of a classic that comes off as smoother and altogether more romantic than the original. For the visuals, KYLE reached out to director Made By James, and the duo attempted to make a video that felt as thematic and stylized as a movie, while still giving a glimpse into KYLE’s personality,
“I was always a fan of early 2000s music videos, especially surrounding r&b culture. Very smooth and about love and sexy — featuring this day in the life storyline that made you fall in love with the artist.”
The result is a dreamlike and slightly eerie video that acts as a companion piece to KYLE’s “Love Me Like You Say You Love Me.” Part of what makes the video so appealing are the visuals that capture the romance of LA driving culture. To better understand things from his perspective, we hit up KYLE for the perfect LA date night, driving routes included.
“It would start early in the morning, right from the jump. We’re going to wake up and the first thing we’re going to do is get some coffee.”
The perfect cup of which can always be found at KYLE’s go-to LA roaster Cognoscenti:
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“Cognoscenti on Washington Blvd is the best coffee shop in Los Angeles. We can fight about it, but I’ll win. My go-to order is the Green Matcha Latte Iced, with oat milk, or a half-caff almond milk latte with a hint of agave sweetener.”
From there the date would continue on through the city:
“Then we’re going to head to the Culver City stairs. We’re not going to run up the stairs, we’re going to drive up and take in the view.”
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The stairs offer a great panoramic view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline and served as an obvious inspiration for some of the scenes in the video.
“After we do that we’re going to get some brunch, probably somewhere on Melrose. Sitting out on the street, people watching. Before we know it It’ll be nighttime when we’ll head to Javiar’s in Century City, and maybe catch a movie after.”
But to really capture the vibe of the song, your best bet is to jump in a car, blast ‘Sunday’, and just enjoy the sights that driving in LA always provides. If you’re looking for the best experience, follow KYLE’s route.
“You want to start somewhere in Mid-City, head toward West Hollywood. Take that down until you hit PCH, and take that to Malibu so you can sit on the beach, throw on ‘Sunday’ again, and take in the sights before you head home.”
Watch the video for ‘Sunday’ above, and then watch the companion piece “Love Me Like You Say You Love Me.”
