Willow Kayne on new single ‘Rat Race’: “It’s a diary entry tune”

Willow Kayne has discussed her new single ‘Rat Race’, telling NME the track is a “diary entry tune”.

Speaking backstage at All Points East festival, the Bristol-born singer-songwriter explained that the track, out today (August 22), is part of a new project.

“This next project is about my experience in London, and in this industry as well,” she said. “‘Rat Race’ is about my perception on London and how everything is so fast, and you’ve got to keep up. It delves into that. It’s a bit of a brain-fart that one, but I love it.”

• READ MORE: Willow Kayne: “This record was me hitting back to the doubters – it’s absolute revenge”

Kayne added that she didn’t necessarily know whether she’d release ‘Rat Race’ when she first wrote it, saying: “It’s definitely a diary entry tune, and it’s wicked that people love that stuff. I didn’t really think that was going to come out when I first wrote it, so it’s rewarding.”

Speaking about her next musical project, Kayne explained that it was “pretty much done,” and “`delves into loads of stuff [like] synaesthesia and experiences of London”. Although Kayne kept her lips sealed on the major details about the upcoming released, she did describe it as “very colourful, very nostalgia, very mish-mash”.

Discussing working with Nile Rodgers after being placed with the Chic legend as a mentor, Kayne explained how their collaboration initially came about after she picked up the Rising Star Award at the Ivor Novello Awards in 2021.

From there, working with Rodgers taught her that there’s no “crazy, tactical formula to making a banger”.

She added: “There’s no real ‘this is what you have to do to make a banger’. It’s just going with it, which was very lucky to hear actually, it released a lot of stress.”

Willow Kayne releases ‘Rat Race’ later today. Her UK tour dates continue through to September. Visit here for tickets and more information.