PREMIERE: Blak Emoji cross genres with new single "Alone"

Kelsey Warren is the brainchild behind Blak Emoji, after having fronted a long-running rock group in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. However, after many years of being a rockstar, Warren is ready to make something new and exciting, and that’s exactly where Blak Emoji comes into play.

Warren has an incredible background the blends into making Blak Emoji the project that it is. He studied jazz guitar, classical voice, and even music theory at the University of Miami. We mentioned earlier his previous adventure as frontman in a rock group in Manhattan, and even outside of that he has played the role of a sideman and hired gun throughout New York City. All of his past experiences is where he learned from, putting it all together in Blak Emoji.

Warren of course isn’t the only member in the band, as he is joined by bassist/synth player Bryan Percivall, drummer Max Tholenaar-Maples, and keyboardist Sylvana Joyce. Together, they look to blend together their alt-rock and dance influences to make music that sounds fresh and eclectic.

Blak Emoji released their debut EP, INTRO, back on January 20th, 2017 — and almost exactly two years removed, they will be releasing their new album, KUMI (out January 18th, 2019). Although the record has yet to be officially released, back in September, the band were offering a download of the entire record in full for one weekend only.

Now, if you missed that weekend opportunity, we have a song off of KUMI to hold you over until January 19th when it is fully released. Below you will find our exclusive stream of “Alone,” which is a wonderful track that mixes the soft industrial sides of Nine Inch Nail with Warren’s effortless, soulful vocals. Warren explains that “Alone” was “Recorded predominantly in my apartment bedroom via GarageBand and Logic Pro X. Max [Tholenaar-Maples] sent some spd programs and then we went to Rift studios in Brooklyn to track live drums as well.”