Tuesday - September 24, 2024 - 1:24PM

Fall is Here: A New Chapter for My EP

As the new season rolls in, I felt it was the perfect time to give you all a little taste of what’s to come. This past Sunday, I uploaded "Movies 4 Free(Remastered)" on SoundCloud and YouTube, and you might notice it sounds a bit different than the original. There’s a good reason for that.

On the day of my delayed EP release, I decided this was the right moment to re-master some of the tracks. Back then, I only had the .wav versions, which limited what I could do. Two songs in, I got frustrated. They sounded over-processed, but I knew the originals could use work on their clarity and levels. I wasn’t sure what outcome I was hoping for, but I dove into my old emails and searched for any trace of the EP.

That’s when I found an unsent draft—every vocal track and instrumental preserved, sitting in my email since 2016. My heart raced as I forwarded the files to myself, unsure if they'd still be usable. But when I opened them, every single file was intact. I was overwhelmed, crying like a baby. I had assumed these files were lost forever on my ex's broken PC, but here they were, waiting for me.

Suddenly, a new opportunity opened up. I realized I could not only mix and master these tracks, but I could even create new instrumentals for some (while keeping anything my brother worked on untouched). Truthfully, I had stayed away from this EP for more than just grief over my brother’s passing. It had also been mixed and mastered by my ex, a toxic relationship that brought years of trauma and self-doubt. To now be able to take full control of this project feels like I’m reclaiming a piece of myself.

This has allowed me to explore and experiment with what I truly want the world to hear—something ambient, melodic, and ethereal. Something that feels like me at my core.

So, enjoy this sneak peek with "Movies 4 Free (Remastered)" and know that what’s coming next is worth the wait.

-KJ

Friday - September 13, 2024 - 7:44AM

WELCOME

Hey everyone, and welcome to my new website. I’m really excited to finally have a space where I can connect directly with you all and share more about my creative journey, my music, and what’s coming next.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Kamile Jean. I’m an alternative R&B artist, heavily influenced by early 2000s and 2010s R&B, soul, and alternative genres. My journey started back in 2015 when I made my first appearance on the Austin, Texas music scene, exploring just about every corner of it. Back then, I was part of a start-up label and worked closely with other artists, even networking with a few up-and-coming talents. But like most things in life, circumstances shifted. I ended up taking a long break—almost a decade, in fact—where I tried to figure out what I really wanted and how I could break into the music industry in a meaningful way.

During that time, I went through some pretty tough experiences, made a lot of mistakes, and by the end of it all, I felt burnt out, depressed, and traumatized. I wanted nothing to do with music or entertainment for a while.

Why I Returned to Music

So why am I back after all these years? Well, it’s largely thanks to the encouragement of other talented people in my life and a nudge from my own intuition. Even during my hiatus, I never fully stopped making music—I just did it privately. I kept talking to artists and from time to time, some of the people I used to collaborate with would reach out for features. It wasn’t until this year, 2024, that I felt something shift. I was checking out my recent collab with Jay Psychs, Be With You (which you can listen to on all platforms), and it sparked a need to revisit my past work.

I Googled my name and, out of curiosity, found my first EP, blu, still up on Bandcamp. I released it in 2016 at the beginning of everything. As I listened, I was hit with a wave of emotions. The project had aged well, and I could still resonate with most of the songs, or at least connect deeply to the person I was when I wrote them.

But what really struck me were the last three tracks: Prancer, Ring Leader, and Let Me In. These weren’t just songs—they were deeply personal collaborations between me and my older brother, Alec "Antonio" Hanshaw. Alec was a brilliant producer, my mentor, and my biggest motivator at the time. We didn’t grow up together—he had a different mom and lived with my dad, who I’d only met a few times—but when I met Alec at 18, it was like finding a male version of myself. He was alternative in every sense, just like me.

Alec was proud when I told him about my music journey, but he always reminded me to stay true to myself and not let others control my creative vision. Together, we made our first song, Let Me In, and the response blew me away. It racked up thousands of plays on SoundCloud in just a few weeks. I couldn’t believe that something I created could resonate with people like that, and it was Alec who helped make that realization a reality. We went on to create Ring Leader and Prancer, and before I knew it, I had released my first EP.

Honoring My Brother’s Legacy

Unfortunately, Alec is no longer with us. He passed away in February 2020 due to a drug overdose, and that loss was devastating. It’s taken me four years to come to terms with his death, but listening to our EP this year brought back his words, his encouragement, and everything he stood for. I realized I had forgotten his lessons and let fear cloud my creativity. I even let dozens of his instrumentals sit untouched in my inbox. I was so lost after his passing that I forgot how much he believed in me.

But this realization also lit a fire inside me. Blu isn’t just an EP—it’s a snapshot of my past, my passion, and my bond with Alec. He passed the torch quietly and gradually, and now it’s time for me to carry it forward. I’m starting this new chapter by re-releasing blu on all platforms, as it deserves to be shared once more. I want to continue the work that Alec and I started together.

Due to some distribution issues, the re-release will be delayed for now. But this is only the beginning.

Thank you for being here and for your support as I step back into this world. I’m excited to share what’s next.

-KJ