Photo credit: Freddie Reed
“Don’t Hold Back” by Alex Kate is easy listening and follows a story that many people will resonate with. While most breakup songs are about romantic relationships, Kate’s newest single deals with the ending of a friendship.
The new single was written during a monthly course with pop artist Charlie Puth. Kate writes, “He had set us a task to build a track then write the melody and the lyrics last. I usually write songs the other way around, but this way pushed me out of my comfort zone and enabled me to flow in a different way.”
Not only was her creative process different on this track, but she dived into a new personal subject matter. Kate was going through a painful friendship breakup at the time and wrote this song as a way to fight back. She says, “As I wrote it and sung it into the mic for the demo, it was almost cathartic and I had a eureka moment, that I can only be truly hurt, if I let people hurt me.”
The instrumentals of the song are relatively mellow in contrast to the bold lyrics, though Kate’s voice carries a lot of strength. The chorus goes:
Don’t hold back
Don’t, don’t hold back
Then I can say that I am a champion
“Don’t Hold Back” was an international collaboration. Kate filmed a visualizer for the single in Noordhoek Beach in Cape Town, South Africa this December. The windy beach pictures fit the theme of her freeing anthem. The instrumentals were recorded in Norway in April and the vocals were recorded in London with Vocal Producer Ashton Foster.
It’s clear that for Kate as well as many other musicians, songwriting is a way to heal and express one’s feelings when spoken words just aren’t enough. “Don’t Hold Back” comes one month ahead of the release of Kate’s new EP, Rebel For Love, and shows listeners that she isn’t afraid to step out of her comfort zone.
Reviewed by Gabriela Huselton
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