Keeana Kee Tropical Expression
One of the greatest joys is having someone who I interviewed years ago come back with news of having moved up in their industry. Since our previous interview, I’ve been keeping an eye (and an ear) on Latvian native Keeana Kee and her rapid progress within the music industry. She has doubled the number of singles released in 2020 and has collaborated with some of music’s most talented players. Keeana’s
You had seven singles out when I published our first interview. How many singles have you put out since then?
Now I have a total of 15 singles out and a series of remixes. I really hope you will find time to check them out and enjoy them.
It has been about five years since you first began your career in music, according to what you told me a couple of years back. From the beginning, I recognized a drive in you and I knew that because of this, you would have longevity in the music industry. Have you had time to look back and see how far you have come since 2017?
Awe you are so sweet! Thank you! And thank you for believing in me! It’s a very good point coz we forget to look back at our accomplishments and praise ourselves for what we were able to make happen. I sometimes get too focused on the things I am trying to accomplish and get upset and discouraged when something is not working out as I planned. Looking back at how far we have come can be a great motivation that things will work out and that you CAN most certainly MAKE IT HAPPEN if you just keep trying and stay focused. Remember that even the things you’ve done have just recently seemed impossible.
You mentioned your mother being a strong woman and it’s clear to me that she had an immense influence on your desire to pursue your dreams. How does she feel about your success?
As strange as it may sound, I didn’t really have anyone around me chasing their dreams growing up. There was just no possibility at that time. There was mostly a necessity to work to survive and protect your family and that’s what my mother was doing to provide for me and my sister. But that taught me to be hard-working and very grateful for every little thing we get in life.
Seeing my family struggle and work so hard that there was just no time left to dream is one of the reasons that, I think, gives me the drive to follow my dream and to make it a reality. To stay persistent and to make my mother proud!
Previously you mentioned that you “started self-learning piano, guitar, violin, and saxophone” when you were able to. Has your musicianship improved since then or do you not have enough time to practice?
Unfortunately, I do not have as much time as I would want to keep improving at playing instruments, because I have made a decision to prioritize songwriting - writing melodies and lyrics - and let the professionals create musical arrangements for them. There’s just not enough time in the world for me to be able to do all the things that I so wish I could do and I know very well that we can only achieve goals that we focus 100% of our time on. I am working on improving my vocal technique, stage presence, and creating visuals for my songs and I still want to have some time to always connect with my fans on socials.
Over the years, you’ve done a number of collaborations with other recording artists: Maffio (Coconut Rum & Coke), and Kid G (Open Arms). This year, you’ve released three singles with collaborations. I’m going to list the people you’ve collaborated with and I want you to tell me what your experience recording with them was like.
Dai Burger
Ah! Dai is an absolute Goddess! We have collaborated on my single “NUMB”. I am absolutely obsessed with her rapping on it! She is such an incredible artist. Her lyrics just flow. We wrote and recorded this song separately. I had already written and recorded “NUMB” when Dai Burger heard it. It seems that her verse was born immediately like a spark from a match as soon as she heard it. We have already shot a music video in Miami that will be coming out next starring Dai Burger, DJ Citizen Jane, and Ariana Castelli. It’s like all my individual collaborations with all these artists were just brought together by the universe! I feel blessed. (smiles)
DJ Citizen Jane
When I was in Miami working on another one of my unreleased projects with Gio Lefeld and James Joubran (Hit Central Records recording studio) I was having dinner with DJ Citizen Jane and we got super excited to create some unusual and unique songs together. That’s how WASABI was born an unusual blend of Japanese-themed Dance Pop tunes. Super fun and energetic vibe. It’s now available on all platforms.
📷 by DJ Citizen Jane
Ariana Castelli
Ariana Castelli is my dear friend and I was thinking of doing a collaboration with her for a while now. We know each other for years and still didn’t have a song together! Mostly coz of our musical style differences, but then I had this song idea “Goddess, you got this” that I wrote over the track from a producer Alexander Dedov who I had just started working with. The song is Pop but then it had this House/Dance mood to it and it hit me that THIS is the song that I should do with Ariana. Not long after, we both flew from New York to Miami to be together in one room and finish writing the whole song. We recorded it at Hit Central Records in Miami.
Do you have anyone in mind for future collaborations?
I already have a number of songs that I wrote with the idea of collaborating with specific artists. I cannot reveal them to you just yet, but stay tuned my loves. You’ll find out about it very soon!
I do love collaborating with other artists a lot! I think it’s like a blast of two comets, like double energy on the track.
Would you say that your music has changed in any way over the years? Have you added any new “spices” to your music to get a different flavor of sound?
I do think collaborating with other artists is always bringing a new unique flavor to the music, but so far all of the songs were created by me before bringing the other artist into the project. I think the main difference was made by my collaboration with other producers who created the arrangement for the songs like “Ride with Me” and “Sweet Heaven” which have stronger Afrobeat vibes. These two songs and “NUMB” feat. Dai Burger was written by me and produced in LA by The Track Burnaz. By the way, if you haven’t yet seen my music video for “Sweet Heaven” you can check it out on YouTube. It was shot in the Californian desert and has very dreamy vibes and a touching story. When I was writing a storyline for the video my main focus was to project hope, dream, and a strong desire to overcome any obstacle and no matter what get where you are going. The story is about a loving father who is crossing the desert through cold and hunger to get to his little daughter, who he got separated from. I hope it will be very inspirational to you as well.
You fell in love with Florida when you first moved there, saying that it inspired your music. Does it still feel the same? Are you still in love with the Sunshine State?
Absolutely!!! I am in Miami right now actually. I think it’s just the vibe!!! The type of music and melodies that I come up with are always bringing me back here. Even though I am based in New York half of the year I spend in Florida where most of my producers are based.
I didn’t ask you much about your modeling career the last time, but I remember you mentioned working with the London-based luxury brand Katayoon. Are you still modeling for them? Have you done any other modeling outside of Katayoon?
Yes! I continue modeling for Katayoon London and many other brands worldwide, but this is not my main focus. I did however collaborate with the incredible New York-based swimwear brand called Gabriela Pires Swimwear just recently on designing my own line of swimsuits that will be available online very soon.
Keeana Kee at Pride
Last year was my first time attending PRIDE (despite having lived here in New York my entire life). Though I couldn’t attend this year, I was still able to see you on social media and you were having so much fun! Your performance with Ariana Castelli was amazing! Everything looked magical! It looked like the entire LGBTQ+ community was there! What were you feeling on that day?
Oh! This was absolutely MAGICAL!!! I wish you were there! The energy…like one big family. Everyone supporting each other, everyone feeling so happy, everyone being GAY! Haha - amazing!!! It was my first time performing on a float at a Pride Parade in New York City. We were filmed by the abc7 News channel and broadcast live! It was really amazing. The other Pride Parades that I was a part of and performed live at was in London with DIVA Magazine.
Thank you so much for your time and for the wonderful questions!
📷 by Hope Glassel
