Nic Harcourt’s been a mainstay of Los Angeles’ music scene for years, but now he’s stepping out from behind the radio microphone and managing a new retro pop and soul singer named Kita Klane.
After claiming first spins on such artists as Coldplay, Norah Jones and Sigur Rós over a decade with KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and his current gig hosting KCSN’s morning show, he’s built a reputation for spotting promising talent early on and assures Klane has that special something.
“I’ve obviously been around a lot of people at nascent points in their careers and if I could pinpoint what it is that I feel when I hear something special for the first time, then I’m sure I’d be a wealthy man,” he tells Billboard. “But there’s just something unique…. When I got to know her a little bit and listened to the lyrics, I have been witnessing somebody who has been delving into their own history to write music that resonates.”
On Tuesday, Klane released her sophomore EP, Fingerprints. To mark the occasion, Billboard is exclusively premiering the title track’s black and white spy-themed music video, which was conceived by Klane, directed by Harcourt and stars actor Mike O’Malley.
Watch it here:
“I didn’t want it to be Bond girl, I wanted it to be more like girl Bond,” Klane says, describing the clip’s direction.
Though the retro references are clear on Klane’s music, she says she’s needed to update the content rather than pulling a direct translation for revivalism.
“It’s not in line with what I feel a modern woman is,” she says of most her 1960s inspiration. “So I find that if I can take that sort of modern woman persona and put it into this filter that I love, it’s kind weird and creates its own thing. So we said we wanted something that was a James Bond-y vintage feel but for her to have a dark twist that engages that attitude.”