Kristin Paulse is KRISTN, South African born, Tāmaki Makaurau based but currently a resident of Australia where she’s exploring numerous opportunities and contracts in the entertainment industry over the ditch. New single Lowkey is R & B blue-blood. Absolute royalty in this genre.

Boasting a fey TLC vibe, a la No Scrubs backbeat as a mood-dictator, with a vocal that would turn the eyes of Macy Gray, Gabrielle and any other in the genre bright green, this single absolutely screams monster hit. With such a distinct vocal, the fashion sense and overall look and demeanour of the lady, and this… ahem… low key, yet commercially astute melody, this song is genuinely right up there with the best.

It’s theme is the lady is in control in this relationship – or not-relationship, as it transpires. While fella-me-lad wants more, she’s happy to keep it on the low key (see what she did there?), friends with benefits kind of thing. She’s bemoaning that when it’s the lady who dictates this sort of thing, the resultant comments are not usually as complimentary as the bloke would get. Unfortunately this is still true in too much of our society. All power to the ladies, and I do not say this facetiously. Good on KRISTN for turning the subject into such a sure-fire hit to be. Messages like this are a positive – even if the subject is about something some folks could get uptight about, so you go lady.

The very sleek, slick and stylish video has some excellent choreography and visually it’s exciting due to the challenging energy KRISTN herself brings as the leading lady. She’s got the looks, she’s got the clothes, she’s got the moves, she’s got the sound. This is a complete R & B package, and for me this is the best of a very good bunch of her releases I’ve been lucky to review. About the vid, from the EPK: For the self-produced project, KRISTN once again teamed up with Melbourne-based production company Rogue Antechinus, who she has produced her two previous videos with.

The production team was made up of director Murray Enders, cinematographer Garrett Eckerson, production designer Garth Ernstzen, production assistant Majd Alsania and unit stills May Alsania. “I really love the work we accomplish together,” says KRISTN, who also worked with some other talented creatives on the video. ”Lucky for me, my really good friend and The Voice Australia Finalist, Ezra Williams choreographed and features in the video, alongside Whakātane-raised dancer Briain Dixon – who I was put in contact with through mutual friends in Australia. It was a really fun and sweet Kiwi reunion.”

This is another one that’s going to do well with the DJs, either in the summer resorts or at weddings, parties, all sorts. The dance stations all over the place should pick this up – and it has to get on TV with the quality of the video on offer. When R & B is done well, it’s hard to beat. KRISTN has delivered an absolute belter of a single, and we’re going to be seeing more and more of this highly talented lady as she’s getting better and better.

HUUUUGE thumbs up!