Feature Friday: Kindness Feat. Robyn – Who Do You Love?

What initially felt like a cool mix with some nice lyrics ended up hiding a lot more under the surface. This song came into my consciousness at the end of Robyn’s set at the Hollywood Palladium– her first solo show in LA in about eight years. I couldn’t have been happier to be there, and was singing back at her full-force, word for word, until the very last song. This wasn’t one that I was familiar with. Admittedly, I don’t harp on every collab she puts out, and sometimes I forget to circle back to them before they get lost in the ether. This was one of those times, and I’m glad she brought it to my attention as she danced around stage blowing two-armed kisses back as us after the dance-a-thon we’d all just experienced together.

I would later become obsessed with this track, and tunneled further and further into it, ultimately finding an article written back in 2014 about the track and how it came to be. In short, Robyn and Kindness (Adam Bainbridge) were partying in Stockholm, and ran into some kind of disgruntled figure wandering the streets. Drunkenly, Robyn sprung into therapist mode and began to untangle the guy from the emotional web he was struggling in. He was pissed at humanity. He didn’t get them and they didn’t get him. Robyn wanted to know more.

Ultimately the three of them ended up having a late-night jam session with the guy (also a musician, evidently) in an after-hours guitar shop of sorts. After which, Robyn and Kindness thought to document the encounter, and abstractly profile their new friend, or anyone who can’t seem to break through social barriers to relate to others.

“He couldn’t make a connection, despite the best of intentions. Out there looking for meaning. Something good to believe in.”

I saw Robyn three times this year, and went to two of Kindness’ own gigs. After seeing it performed five times, it still holds its effect. It’s a story that most of us could probably relate to at one time or another. It can speak to people with intellectual disabilities, or somebody new in a country, or a person recently out of a relationship who has to rebuild their social circle and support system. Ultimately we all want to connect, relate or just feel normal. One path to self-discovery is to boil it down and really evaluate who’s important and who we need around us to feel whole. Who do you love?