Andrea Kristin Touches Upon Spirituality and Overcoming Oppression on Debut Album 'BROWN KOHINOOR'

The Mangaluru-born, London-based artist's music is informed by hip-hop, R&B and soul

- DAVID BRITTO

Although multi-faceted art-ist Andrea Kristin was born in Mangaluru, she spent only three months there before her parents moved to Riyadh and then to Dubai. Kristin returned to Mangaluru for high school and is now currently based in London. From being part of her church choir to scribbling down lyrics whenever she got the chance, she tells us that she’s always wanted to pursue music. “I was seven when I made my first song. I used to put on these little concerts for my family, depending on whatever artist I was obsessed with that month,” she says.

Kristin began releasing music in December 2019 on SoundCloud. Her first track was titled “RED.” “It was a little indie song, basically bedroom production, and since it got a good response, I was encouraged to start releasing professionally,” she says. The artist followed “RED” up with more tracks and also began integrating rap music into her R&B flow. Now, Kristin is out with her 11-track debut album, BROWN KOHINOOR.

In this interview with Rolling Stone India, the artist breaks down her album for us, talks about her future plans, and more.

When did work on your debut album begin and what do you recall from the writing process?