Blums Turns Inner Chaos Into Art-Pop Gold on “Sinking/Soaring”

Blums, also known as Kelsea Feder, is a musician based in Brooklyn who has a remarkable talent for transforming intangible feelings into something tangible. Her music captures the essence of a world in decline while presenting an art-pop fantasy that strives to break free from its cyclical nature. It conveys the sound of our inner turmoil, expressed through melody, texture, and an emotional electricity that is always in motion.

Feder’s first full-length release has been a long time coming, shaped by years of sharpening her technical instincts across the New York scene. Along the way, she’s played and sung with fellow fixtures including fantasy of a broken heart, May Rio, and Shallowhalo, all while moving through a slow, deliberate recording process with co-producer Kirk Palsma. The result is a body of work that feels like a collage of selves — every version of Feder gathered, layered, and finally allowed to speak at once.

Now, that journey reaches a major milestone. Feder has officially signed to Brooklyn-based indie label Take Care Records, and she’s marking the news with her debut single: “Sinking/Soaring.”

Winding and weaving through the cyclical nature of self-torment, “Sinking/Soaring” captures the vertigo of living inside your own thoughts — the way the mind can become both stage and trap. Inspired by Feder’s stint working as a jazz club hostess, the track is laced with mellow vibraphone and delicate keys, gradually building into a melodic spiral that feels equal parts intimate and unravelling.

Arriving alongside the single is an official music video directed by Ava Burka and Marianna Kamiaklioyis. Set inside a hazy, disillusioned world of dilapidated houses and glamorous performances, the visuals move between high highs and low lows — a dreamlike contrast that mirrors the song’s emotional swing.

Speaking about the new song and video, Feder shares, “The song comes from a place of being trapped in the head, self-obsessed, miserable, tormented by loneliness, and disgusted because I was aware my problems are so small compared to the world at large. I wrote this in 2019. The previous year I was working as a hostess at a jazz club so I feel like I had a lot of that in my head, or at least the image of ‘jazz singer.’ I was living with Sasha Berliner, a dear friend of mine and a jazz vibraphonist. She plays some vibraphone on this track (as well as keys), and when I was stumped on where to go I played it for her and she gave me the perfect missing chord for the 2nd and 3rd choruses. Kirk, my incredibly brilliant producer, had me write out certain syllables of each word and sing them in different melodies to do this incredible, weird effect at the bridge, freaky genius style.”