EP REVIEW: Proud – Ida Kudo

IDA KUDO packs a lot of serious messages into the five tracks that make up her new EP. The Danish-Japanese artist is keen to reconnect people with their inner struggles and to stand up to celebrate their integrity. Proud is the follow-up to her 2018 EP, Gold, and it comes after years of considerable success that have seen Kudo‘s singles used in several TV shows, appearances at multiple festivals, radio coverage, and even a support slot for STING in Austria. With Proud, Kudo champions female empowerment and the importance of believing in yourself.

There’s an almost jazz-quality to opening song The Power That Is Woman, which is an ode to womanhood. Whilst the backing vocals of “Hey! Hey! Hey!” do get a little tiresome after a while, the rest of the song is a wonderful ode to women, and the simple, minimalistic instruments allow the lyrics to take the lead. Unfortunately, the chorus gets quite repetitive towards the end of the song, making the empowerment seem hollow.

The initial message getting lost is an unfortunate issue that runs through this EP. On Let’s Rewild The World, the call to engage with nature is repeated before descending into a paint-by-numbers electronic beat. Whilst there is some hope in the end with a speech about not taming your wild side, it comes a little too late. The following title track is a catchy but slightly forgettable song. Whilst the message about being proud of where you come from is a good one, the electronic production means some of this is lost, especially when the track speeds up at the end.

Thankfully, Okina Nami rectifies this issue. The slow-paced instruments allow Kudo‘s voice to truly shine, whereas before it was buried in overambitious production. This carries on into closing song Tigerlily, which also adds some backing vocals to liven things up. It is a shame that it takes Kudo this long to find her stride, because the slow-to-medium-paced instruments really suit her voice, which is very good and unique.

Ultimately, Proud is a frustrating EP because Kudo‘s voice is fantastic and the last two songs are brilliant and are really unique in their sound and musical style. If the rest of the EP was like that, then it would be an engaging listen, but unfortunately the production on the first three songs let it down as it is rather scattered. Whilst there are some parts that fit, such as the jazz opening of The Power That Is Woman, there are other parts that do not, such as the electronic production on the title track. It is a shame because Kudo has a strong voice, but it is unfortunately overshadowed by production choices.

Rating: 6/10

Proud is set for release on April 19th via Nordic Music Society.

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