Kita Alexander rises from tragedy on “Against The Water”

We first heard from Kita Alexander back in 2015, when we premiered her single “Like You Want To.” Since then, the Australian singer-songwriter has released a handful of stellar pop songs, including 2019’s heart-racing “Between You & I” and her 2017 breakout “Hotel.” What was going on behind the scenes, though, was far from the dream that appeared on the surface. In 2015, Alexander’s partner, pro-surfer Owen Wright, suffered a traumatic brain injury that left both he and Alexander reeling. It led to Alexander refocusing her life. “Being there for Owen [in his time of need] was really important to me, because what is life if you don't know what's important to you?” Alexander asks The FADER. “I was working as hard as I could on music whilst wanting to be at home with my partner, who just went through what he went through… it’s about priorities.”

A few years on, Alexander is finally ready to explain the suffering she and Wright went through with “Against The Water,” a new single and video premiering above. “I wrote this song really close to [Owen’s] injury,” Alexander explains of the track. “I didn't know how I was feeling until I just got into the studio and it came out. I was like, ‘Oh, this is where it's going.' And I actually did learn a lot about myself when I wrote it.”

An emotive, mid-tempo tale of struggle and survival, “Against The Water” complicates the carefree image Alexander has projected with her music to date. But as with everything she’s made, it was still a labor that centered her loved ones. When deciding how the final mix of the song should sound, she turned to those close to her for some impromptu guidance. “[Some friends and I] all had a big night in Hawaii, and Owen was like, ‘Kita, play both versions,’” Alexander explains, “And as soon as I played the version that it is now, everyone was quiet, jamming along … afterwards, everyone was like, ‘The first one.’”

Listen to “Against The Water” above.