Benjamin Ingrosso released a single titled “Kite.” This song boasts catchy melodies, a high energy level, and feels like someone put effort into selecting sounds rather than opting for the current template of trap drum/lofi pop. I believe the lyrics pass by very easily, but the song is designed for easy listening, so I'm not really upset with that. The story goes, “I’m a kite and I get high on you, it’s the real thing, I fall in love," etc. Most lyrics are simple like this but have some little themes that set them apart from each other (kite, flying high, hitting the sky), all working together.

I think the most important thing with the song, for a run-of-the-mill pop song like this one, is that the phrases fall in the correct places rhythmically. You can really mess up a good track fast if you don’t know WHEN to sing. Of course, you also have to know how to hit the notes; that is taken for granted. I think Benjamin does all this well. For me, this song is annoyingly catchy. Every time I find an annoyingly catchy song, I am both impressed at the writers who can completely invade my nervous system but also angry at the song itself. However, I think most people will undoubtedly feel good from listening to this song, so I’ll remain happy and complacent, giving praise to the creators.

The co-producers on this track consist of the duo Vargas & Lagola and Jon Shave. There isn’t much info about Jon Shave, other than he is Grammy-nominated and contributed to a good deal of nice tracks. Vargas & Lagola, however, are their own artistic duo, stemming from a line of reputable musicians in their home country of Sweden. They are very appreciated in their home country. I have listened to a few of their songs, and it is hard to find exactly where they contributed to "Kite" by Ingrosso. But I can say one thing for sure: they know how to make catchy stuff. So that probably has something to do with it. They can also take writing credits after writing for artists such as Madonna, Katy Perry, Salem Al Fakir, Vincent Pontare, and many more. So there is no doubt that they know what they are doing. Vargas & Lagola is made up of Vincent Pontare and Salem Al Fakir, who both have their own successful solo careers behind them, co-writing songs for acts like Avicii.

I don’t think this song is much of anything groundbreaking, but if you like pop with organic sound choices and a little bit of a punk/soul vibe to it, you might find some interest here. You often hear pop critics speak about how easy it is to make pop songs and make it in that world. “They just use the same four chords,” “All the songs are about love,” etc., etc. Give me a break. Firstly, consider how many songs are released every second with people trying to succeed. Consider pop music as one of the if not the most competitive genres anyone can try to produce music in. In order to craft and release a pop song that is expected to reach some level of success, it takes the experience of years and years of working up to that point. It does not matter whether you say some people that release pop songs do not actually write, produce, or record their own songs, therefore making my reasoning invalid. Behind those artists that get autotuned, ghostwritten, and “factory produced,” there is still a factory with really capable people. In the case of "Kite" by Benjamin Ingrosso, the artist himself actually also has a very sharp musical mind. So credit where credit is due, to everyone involved in the writing of this song.

Author: Peter Källman

Peter Källman is a writer from Sweden who loves playing in bands, writing reviews and going to live shows!