Kat Harlton
Photo: Nick Mora / provided via artist
Montreal-based artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist kerri recently released his new LP DON’T PANIC, on June 27 via Nettwerk. The 17-track project marks his third full-length release, following 2021’s QUEEN CITY and 2023’s Finish What You Started.
After confronting bitter truths and emerging stronger on Finish What You Started, Kerri takes a more uplifting and self-soothing approach on DON’T PANIC. Part of this shift stems from his growing platform and a newfound awareness of the power in his words. With over 10 million streams across DSPs, Kerri’s music has reached listeners around the globe. But for most of his career, he downplayed this influence. DON’T PANIC marks an awakening—a body of work with a clear, heartfelt message that reflects what he truly wants to share with the world.
I had the opportunity to chat with kerri about his new album, his musical journey so far, and what’s next.
Kat: Your new album DON’T PANIC dropped June 27 — what’s the story behind the title, and what message are you hoping listeners take from the project as a whole?
kerri: I literally just kept writing the phrase to myself in a journal, or on a sticky note on my computer for like a year. The reason the album exists was to soothe me through grief and a long breakdown. I felt uncomfortable and unsafe in my own skin so many times. Still do. I was lost for a long time. I had to learn a lot of new life skills and reshape my world view. I think this desire to have fun again led me down the right path. I want listeners to feel what I felt making it – a step towards peace and how worth it is to give yourself time and space.
Kat: “DISAPPEARING” is the lead single from the album, can you tell us what inspired that track and how it fits into the larger narrative of DON’T PANIC?
kerri: I think DISAPPEARING is most representative of where my head was at coming into this project, almost 1.5 years ago. It’s gentle, but it’s colourful. It’s subdued yet passionate. It was also really fun to make because I was just beginning to experiment with hardware, and this started as a jam with drum machines and a tape echo. In a way making this song laid out a lot of the traits I adopted for the sound palette of the album.
Kat: You’ve had placements on Spotify editorial playlists and syncs like Bel-Air, how have those moments helped shape your growth as an artist and producer?
kerri: They’re very eye opening in the sense that they make me realize new ways my music can be approachable. I usually assume everything I do is too weird in some way, yet I’m often proven wrong.
Kat: Your music blends indie R&B with a really distinct emotional depth and experimental edge, how did you develop your sound, and who are your biggest influences?
kerri: I think I took a lot of influences I found throughout my journey learning to make music. At a young age I was into ambient electronic music like Burial etc., and then as I grew older, I became very attached to alternative singer-songwriters and their production choices like James Blake / Frank Ocean / Steve Lacy / Mac DeMarco etc. I developed my sound by tinkering for years with random tools I’d pick up along the way. Eventually certain things stuck.
Kat: You’ve recently performed on ‘On the Radar’ and did a Red Couch session, how do you approach live performances versus the studio?
kerri: In a live setting, I find my music comes from a much more grounded place, and I always try to embrace that when I perform. I really like artists whose live versions aren’t necessarily like the record. It breathes this life into the work I really appreciate.
Kat: There’s a strong visual element in your work, can you talk about the concept for the “DISAPPEARING” video?
kerri: DISAPPEARING came from this need I felt to represent a closed in, uncomfortable worldview, while having explosive emotions. It’s very vague with its setting but I always thought of it like a man coming home from a breakup and dealing with regret.
Kat: What’s your process like when working with other artists, and what makes a collab feel right to you?
kerri: Honestly, it’s literally just becoming friends to me. Not that I can’t work with someone I wasn’t “friends” with, but why would I want to? I like music to be natural, like a conversation. They go best casually with people who trust each other.
Kat: Looking beyond DON’T PANIC, where do you see your sound going next? Are there new directions or experiments you’re already exploring?
kerri: I have been exploring & experimenting. I feel a maturity growing in my writing and in my production choices. I can’t wait to keep pushing the sound. I wanna get really organic & really inorganic at the same time.
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