Kindness is
Adam Bainbridge, an artist whose three proper albums under the alias --
World, You Need a Change of Mind (2012),
Otherness (2014), and
Something Like a War (2019) -- have refined and mutated an intimate yet inclusive form of art-pop informed most by post-disco R&B. Although
Bainbridge writes, produces, sings, and plays several instruments, they have been keen to spotlight collaborators (such as
Kelela,
Robyn, and
Jazmine Sullivan), and have in turn been sought to contribute to recordings by numerous peers, including
Solange's Billboard 200-topping
A Seat at the Table.
Bainbridge has also championed their inspirations as a DJ and documentarian, and through sampling, with songs by
Trouble Funk,
Cherrelle and
Alexander O'Neal, and
Todd Rundgren among their sources.
Originally from Peterborough and based in East London,
Adam Bainbridge was the tour DJ for
Test Icicles. Then known as Jitset,
Bainbridge also remixed the band's "Catch It" and tracks by
Damn Arms and Lo-Fi-Fink. They first recorded as
Kindness in the U.S., as the recipient of a fellowship at the Philadelphia Institute for Advanced Study. During their month-long artist residency, they made Live in Philly, circulated on MP3 and a limited quantity of CD-Rs. Like every subsequent
Bainbridge project, it involved numerous guest musicians, most notably
Kurt Vile and
Natalie Mering (aka
Weyes Blood).
Bainbridge's first commercially released recording, an atmospheric and galloping dancefloor version of
the Replacements' "Swingin Party," followed two years later on the
Moshi Moshi label.
Bainbridge then set up the Female Energy label and signed to major-label Polydor, with releases in the U.S. licensed to Terrible and Casablanca. The singles "Gee Up" (originally the B-side of "Swingin Party") and "Cyan" led to the 2012 release of
World, You Need a Change of Mind, an album co-produced, engineered, and mixed by French house catalyst
Philippe Zdar. The next year,
Bainbridge continued a long-term association with ex-
Test Icicle Devonte Hynes as a contributor to
Blood Orange's
Cupid Deluxe. Minus the involvement of Polydor and
Zdar,
Bainbridge resumed activity as
Kindness with the self-released 2014 LP
Otherness (supported in the U.S. by Mom+Pop), on which they were joined by Hynes,
Robyn, and
Kelela. Between their second and third full-lengths,
Bainbridge lent crucial support to
Solange's
A Seat at the Table,
Robyn's
Honey, and
Blood Orange's
Freetown Sound and
Negro Swan. Their
Zdar-mixed
Something Like a War arrived in 2019 with
Bahamadia,
Robyn,
Jazmine Sullivan,
Cosima, and
Seinabo Sey all on-board. ~ Andy Kellman