Dutch and Indonesian singer-“soulwriter” Kia Knoester is an artist based in Los Angeles whose soulful sound and memorable timbre is ready to be heard. Much like her own mixed heritage, her music is a blend of various genres: a base of neo-soul with a strong emphasis on pop and touches of jazz, funk, hip-hop, and R&B. Kia’s music has been described as “deep and hypnotic” (Buzz-Music LA) and the “upper echelon of today’s soul wave” (Xttrawave).
Kia has written and recorded for productions like the soundtrack of Netflix’s animation movie “Fearless,” the web series “Hard Medicine,” G’Day Productions’ “Honoring Liam Hemsworth and Helen Reddy” and “Standing Together,” the upcoming movie “Help! I Shrunk My Friends,” and the series “The Madam$” and “The Walkers.” This year she received her first American Award, the NAMM President’s Innovation Award, and became a top finalist at the IMSTA songwriting competition and a semi-finalist at both the International Songwriting Competition and Unsigned Only Songwriting Competition.
Kia received her undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance with honors from ArtEZ Jazz & Pop Conservatory in Arnhem in The Netherlands. She later pursued an academic semester in Songwriting at the Cornel School of Contemporary Music and received her Master’s Degree in Commercial Music Performance from the California State University in Los Angeles. Some of her previous mentors include Izaline Calister, Michael Indart, Jessica Vautor, Carla Hasset, Abraham Laboriel, Paul de Castro, and Oscar Hernandez.
California College of Music is proud to offer Kia’s expertise in contemporary vocal performance, songwriting, and artist development to our students.