Emerging from the vibrant music scene of Leeds, England, Taro Kinard is a multifaceted artist whose creative vision spans songwriting, mixing, and mastering. From an early stage, Kinard demonstrated a deep curiosity for music, blending diverse influences into a style uniquely their own. Drawing inspiration from eclectic artists such as Will Wood, Lemon Demon, Tally Hall, The Kinks, and Madilyn Mei, Kinard’s music fuses theatrical flair, narrative lyricism, and melodic ingenuity. Taro Kinard’s journey as an artist is defined by both personal exploration and technical mastery. The EP “Ragged” represents a culmination of self-taught skills in production, mixing, and recording, reflecting Kinard’s commitment to taking full ownership of their creative process.
By recording most of the EP in their home studio, with select sessions at the iconic Old Chapel Studios, where bands like Kaiser Chiefs have crafted their music, Kinard cultivated a sound that is simultaneously intimate and polished, bridging personal authenticity with professional precision. Kinard’s artistry is deeply autobiographical, rooted in the challenges of growing up in a broken household and navigating an unstable home life. This personal lens informs their songwriting, resulting in music that is honest, relatable, and emotionally resonant, connecting profoundly with listeners who share similar experiences. Released on November 7th, 2025, “Ragged” is Taro Kinard’s introspective exploration of vulnerability, resilience, and the emotional complexities of growing up in a fractured environment.
The EP delivers a raw and authentic soundscape that blends electronic textures, lush synth layers, and carefully crafted vocals, creating an atmosphere that is at once reflective and immersive. The project’s title, “Ragged”, encapsulates both the emotional turbulence and the quiet perseverance embedded in Kinard’s personal narrative. As the artist reflects, the music embodies the philosophy of Scott Joplin: even high-energy pieces are allowed to unfold at their own pace, just as life’s experiences are best embraced thoughtfully. Across the EP, Kinard invites listeners into a world of introspection, allowing them to confront fragility, find solace in imperfection, and move through the emotional terrain of the songs at their own rhythm. “Ragged” is more than an EP, it is an intimate conversation, a sonic diary, and a testament to Taro Kinard’s skill as both an artist and a storyteller, offering listeners a deeply personal yet universally resonant musical journey.
Ragged EP Track List:
My Friend In Death:
“My Friend in Death” by Taro Kinard unfolds with an atmosphere that feels both delicate and unsettling, creating an immediate emotional imprint that sets it apart within Ragged. The opening moments are quiet but heavy, built around a somber instrumental palette that moves like a slow exhale in a dimly lit room. Subtle melodic lines drift in and out, giving the song a ghostly stillness that mirrors its title. The textures are sparse but intentional, soft echoes, restrained chords, and a muted rhythmic presence that doesn’t push the song forward so much as it suspends it in a fragile emotional state. This careful emptiness becomes part of the storytelling, drawing the listener into a world where companionship and mortality coexist, where comfort is found in the shadows rather than the light.
As the song progresses, the arrangement deepens in a way that feels like a confession. The vocals take on a raw immediacy, delivered with a blend of weariness and tenderness that shapes the emotional architecture of the track. Every phrase is weighted, as though each word is being pulled from a place of memory and hurt. The instrumental layers thicken gradually, gentle percussive pulses, expanding harmonic beds, and subtle harmonic swells that feel like thoughts rising to the surface. The interplay between voice and instrumentation becomes a dialogue, with the music often answering the lyrics in soft, melancholic tones. The progression is fluid, carrying the listener deeper into themes of loss, acceptance, companionship through darkness, and the strange intimacy of confronting one’s own fragility. The song avoids melodrama; instead, it embraces a quiet, piercing honesty that allows every emotional shade to be felt.
In its final moments, “My Friend in Death” reaches a reflective poignancy that lingers long after the last sound fades. The closing section brings the instrumentation and vocals into a gentle convergence, no explosive climax, but rather a subtle unfolding that feels truthful to the emotional intent. The production allows space for silence, letting the meaning of each line resonate as the arrangement softens. This gradual dissolution mirrors the song’s thematic core, capturing the uneasy peace that comes with acknowledging difficult truths and learning to coexist with inner shadows. The ending feels like a breath held and then released, leaving behind an atmosphere of quiet acceptance. “My Friend in Death” stands as one of the EP’s most introspective and haunting pieces, a beautifully crafted meditation on vulnerability, companionship through pain, and the gentle, fragile ties that bind us to the darkest parts of ourselves.
Its Me Again:
“Its Me Again” by Taro Kinard opens with a warm yet slightly shimmering sonic palette built around a catchy synth lead that immediately defines its emotional tone. The introduction is guided by soft, pulsating synth pads, shaping an atmosphere that feels intimate but subtly energized. These electronic textures create a glowing backdrop, giving the track a modern alternative feel while still preserving the emotional fragility that runs through the EP. Beneath the synths, gentle ambient layers and faint electronic chimes rise and fall, adding a reflective sparkle to the early moments. This combination makes the opening feel like a quiet re-entry into familiar emotional terrain, wrapped in a soft electronic haze that mirrors both vulnerability and self-awareness.
As the song develops, more layers join the arrangement, including a smooth but steady electronic drum pattern that guides the pacing without overwhelming the introspective tone. The drums, made up of soft kicks, lightly textured snares, and subtle hi-hat ticks, build a rhythmic spine that keeps the song grounded as the emotional intensity grows. Supporting the rhythm is a delicate bass synth, providing warm low-end movement that complements the lead melodies. Additional secondary synth lines weave in during the chorus, creating a slightly fuller and more expressive sound. The vocals sit comfortably above this instrumental blend, and the interaction between voice and synth gives the track its push-and-pull feeling of emotional hesitation versus emotional release. Every element is placed thoughtfully, allowing the song to breathe while still offering a catchy, modern edge.
In its final stretch, “Its Me Again” maintains the same steady, synth-driven atmosphere that shaped its emotional core from the beginning. Rather than leaning back or softening into a quieter reprise, the song retains its continuous pulse, those warm pads, the glowing melodic lines, and the steady electronic rhythm all carrying through with unwavering consistency. The production keeps the momentum intact, allowing the emotional thread to run smoothly without breaking its stride. What changes is the way the textures gradually dissipate, like mist thinning rather than fading abruptly. The synths release their grip slowly, the drum pattern pulls away with gentle restraint, and the lingering melodic echoes dissolve into a final wash of sound. This seamless dissipation gives the song a natural, almost atmospheric conclusion, preserving the emotional continuity while letting the listener drift out of its world. In this form, “Its Me Again” ends not with retreat, but with a steady glow that gently slips from the speakers, leaving behind a quiet and resonant imprint.
Ran Myself Ragged:
“Ran Myself Ragged” by Taro Kinard unfolds with a smooth, flowing elegance built almost entirely on its lush synth architecture, giving the track an immediate sense of emotional weight wrapped in electronic softness. From the very beginning, the song glides forward on smooth-sailing synth layers that feel warm, expressive, and deeply atmospheric. These tones carry a subtle soulful undercurrent, lending the track a gentle human warmth beneath its electronic sheen. Intertwined with this is a faint game-like sonic texture, a playful, digital shimmer that introduces a nostalgic, exploratory feeling to the mix. Beneath the surface, tiny heartbeat-like rhythmic pulses throb quietly, creating a sense of internal motion without ever dominating the space. This careful restraint gives the opening its floating, immersive quality: a soundscape that feels alive, emotional, and suspended between softness and tension.
As the song progresses, the synth layers expand into a more expressive, almost cinematic flow, guiding the track’s emotional arc with subtle but constant movement. The different synth voices, some airy and luminous, others deeper and more textured, blend into a dynamic current that keeps the listener engaged even in the absence of strong percussion. The rhythm here is unpredictable and fluid, shifting in small waves rather than following a fixed pattern, which mirrors the emotional instability implied by the track’s title. The vocals drift across this shifting foundation with a tone that feels introspective and slightly breathless, as though the narrator is being carried by their own momentum. The interplay between the smooth synths and the vocal expression creates a sense of emotional drifting, running, searching, and unraveling, all without the music needing to accelerate or explode.
In the final stretch, the rhythm begins to take clearer shape as the long-delayed percussion finally steps in, adding texture without breaking the track’s airy flow. The drums enter with a light but intentional touch, giving the song a late boost of structure while allowing the synths to remain the emotional centerpiece. The dynamic rhythms become more pronounced, dancing unpredictably around the melody and intensifying the sense of internal restlessness. Yet even with this late rhythmic arrival, the song never loses its smooth sonic identity; instead, the newly introduced percussion acts as a release point, giving form to the underlying heartbeat that had been present from the start. As the track dissolves, the synths continue their gentle glide, gradually thinning out like light fading through fog. The result is an ending that feels both lifted and worn, an atmospheric, soulful drift that captures the emotional exhaustion and quiet persistence at the heart of “Ran Myself Ragged.”
Ragged by Taro Kinard is a hauntingly intimate EP blending vulnerability, resilience, and lush electronic textures into profoundly relatable storytelling.
Taro Kinard’s “Ragged” EP is a profound and deeply personal exploration of vulnerability, resilience, and the emotional landscapes shaped by a turbulent upbringing, masterfully blending introspective lyricism with rich, atmospheric production. Across its three tracks, Kinard demonstrates a remarkable ability to balance technical proficiency with raw emotional honesty, creating a listening experience that is both immersive and relatable. From the haunting intimacy of “My Friend in Death” to the warm, reflective synth-driven textures of “It’s Me Again,” and the flowing, cinematic emotionality of “Ran Myself Ragged,” the EP captures the nuances of human fragility and perseverance with care and precision. Each song unfolds at its own pace, inviting listeners to engage fully with the narrative while reflecting on their own experiences of struggle, self-discovery, and quiet triumph. For those seeking music that resonates on both an emotional and sonic level, “Ragged” is an essential listen, an evocative, meticulously crafted work that rewards repeated listening, offering moments of introspection, catharsis, and emotional connection, and solidifying Taro Kinard as a rising voice in the contemporary music landscape whose artistry is defined by honesty, creativity, and heartfelt storytelling.
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