N Kelsey brings out his inner Sufjan on insanely pretty “You Found Me”

“You Found Me” is taken from N Kelsey‘s debut EP, delta, officially out tomorrow.

N Kelsey is a folk singer-songwriter based in L.A. This year, he has put out a couple of impressive singles, both in a similar vein – fingerpicked guitar, introspective lyricism, and insanely pretty arrangements. Now, he is ready to unveil his first EP, delta, and we’re happy to premiere a song off it, “You Found Me”.

Like Kelsey’s previous singles, “You Found Me” is highly reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens’s early material. At its core, it’s a classic acoustic guitar pop song with a lovely melody and a simple, functional hook based around the guitar progression. It’s the arrangements that take it to the next level, from the little background synths ornamenting the instrumental track to the ad-lib inspired backing vocals. There is an impending sense of gloom to the song, as exemplified by the dark drone that ends up swallowing the rest of the recording by the end.

“You Found Me” was inspired by N Kelsey’s efforts to raise funds for foster youth in 2019. He quite literally ran coast to coast, raising money for the David Thomas Foundation by going from LA to New York by foot– feel free to Google Maps it; it’s a lot of miles. At the same time, he was going through some tough stuff in his life. “You Found Me” was brought about precisely by that struggle between remaining politically active and socially conscious while also caring for the people closer to us.