Kimaya Diggs manifests patience on new single 'Everything is Not Lost'

Kimaya Diggs felt happily surprised when her second album “Quincy” received positive feedback during its release last March. She didn’t know what the future held after the pandemic canceled her lineup of shows, and this LP meant she had finally returned to a better place. But her initial joy was quickly overshadowed by overwhelming imposter syndrome.

“I felt like I didn't really deserve it that much and had this insecurity crisis after it came out, even though it was also really wonderful to get it out,” said the 31-year-old Easthampton singer-songwriter.

So she decided to write a song about it which became “Everything is Not Lost,” a lyrical manifestation that all good things meant for her will find her eventually. The soul pop single was released on Friday, July 5.

Diggs explained that it has more of a “dancey vibe” than her other music. She co-produced the track with her husband Jacob Rosazza and brother-in-law Caleb Rosazza. Diggs also recorded with Jacob Rosazza on bass; Caleb Rosazza on guitar and engineering; Reed Sutherland on keys; Jake Edwards on drums; and Naomi Nye, Lexi Weege and Emma Pauline on vocals. Chicago-based saxophonist Sen Morimoto and New York-based Melanie Charles flutist have featured solos.

In the chorus, Diggs sings, “Everything is not lost/ It just needs time to be found.”

“I wrote these lyrics to remind myself and anyone who listens to it that you can be working really hard right now, and you can not be seeing the fruits of your labor until later,” she said. “But patience is so key and you really have to bet on yourself.”

Diggs speaks from experience. She funds her own projects without the backing of a label or management team.

“Sometimes it gets me down, and I'm like, ‘I wish I had all these resources that other people had,’ because I have so many ideas that I want to bring to life,” she said.

In spite of feeling discouraged, she decided to shoot self-portraits for her “Everything is Not Lost” promotional material on a Fujifilm camera she purchased with a grant from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. She also took photos of a pastel retro heart cake she ordered from Cross’s Confections, a Connecticut bakery she found on Instagram, as the track art.

“I made the conscious decision to shoot all the album, all the single art, myself just to remind myself that I have everything I need,” she said, “and that I can create abundant art with the resources that I have.”

“Everything is Not Lost” allowed Diggs to rethink her creative process and better understand her motivations for becoming a musician.

“It helped me reprioritize how I want to be a band leader and an event producer and an artist,” she said. “I think back to where I was when I wrote this just about a year ago, and I feel really satisfied with where I am. I feel a lot more confident. I feel able to stand in my artistry and trust the slowness of the process of making art.”

Kimaya Diggs will perform at Antenna Cloud Farm in Gill, Massachusetts on Saturday, July 6.