Kiravell - Vaudevellia!
I’m going to
get right down to brass tacks with Kiravell. She’s put so much information
about herself on her website and in her bio, it’s possible that she’s already
said it all. She’s certainly had an interesting life; born and educated in
Michigan, bitten by the travel bug and visited over 40 countries before
returning to the United States due to family illness. She’s a lover of jazz, a
bit of a hippie moonchild and, for the purposes of this article, a purveyor of
interesting and unconventional indie jazz fusion music. Is she the next M.I.A.
or Santigold? Perhaps not, but she is an artist with an edge and an interesting
take on whatever media with which she chooses to work. In the case of her debut
album Vaudevellia!, those media are
visual, musical and very, very verbal.
Kiravell released the first few tracks of Vaudevellia! on Soundcloud in the popular “one song per month” format, and each song has its own corresponding album art, either painted or designed by Kiravell. There is a description about her inspiration and where she was in her life at the time each was song written by Kiravell and a music video starring Kiravell. She definitely does it all, though she is not without her collaborators, and she is happy to give credit to those who helped her realize her vision on Vaudevellia! The full album released July 27 and contains four more new songs. She calls her music largely jazz-based, but it’s a very unconventional form of jazz and incorporates many other styles and genres, including Kiravell’s own unique, quirky indie style.
Vaudevellia! opens with “Pache Mama,” an ode to the earth which is mostly rapped. Don’t sneer, she’s pretty decent. At first the lyrics are more of the spoken word/slam poetry style, led by a sort of halting jazz piano and with flashes of a sort of quirky bossa nova-style Latin jazz. “Charge,” the next song on the newly compiled album, has a similar piano melody. In general Kiravell’s piano style seems to be quite sparse, but this seems to be on purpose to highlight her vocals and lyrics. In “Charge,” we get a better sense of Kiravell’s vocal timbre which is dreamy and sort of dissonant, adding to her indie cache. This piano and Kiravell’s delicate yet unconventional voice will most likely become her signature characteristics, but in no way should audiences expect a certain formula from Kiravell. Do-wop, trip-hop, rock, blues and reggae style all work their way into Kiravell’s highly evocative, personal and sentimental work.
Kiravell’s lyrics are another aspect of her work that is clearly important to her. She seems to really want the point of each song to come across to her audience and to feel the things she felt when she wrote the songs. Her lyrical compositions are not specifically meant to tell stories but are nonetheless evocative and relatable. In Pache Mama, for example, she is talking to the earth in parts, discussing the dire condition the earth is currently in, and urging her (mother earth) to find peace in spite of all the stress. This can translate to any woman who might be going through stress; the need to find peace amidst chaos is a struggle many to which many can relate.
Vaudevillia!isn’t quite as kooky or unconventional as works by some of Kiravell’s contemporaries, and the album begins to sound a bit homogenous by the end. Kiravell has a unique piano playing style, but she doesn’t vary it much and so despite her sound being unconventional and different, it can start to sound a bit samey by the time is closes. That said, her sound is rich and her multimedia approach to her releases will most likely keep the creative approach flowing throughout her career. I would like to see her a little less verbose on s
Some of the explanations in order to let the audience interpret the songs and relate on their own level instead of being told, but the directionin which Kiravell seems to be taking her work is fresh and interesting and should serve her well in the future.
Jul 31 2015
Kiravell released the first few tracks of Vaudevellia! on Soundcloud in the popular “one song per month” format, and each song has its own corresponding album art, either painted or designed by Kiravell. There is a description about her inspiration and where she was in her life at the time each was song written by Kiravell and a music video starring Kiravell. She definitely does it all, though she is not without her collaborators, and she is happy to give credit to those who helped her realize her vision on Vaudevellia! The full album released July 27 and contains four more new songs. She calls her music largely jazz-based, but it’s a very unconventional form of jazz and incorporates many other styles and genres, including Kiravell’s own unique, quirky indie style.
Vaudevellia! opens with “Pache Mama,” an ode to the earth which is mostly rapped. Don’t sneer, she’s pretty decent. At first the lyrics are more of the spoken word/slam poetry style, led by a sort of halting jazz piano and with flashes of a sort of quirky bossa nova-style Latin jazz. “Charge,” the next song on the newly compiled album, has a similar piano melody. In general Kiravell’s piano style seems to be quite sparse, but this seems to be on purpose to highlight her vocals and lyrics. In “Charge,” we get a better sense of Kiravell’s vocal timbre which is dreamy and sort of dissonant, adding to her indie cache. This piano and Kiravell’s delicate yet unconventional voice will most likely become her signature characteristics, but in no way should audiences expect a certain formula from Kiravell. Do-wop, trip-hop, rock, blues and reggae style all work their way into Kiravell’s highly evocative, personal and sentimental work.
Kiravell’s lyrics are another aspect of her work that is clearly important to her. She seems to really want the point of each song to come across to her audience and to feel the things she felt when she wrote the songs. Her lyrical compositions are not specifically meant to tell stories but are nonetheless evocative and relatable. In Pache Mama, for example, she is talking to the earth in parts, discussing the dire condition the earth is currently in, and urging her (mother earth) to find peace in spite of all the stress. This can translate to any woman who might be going through stress; the need to find peace amidst chaos is a struggle many to which many can relate.
Vaudevillia!isn’t quite as kooky or unconventional as works by some of Kiravell’s contemporaries, and the album begins to sound a bit homogenous by the end. Kiravell has a unique piano playing style, but she doesn’t vary it much and so despite her sound being unconventional and different, it can start to sound a bit samey by the time is closes. That said, her sound is rich and her multimedia approach to her releases will most likely keep the creative approach flowing throughout her career. I would like to see her a little less verbose on s
Some of the explanations in order to let the audience interpret the songs and relate on their own level instead of being told, but the directionin which Kiravell seems to be taking her work is fresh and interesting and should serve her well in the future.
Jul 31 2015
Off label
Official release released by the artist themselves without the backing of a label.
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