London – It’s difficult to pin Meniyka Kiravell’s music down to a single genre. The San Diego artist has concocted a sound that is part indie, part jazz-fusion, and part world music. What binds these influences is an ever-present, palpable sense of inspiration.
Kiravell’s debut album Vaudevillia! is a journey through her life as a seasoned traveller. Having seen over 40 countries in the space of a decade, Kiravell’s musical influences broadened from the cultures she immersed herself in to enrich her already curious mind: ”I was into everything I could get my hands on…I’d rock Alice Coltrane one minute and Tchaikovsky the next”. As well as enlarging her musical palette, Kiravell entered the world of healing and learned techniques from the people and places she encountered, including Bowen Bodywork which she used to ail her mother’s intense migraine pains. This life of worldliness translates into an eclectic melting pot on Vaudevillia!
The album doesn’t strike as being geared towards any particular demographic or listenership, but rather feels like an output of unabashed authenticity on Kiravell’s part, existing to satisfy nothing but her own creative urge. It makes for a refreshing listen: opening track Pache Mama – an ode to South American mythological goddess of earth and time, sets the album’s kaleidoscope of influences into motion. “You left impressions in my mind the way the wind sculpts grassy hills/You entered through the doorway of my mind like a traveller in the night – invited yet unexpected” Kiravell speaks over a plodding piano. Although not fully entering hip-hop territory, Kiravell’s words flow in such a rhythmic way that her delivery is certainly at least reminiscent of hip-hop – or perhaps more like poetry laid over music. The song shifts between a swaying three-four time signature and a samba groove, bringing a jazz-fusion element to the table.
Track three ‘Aladin’ is a sleek French number with an infectious groove. By now Kiravell has established the piano as her weapon of choice, an arrangement that endures across the album and crystallizes her sound. The second half of the record sees ‘Veiled Lady’ usher in strings for a much-needed mix-up of instrumentation before easing into ‘1st Light’, a “down-tempo, jazz-infused indie track about a love affair with the sea”, as Kiravell describes it. “Fog rises, misty morning/Birds in flight, you and me, first light”: the song’s lyrics tell of a spiritual connection Kiravell has with the sea, her deep respect for nature born from having surfed many coasts in her travels. One of the album’s more melodic moments comes in the form of ‘Mire’, which verges on string-adorned indie-pop rather than jazz before segueing into aptly titled final track ‘Wash’, a song of rebirth and new beginnings.
If this album says anything, it’s that Kiravell is a deeply spiritual person. Her poetic lyrics reveal just how intensely in touch she is with the world around her – a way of life that translates into a therapeutic, calming record. While Kiravell could benefit from experimenting with a broader range of instrumentation, Vaudevillia! is a solid debut that establishes her place as a promising indie jazz-fusion artist.
For more on Meniyka Kiravell visit her website: http://www.kiravellmusic.com
Julia Lamb
Latest posts by Julia Lamb (see all)
- Album Review: Meniyka Kiravell – “Vaudevillia!” - September 14, 2015
