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So I wrote this when Karen's latest EP was released, but my computer broke down and it never really went anywhere at the time. Hopefully KD won't mind me popping it here... (PS if any 'facts' are fiction, the fault is mine alone).
For Karen David, acting is not the only fruit. And for music lovers, they will find a banquet to devour and surfeit.
The ingredients are as international as her make up - born to a half Chinese/Khasi mother and Chennai father, in Shillong, India, in the shadow of the Himalayas; growing up in Toronto, Canada; now living in London, UK. This collection sees a global mash up of border crossing traditionalism and diversity, adopting a central poise that links a plethora of musical time zones. There is no fear of delving into another country's musical heritage.
The opening salvo "Magic Carpet Ride" reaches the full sense of the dramatica, a swirling Eastern mystic showstopper which brings the Technicolor Bollywood slipstream to (usually) dreary grey London skies. As a homage to Dum Maro Dum (a hit Indian Hindi song from the 70s for Asha Bhosle), it draws striking strings in short bursts, cut from marble, and the lush classical guitar flourishes of Niki Mukhi take you ever higher.
Previously featured on her 'Alive EP', and here re-recorded with the Inklein Quartet, "Carry Me Home" will always be as romantic as a setting sun. The instrumentation positively shivers, with a tabla so calm and sedate there are moments when your heart stops. Karen's voice flows as naturally and refreshing as a mountain stream, her vocals slipping through the music. Genuine inflections and trepidation and tenderness, not afraid for her voice to break with a verisimilitude lacking to most. No forced Byzantine emotions nullifying enjoyment, or faking empathy a la Whitney or Mariah. Unadulterated sensory honesty.
To the purest pop moment, "All I Need". For which we don't need big bouncing beats, just classic cherishable piano overlaid with Kylie sensibilities. Indeed, it was co-written with Jonas Quant before he moved on to work with that very antipodean pixie. The opening and recurring "ahh ahh ahh", ultimately creating the backing track, leads to a soulful wish. The confusion of a beginning, a future.
The final tracks share an autobiographical slant, stealing a glance back to the awkwardness of youth and the disaffectation of place, of belonging. "Pink Glasses" realises the discomfort of being different, and yet marginalises those fears with the tempered dampened gypsy flavoured guitar of Kiris Houston. It's like a busker's lullaby, able to draw a crowd on any worldwide street through universal perception, and a vocal as exquisite as the most extraordinary birdsong.
"Shillong Shillong" is a paean to her homeland, her roots. Swinging between paranoia and respect, loss and understanding, the hop & skip & jump guitars move like a stone skipping water, leaving exultant ripples, tracing your senses between mind & heart & home.
Sometimes, the blackest hole can be the brightest star.
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