Manny King John
As an abundance of new musicians hastily emerges every week, it can be exhausting to keep up with all of them. With social media becoming a prominent outlet for self-expression and egress, many artists use it to epitomize who they are as a person and engrave their presence. Though most of us are appreciative of an artists’ transparency and explicatory through their online interactions, the same values are just as appreciated through their music.
For singer-songwriter Jasmine Karinova, the message is louder than the music. The Amsterdam-based multimedia artist released her debut album ‘From the Womb’ on April 4. While there is little information about Karmiova out on the web, her personal Instagram profile gives more insight to the mysterious artist. Born in London to Russian parents the talented artist is based in the Netherlands and fluent in four languages. The elusive singer exemplifies to all those attributes of her life and more on the ten-track album. A multifaceted maestro, Karimova also painted the cover art for this album (how cool is that).
Also on her Instagram, the artist discusses details about the one of the album’s single ‘Mother’ saying,’ “one thing in the world can’t be taught, and that’s feeling. It’s because of that that when one is feeling, one is most honest. When it comes to expressing music, art, dance that’s the truest form of feeling…that’s what saves me.” Karimova also has a TEDx Talk from 2015 where she expounds upon the concept of emotions and how we pilot them. A story of one’s own emotions supported by dulcet homespun tunes, ‘From the Womb’, is an intimate ride. Introspective lyrics, a collection of warm and energetic tunes, Karimova shows her range. On songs like ‘Eggshells’, ‘Little Love’, ‘Blue’ and ‘6 feet under’, a slow, melancholic, and somewhat bluesy aura comes across. On ‘Swallow or Spit’ and ‘Daddy,’ Karimova shows her warbling abilities with flexible range coexisting with jingles of acoustic guitars and vociferate chords. The track ‘Glazami I Dushoi’, is sung in Russian. Although I have no clue what she may be saying, the foreign tongue sounds effortlessly graceful.
The mysteriousness of her is amped even more with her refreshing yet haunting counterpoise. Showcasing ominous vocals, a flexible range, and straightforwardness, the new artist, has an unequivocally authentic style while evocative of Fiona Apple and PJ Harvey.
Emotional roller coasters are not easy to navigate. Everything short of an ostentatious personal narrative ‘From the Womb’ is our first date with Karimova’s candid, passionate, and relatable artistry. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of her pure guile. ‘From the Womb’ by Jasmine Karimova is available on all streaming services.
