As the July temperature cools down and daylight battles night, I find myself at home with a simple dilemma. What’s for dinner? On a whim I top off some bread with olive oil, diced tomatoes and herbs, throw it in the toaster oven, and pour myself a glass of chilled Pinot… all performed to the sounds of Lions, Fires & Squares accompanying me in the background. That’s the title of the upcoming EP by the talented jazz vocalist, hip hop lyricist, spoken word extraordinaire, and smart chicks heavy hitter Carolyn Malachi. Starting with an African savannah-themed intro, the EP transgresses into the smooth, soothing, and romantic sounds of Orion, elevating lovers into a carefree flight, asking for more than just another relationship, yearning for something new, different, exciting, but most importantly genuine and righteous. The singing turns into a shower of words near the middle of the track, skillfully merging soulful vocals with strong lyrics, reminiscent of Floetry, but unique on its own right. The EP includes another remixed version of this track. Influences from her trip to South Africa can be heard with the upbeat track Textual, featuring the country’s popular rapper HHP (Hip Hop Pantsula, aka Jabba), and by the words in her lyrics on the Dumela track. Textual is a versatile, funky, party track with a masterful lyrical delivery by HHP that brings it home. Carolyn teasingly drops a hint of jazz by morphing one of the hooks into a vocal piece and brings it back to the normal hook we’re used to, thus covering peaks and throughs in this diverse musical wave. This track also has a more upbeat club remix version for the dance floor savvy. The mood shifts in Dumela, a very powerful and uplifting piece. It starts slow with Carolyn singing to a little girl going through hardship, then the vocals rise with words of empowerment and wisdom, molding the girl into womanhood. This track also gave me the interpretation of South Africa’s youth forging the country to a new direction, but that could just be due to such common themes in my blog posts, . Overall, this EP continues to be dynamic like her previous work. For those that are familiar with Carolyn’s past, you’ll notice that this production skillfully infuses jazz and electronic music. If asked about which track is my favorite, I’d have to go with Orion, but like any other Malachi production, this one leaves me anxious for more. A release party for the Lions, Fires & Squares EP will be held at the U St. Music Hall on July 30th at 7pm. Check Carolyn’s homepage for tickets and other details, and I definitely hope to see you there.
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