Kara Jackson: A Harmonious Fusion of Genres and Emotions
The Ascending Star of Chicago's Music Scene Releases Her Debut Album
Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of Kara Jackson, Chicago's Poet Laureate and gifted singer-songwriter, as she seamlessly blends folk, country, and alternative music with her deeply touching lyrics. With a keen sense of sarcasm and an uncanny ability to craft elegant metaphors, Jackson has created an intimate and unique sound that demands your attention.
Eagerly anticipated, her debut album "Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?" is set for release on April 13th via September Recordings.
From the very first note of "Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?", it was apparent that Kara Jackson was poised to become a musical sensation. Her album provides a poignant soundtrack to the love lives of young Black women, each track beautifully unfolding before our ears. With her velvety voice, Kara masterfully navigates a range of emotions throughout the album, creating a deeply engaging experience for the listener.
Each song on this album weaves a tale, capturing a distinct emotion and carrying the listener on a soulful journey. As I reached track seven, "Free," I found myself holding back tears, realizing that I had become a character in Kara's story. The music's resonance allowed for a sense of healing to wash over me as I surrendered to its power.
What sets this album apart is its unique perspective: the exploration of love through the eyes of a Black woman who embraces folk and country genres. Kara skillfully incorporates her experiences as a Black woman into a sound that resonates with a wide audience. This is a truly exceptional work, and it wouldn't be surprising to hear her music featured in box office hits, given its emotional depth, vibrant character, and richly textured sound.
ABOUT KARA JACKSON:
Kara Jackson wants to be dangerous. Wielding her voice like a honey-coated blade, Kara crafts a blend of emotional folk music and poetic alt-country. With the radical honesty of Nina Simone, and the intricate lyricism of Fiona Apple and Joana Newsom, Kara’s writing blurs the line between poetry and song, demanding an attentive ear and a repeat listen.
Raised by country folk and Black feminist poets like Gwendolyn Brooks and Lucille Clifton, Kara’s songs have the softness and warmth of a southern drawl, while still being sharp enough to cut deep. Born and raised in Oak Park, IL, a community 10 miles west of Chicago, with a Southern sensibility imbued by their parent’s background, her innate talent was unlocked early on honing her skills for music and writing from a very young age. At five years old she began piano lessons; she later taught themself guitar and eventually her passion for poetry took full force during high school. It was then that she began to be appreciated as the Black Queer polymath that she is, earning the prestigious and coveted honour of being 2019’s National Youth Poet Laureateand releasing her debut EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart in the same year.
In her poem the world is about to end and my grandparent are in love Kara ruminates: “when the world ends will it suck the earth of all its love? Will i go taking somebody’s hand?”, and it’s these same themes that she explores on their EP A Song for Every Chamber of the Heart - a four track tender offering of acoustic meditations on love and desire.
Kara wrote and recorded the original demo in her childhood bedroom during the early days of the pandemic, drafting lyrics in bed and singing into a mic propped up on her dresser. From there she enlisted close friends and fellow artists Nnamdi, KAINA and Sen Morimoto to re-record the demo and help shape the production. It feels fitting that this song about love and relationships was created with a tight-knit group of musician friends in a time of such uncertainty and loss.
As a songwriter, Kara fuses her poetic sensibilities with the rich musical heritage of her family’s Southern roots. Her voice is a river of molasses tumbling over gently plucked guitar. Sparse acoustic moments and soaring string sections create space for Kara to use the full architecture of her voice, with clear high notes and devastating low tones.
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It takes a masterful artist to know how to break the right rules, and Kara’s songs subvert expectations in the most rewarding ways. Her storytelling is stacked with vibrant imagery and lyrics that feel like part journal entry, part breakup letter, part prayer to a lost loved one.
The artists Kara admires most are also “people who drink and talk shit,” people who experience life fully as a part of their creative practice. How lucky we are that Kara pays such close attention to her life, to her heart, to the people and places most dear to her. The magic of her debut release is in its ability to carry listeners through the most trying emotional depths, so that we arrive on the other side somehow wiser and more new.
Listen To Kara Jackson On Apple Music
