With her heart in jazz music and her head in formal composition, Kim Anderson has a range of sonic influences. The composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist grew up in New York City before attending the New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied music composition. But her education didn’t end there; from conservatory, Anderson jumped to studying rhythmic percussion traditions under Ivory Coast-based master drummer and dancer Vado Diomande’s Kotchegna Drum and Dance Company. With her vast knowledge of sounds and stories, the title of Anderson’s debut album, Yarrow, a reference to a widespread but delicate flower found all over the United States, feels fitting.
“Yarrow thrives in fields and by roadsides, often in neglected corners of our landscape,” Anderson explains. “In a way this describes the mood of the title track and album perfectly—the characters in my songs, whether autobiographical or fictional, reside in the forgotten corners, dusty avenues, and dreamlike vistas that I’ve encountered while traveling through the strange patchwork quilt of North America.”
And Anderson’s music doesn’t simply find inspiration in the natural world; it also helps take care of it. The album, due out on April 6, will be released on Biophilia Records, a socially and environmentally conscious record label that asks each of its artists to donate time to volunteer work. Get a sneak-peak at Yarrow’s jazzy, organic sounds with the album’s titular track, streaming now.
Yarrow track listing:
1. Yarrow
2. By The River
3. Emily
4. Easy
5. The Fig Tree
6. White Water
7. Letter
8. Meteorites
9. The Arriving
10. Praying At Night
