Our Pick - Kinnie Starr

Page 30

Artist - Kinnie Starr

Album - Sun Again

Song - Discovered

Label - Violet Inch Records

Producer - Kinnie Starr and John Raham

Thoroughly enjoyable, start to surprise finish

Eclectic is a word that's often used to describe an artist's musical style, but in the case of Kinnie Starr, the word is a perfect fit. The Vancouver-based singer/songwriter, whose heritage is a mix of Mohawk, English and Irish, grew up in B.C. where she attended French schools. She got her start performing rap and spoken word, and recorded her first two albums in a mix of English, French and Spanish.

Starr's unique style and talent have earned her recording contracts in Japan and Australia and her music has been featured in the soundtracks of television shows and movies. She's even added acting to her resume, appearing in the independent film Down and Out with the Dolls. And now, mainstream Canada has discovered her and she's up for the New Artist of the Year award at the upcoming Juno Awards.

Starr's third album, Sun Again, features the mix of styles she's become known for. In Starr's universe, rap and pop merge seamlessly, with a touch of jazz, funk and R&B thrown in for good measure. It also includes something you'd expect from an artist who got her start in rap and spoken word-well thought out, clever lyrics that don't pull any punches.

Whether she's singing or rapping, Starr's voice is wonderful to listen to and endlessly versatile. That versatility is showcased on this album. For the patient listener who doesn't turn the CD off as soon as they think it's all over, the last track, Sun Again, actually features two songs, separated by five minutes of silence. Wait and you will be rewarded with a hard-rocking version of Discovered, a song that appears earlier on the album in a much more mellow treatment.