I’ve been keeping an eye on Sirintip since 2019, when I saw her perform solo opening for The Reign of Kindo at a small club in Salt Lake City, UT. I was impressed with her dynamic as a vocalist, as well as her unexpectedly appealing blend of pop, jazz, rock, electronic, and progressive music. I brought her first album Tribus home with me, and it’s made regular appearances on my turntable in the years since.
This October I was pleasantly surprised to see Sirintip’s second full length release Carbon appear online. Simply put, it’s everything I hoped to hear from her and more. Carbon contains 13 tracks, each of which would stand on its own as a strong single. The music is complex, yet never overbearing. Her vocal production is incredible throughout, but the haunting lyric-less vocal/synth interlude “1.5” is a highlight for me. Sirintip has a long history of associating herself with world class musicians (including members of Snarky Puppy), so unsurprisingly, the instrumentals on this album are absolutely top notch. The single “Plastic Bird” in particular showcases the rhythm section’s subtle intricacies, and features stellar flute work from award winning Jazz artist Alex Hahn.
This is all impressive on it’s own, but I haven’t yet mentioned the coolest part about Carbon – the creative process. To do the story justice would take pages upon pages. To be brief, Carbon is the result of 3 years of climate research, and self discovery which led to her decision to produce an album that encourages “A new kind of conversation around climate action.” Several of the songs incorporate musical approximations of climate change data. For example, the track “1.5” uses temperature change statistics to create a sonic map of the path the earth has taken in recent decades, and where we’re headed.
Overall, the message of Carbon doesn’t come off as a heavy handed call to action. Rather, it feels more like a hopeful examination of facts that encourages the listener to think realistically about their place in a changing world.
Carbon is available now on all streaming platforms as well as Bandcamp and Sirintip’s website.
Proglodytes 