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Krystle Warren

Seeing Krystle Warren perform for the first time is a striking experience. First, there is the utter improbability of it all: she shuffles onstage with little more than a low- key hello, and proceeds to sing with an effortless power that completely belies her tiny frame. Hearing her fill a crowded club without using a microphone… that’s a Voice. And then there are her vocal stylings, which feature a melisma as rich as that of Wonder or Hathaway, but put all of that technique at the service of music that has never heard such a thing—folk and country, songs influenced by everyone from Nick Drake to Joni Mitchell to Willie Nelson. But when you’ve gotten past the incongruities, you quickly begin enjoying her for what she is—a wholly original singer-songwriter-poet in an age of few.

One would expect, judging from Krystle’s honeyed voice and sophisticated lyrics, that she’d come from a long line of professional musicians, but that isn’t the case. Born and raised in Kansas City, music was casual in the Warren home, from her grandmom’s eight track tapes to the lullabies her family sung around the house, to a brief and much-hated stint in the church choir. She herself remembers starting to sing at the age of four, but it wasn’t until she saw an ABC special on The Beatles at age 13 that she really became passionate about learning and performing music. Krystle learned her first chords by ear from Rubber Soul and Revolver, and her musical horizons quickly expanded to include grunge (Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden), classic Brit Pop (The Kinks, The Who, The Faces) and even jazz, in particular Betty Carter, Nina Simone, Kurt Elling and even Mel Torme. With these diverse influences, it wasn’t surprising that she quickly developed a sound of her own.

At 17, Krystle took her fledgling songwriting skills out into KC’s thriving counterculture, befriending numerous avant-garde artists, from painters to street poets to singers, who gave her the support to move forward with her music. "I knew a lot of amazing people in Kansas City," Krystle recalls, “quite a few musicians and composers who were really into something new. Though I started in the singer/songwriter scene, I began performing in a lot of jazz spots when I was about twenty, and those folks were really helpful in my education."

While Krystle never perceived a glass ceiling on what she could accomplish musically in the Midwest, she did feel a growing wanderlust. “I could have gone anyplace, Austin, San Francisco; it didn’t matter much to me. I just wanted to see something new, and somehow that place was NYC. I did choke up a bit leaving KC—I’d never lived anywhere else. My very first night in NYC was thrilling, but after crashing on numerous couches in the West Village, I began to feel like I was in over my head.” Krystle eventually fell in with some jazz musicians, who she would share the stage with.

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Album Review

Krystle Warren: Three The Hard Way

Read "Three The Hard Way" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Diversamente da tanto neo-soul di plastica, che ti scivola addosso senza lasciare traccia, il nuovo disco di Krystle Warren prende alla gola. Confesso che prima di ascoltare questo disco non conoscevo la sua musica e l'effetto è stato stordente ma le ragioni sono chiare: anche se canta professionalmente da un decennio la cantante non fa parte dell'universo jazzistico. È una singer-songwriter che spazia dal soul al folk con somiglianze a Tracy Chapman} Nina Simone e Joni Mitchell. Ma quell'ambito è ...

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My Playlist

Krystle Warren

Read "Krystle Warren" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Singer-songwriter Krystle Warren was born in jny: Kansas City, and after spending several years in jny: New York City, moved to jny: Paris. In addition to important collaborations with the likes of Erykah Badu, Keziah Jones, Zap Mama, Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright, she has also released two EPs and two full-length albums with her long-time band, The Faculty. Her 2009 debut CD Circles, recorded with two-time Grammy-winning producer Russell Elevado at the Electric Lady Studios in ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Seven Bridges

Astral Spirits
2021

buy

Three The Hard Way

Parlour Door
2017

buy

Circles

Self Produced
2009

buy

Three Ruminations

From: Seven Bridges
By Krystle Warren

Fall Dog Bombs the Moon

From: Seven Bridges
By Krystle Warren

Videos

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