Kate Trajan is a gifted artist.
A quite gifted artist. It only took her nine tracks on her new album, Ancient Fires to sum up the peaks and valleys of her life journey. In just one record, Kate Trajan might be one of the best songwriters I've ever come across.
Imagine getting invited to poetry night by one of your friends. You don't want to go but decide to be a good friend instead. Some poets are good, and some are terrible. That's how it goes at most poetry nights. However, when Kate Trajan takes the stage she speaks so deeply you feel like she's talking directly to you. You start remembering things you felt and chronicle your own life based on the lyrics she breathes into you. That is what listening to Ancient Fires is like.
Ancient Fires is Kate Trajan's solo debut. It is a jazz-pop (and a little folk) album from a Canadian artist that gives me an Alanis Morissette feeling, yet goes further. This album is like Norah Jones with attitude. It's like Fiona Apple with less trauma. It sounds like a more talented Natalie Imbruglia or a young Nelly Furtado before Timbaland showed up.
The song Ancient Fires is the third single from this record, Ancient Fires. The first two were No One To Dream About and Amazon's Dilemma which are great titles for great songs. Ancient Fires (the song) is described by Kate Trajan as the following:
An emotional tribute to the bittersweet experience of parting with her first love.
Based on what I heard, Kate Trajan has left many towns many towns many times. It's the pain that brings out the love. As many great songwriters attempt, Kate always starts her songs off with an excellent starting line like: "We stop by the water where we've kissed a hundred times. Kill the lights and let the engine die." Not only can I see this, I can feel this. I've been in that situation. The song Ancient Fires is a song about leaving. Kate has to get out so bad she'll "rip right through your embrace like a caged-up cat that's gonna dig her claws in." That is an incredible line and a universal feeling.
I don't know how many singles Kate and Pastiche Records are planning, but I hope they have at least three more. I would love to hear the poppy sounds of This is the Life the thoughtfulness of Ode to the Moon, or the sadness of Am I A Fool which starts with:
There is no Glory in this morning... ...Rising before the light. Working so hard for something uncertain Giving my body in the days of my life. Am I a fool for dreaming so high
I've been there too. I think Ms. Trajan's songwriting skill is amazing. Every song crushes the first line before drawing listeners into an incredible chorus. That is what we should expect from an artist who has traveled the world in the name of becoming a better musician. Kate Trajan went from various towns in Canada to the UK to the Netherlands, always growing her piano and vocalist skills. She once worked with the Afropean Choir under Anita Daulne of Zap Mama (IYKYK).
Kate Trajan is an Artist with a capital A. I look forward to more listens of Ancient Fires and anything she puts out next. With this debut, Kate Trajan has shown an honest side of herself that most musicians want to show regardless of how possible that might be. Hopefully, the rest of us will find our way there.
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