Provocateur, rapper, and singer – poet, pundit, speaker, songwriter/producer and beat maker. Kinnie Starr is a woman of many talents; a trusted guide and fearless explorer. The Juno award-winning producer has been creating raw, intuitive material for nearly 20 years, and now she is thrilled to share her latest offering – From Far Away (via Aporia Records). Set for release on September 30th, the 10-song album sees the Sechelt, BC-based artist continue to cross genres, straddling the lines between folk, rap, art-pop and poetry. Have a listen to the infectiously poppy single, Summer Day, and don’t miss her on tour across Canada this fall (dates below).
Starr’s familiar and extraordinary voice provides the back-bone to From Far Away, provoking an evolved conversation around the contemporary politics of love, sex, media, identity and, more urgently, the misuse of fresh water here on planet earth. A truly self-made album, Starr wrote, engineered, and recorded all of the material herself, as well as performed all of the instruments. The record flows effortlessly from melancholy acoustic songs such as the album opener, Touch The Sky, and the title track, into driving, R&B-fueled numbers like Auto Space Praise, and the politically-charged environmental anthem, Save Our Waters.
“The most interesting part of my job as a recording artist is to try and create work that summarizes something relevant,” Starr recently said to !earshot. “I use rap forms and folk forms to try and communicate what I’m interested in, which is primarily the health and well being of people, and that spills out into the health and well being of the environment we occupy. Water comes to the forefront pretty quickly in the conversation.”
No stranger to the stage, Starr is looking forward to getting back out on the road this fall for her first cross-Canada tour in many years. In addition to shows from Ontario to BC, Starr will be joining David Suzuki in Ottawa and Victoria on his Blue Dot Tour – a project bringing together Canadians from all walks of life to protect the people and places they love. The goal of the tour is to work with community leaders and groups, local governments, First Nations, musicians, writers, legal experts, as well as local, regional and national initiatives, to ensure all Canadians have access to clean water, fresh air and healthy food – issues that Starr has felt passionate about, and has been an advocate for, for many years. www.kinniestarr.ca
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
August 15 – Dunster, BC – Robson Valley Music Fest
August 23 – Lund, BC – Atomic Heart
October 2 – Kelowna, BC – Habitat
October 5 – Calgary, AB – The Gateway (SAIT Campus)
October 7 – Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre
October 8 – Regina, SK – The Exchange
October 9 – Saskatoon, SK – Capitol Music Club
October 15 – Toronto, ON – The Rivoli
October 16 – Kingston, ON – The Mansion
October 17 – Ottawa, ON – Centrepointe Theatre – BLUE DOT TOUR
Event info: bluedot.ca/events/evening-david-suzuki-ottawa
November 6 – Vancouver, BC – Fortune Soundclub
November 7 – Victoria, BC – Farquhar Auditorium (U of Victoria) – SOLD OUT – BLUE DOT TOUR
Event info: bluedot.ca/events/evening-david-suzuki-victoria
November 18-21 – Montreal, QC – Festival Mundial
Vandala Magazine 
A little note from her Twitter – @KinnieSTARr
“I am in the 5% of music producers globally that are female. I write my own beats and make minimalist art pop/rap/folk. I also play chess. And cook. And eat.”
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