Finding strength in tenderness and catharsis in her confessional songwriting, Maldivian-raised, London-based musician Zami Yazeed pushes through doubt and emerges as a more resilient artist on her upcoming EP, Release. Set to be shared later this year via Village Live Records, the six tracks that form her debut record are poignant reflections on love, shame, autonomy and resistance, all underscored by her considered instrumentation and smooth, emotive vocals.
“The world can be cruel, my darling” Zami earnestly muses on ‘Rest’, the EP’s opening track. Her compassionate acknowledgement is personified through her gentle, atmospheric guitar strums and sympathetic lyrics, both of which lull listeners into a state of calming bliss. This is a feeling that underscores all of the tracks on Release, with Zami’s affecting vocal acting as a benevolent guide through any uneasy or painful sentiments. This is especially true of following track, ‘Conversations I’ll Never Have’.
Her delicate blend of romantic guitar tones, soft percussion and beautiful, lilting string instrumentation and melancholy saxophone notes – which gradually builds to a rush of majestic sound – provides the cathartic release of the imagined ‘Conversations’ Zami alludes to in the title. By blending elements of folk, jazz and traditional Maldivian music, her narrative-led songs manage to simultaneously flow in both a deeply personal and poetically universal vein. Her clear ear for melody also aids this admirable combination. This skill shines through again on ‘Redhan’. Named after a Bioluminescent Plankton in the Maldives, Zami sings in her native language of Dhivehi here. The track is a rumination on homesickness and the healing power of nature, with the yearning quality of her voice transcending any need for direct lyrical translation.
Zami is at her most expressive towards the end of EP. On ‘Guilt’, she asks “and what is love? If it’s not freedom?” – dwelling on the unease of unresolved feelings in the aftermath of a breakup. The penultimate track ‘The Sinner’s Song (Live)’ feels like a companion piece, with more of Zami’s delicate, yet full-bodied instrumentation enabling her to express the complexities of her emotions, as well as continuing to impress listeners with more of her rich vocal range.
Despite it’s somber sound, eponymous track ‘Release’ is a poignant way to bookend a record that has clearly been crafted with great care. It’s refreshingly short too, clocking in at just two minutes and thirty seconds. As a whole, Release is a record that allows Zami to contemplate the troubles that have prompted her writing, and through her genre-blending sounds and vulnerable, yet assertive voice, hopefully it has afforded her the space to resolve them too.
Release will be available to listen to later this year.
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Kate Crudgington
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