Ivy Mairi - Prayer
Canadian pop diva Ivy Mairi just released a new track, entitled “Prayer.” The track is from her forthcoming EP, Polarity, on Latent Records.
Ivy Mairi
According to Mairi, “’Prayer’ is about the early stages of grief and mourning. When you’re not yet ready to accept the reality of a great loss – instead, you pray for things to go back to the way they were. Then you send that prayer out into the ether.”
Produced by Kieran Adams, “Prayer” features the musical talents of Hugh Marsh (violin) and vocal accompaniment by Caitlin Woelfle-O’Brien of the Blunt Chunks.
Mairi lives on Ward’s Island, accessible by ferry from downtown Toronto. From a musical family, when she was a teenager she came across her mother’s old songbooks, which pulled her into the world of folk music. Unfamiliar with the songs, she composed melodies for the lyrics in the songbook. Later, she began writing her own lyrics.
In 2005, she hooked up with Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies fame. Their association led to Mairi’s debut album, Well You, a collection of songs written while she was in high school.
Although the melody is exquisitely beautiful, it’s the vocals that secure the song’s enchantment.
“Prayer” opens on syncopated percussion riding beneath surfacing synths. As the melody takes hold, the tune assumes a potently pensive flavor, colored by washes of undulating tones and darker accents. The flow of the tune is gorgeous, gossamer and elusive, yet compelling.
Mairi’s voice, soft and nuanced by smoldering passion, reflects timbres of dreams, idyllic yearning for the unattainable, like a musical petition to some unknown deity to transport her back to a time and place where she was happy.
As the harmonics swell, the tune exudes sheens of gentle, wistful textures, as glowing harmonies infuse the lyrics with beseeching hues. Although the melody is exquisitely beautiful, it’s the vocals that secure the song’s enchantment.
“Prayer” is a confection of pure elegance, undulating with supple pastel tones and radiant colors. Ivy Mairi more than has it going on.
