Saturday Sessions: Karen Mal on writing songs

"I was a late bloomer, as a songwriter.

I never thought I had it in me, to be a songwriter. Sometimes I think part of that is because I had a classical music training. You’re examining these unbelievably wonderful pieces of music, and what can I possibly say that can compare, that hasn’t already been said? What I’ve learned about that is, it’s a little bit like the way DNA works. How is it possible that there are all these billions of people in the world, and nobody really looks exactly alike? The DNA code is not very big. There are thirteen tones in our musical scale,” Mal continued, “but when I started to realize that nobody else has seen the stories, the adventures, the experiences, the love, the losses, the friends, the tragedies, the visions -- just the stories that make up my life as I’m walking on this earth -- nobody has seen and experienced those things in the order that I have, at the time that I have, with the people around them that I have -- when you start to think about how many variables there are in just that, it starts to make sense that I might have a perspective that’s unique.

“I’ll never forget when I started coming around to that It’s about finding poetic, compelling, exciting ways to show people things that they are already thinking about. It’s really just about showing people’s humanity back to themselves, the love stories, the navigating through obstacles, the stories where people have difficulties and things to reconcile. We never get tired of that, of hearing those stories.” And, Karen Mal said, “songwriting is the hardest thing in the world I’ve ever done. But the best feeling in the world when it’s right and you know it. And then you’re sure you’ll never again write another song,” she added, laughing


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now playing: Karen Mal:The Space Between

The Space Between

When I was Three: that might, you'd think from the title, be a sentimental or perhaps funny song about childhood. In singer and songwriter Karen Mal’s hands, it’s instead a reflection of change, growing up and growing older, and looking back, that’s at once bittersweet and warm. Mal has a gift for that sort of duality: Suitcase Full of Memories adds a touch of humour to that sort mix as well.

This is the Austin based musician's third solo album. Her first was songwriter material and her second reflected her deep interest in Celtic music. Originals, both solo and co written, are the substance here, with a few covers and a traditional melody with Spanish lyric from Mal, called Te Acuerdo en Mis Suenos. There’s a nice snap of humor and a heat of sensuality in several of the songs, including Beaneath My Quit, A Sailor Returns to the Sea, and Everything About You. The title track found its start in a river rafting trip down the Grand Canyon, clearly a welcome ground for considering change, transition, and the space between all that. Mal sings in a light, crisp soprano, neither too sweet nor too dramatic, always in service of the song and always sharing the song with her listeners.

It took Mal a few career twists to find her home in folk music; among other things she spent a number of as an actor, and worked as a music director for theatrical productions. It’s all served her well on her way. “I hope I’m picking up some momentum now,” she says of her musical career. It’s well deserved.

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