Faces of Matrescence

Soma Saloli’s new EP ‘Faces of Matrescence’ marks a striking evolution in her artistry. Her signature ethereal sound always has had a Celtic inflection with her landscape-driven storytelling, but her music now reflects the imprint of a decade spent living on the island of Ireland. Fiddle arrangements and vocal ornamentation come to the fore, combining with her distinctive, atmospheric style.

She has also widened the emotional and thematic reach of her music. In this collection Soma Saloli has turned her deft lyricism and unconventional compositions toward a societal critique of the turbulent times we live in. Written in the years leading up to her becoming a mother, the songs took on a different meaning after the birth of her son. Motherhood was found to already be threading through every track, at times as an ode to her own mother, at others an invocation of Mother Earth.

What emerges is a dual portrait. On the one hand a social commentary on a world in a state of unravelling, from the political polarisation, forest infernos and covid pandemic that are treated in The Sun Is Setting on the West, to climate emergency and those working to address it described in Love and Lift You Up. But listened to from a different angle the songs reveal nods to the indescribable depths of motherly love and devotion, as well as the self-sacrifice and anguish, and a terror at what we are handing down.

The Sun Is Setting on the West — Soma Saloli’s most overtly political song to date was written during the first lockdown of 2020. Expanding on a central refrain that first came to her a decade earlier, she shaped the song as a meditation on a world in turmoil, reflecting the upheaval of global politics, the devastation of widespread forest fires, and the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic of that year. In the years since, its resonance has only deepened, taking on an even sharper poignancy in light of our present global challenges.

Love and Lift You Up – Inspired by her collaboration with UN Climate Change in her role as a graphic recorder, Soma Saloli wrote this song in the wake of attending three years of high-level climate negotiations. Weaving in phrases she heard spoken by delegates during those meetings, this song channels a deep sense of purpose she felt in supporting the people engaged in some of the most urgent work of our times.

This Is Where My Power Lives – Soma Saloli and her friends spin a line once spoken by her mother into a moving silken fabric of soothing instrumentation and ethereal choir arrangements, in an attempt to distil in song the bond between a mother and daughter. Recorded and produced over three summers, and now remastered, this song is a tribute to the marvel of a mother’s love.

Soma Saloli Main vocals & Guitar
M’Gilvry Allen Strings
Kiran Young Wimberly Background Vocals
Fra Sands Recording & Editing
Joshua Eaves Percussion, Mixing & Mastering