Here’s an interesting proposition. Take a Canadian national whose genetic roots go back to Jamaica, France and the American Plains Indians and get her to record her classically-trained operatic voice in Bergen, Norway. Have her work with musical envelope pushers like The Quantic Soul Orchestra and TM Juke and my guess is you’d predict a demanding and intriguing end product. Clever you… Kinny’s ‘Idle Forest Of Chit Chat’ is both those things – and more besides. Here, young Kinny (born Caitlin Simpson) has crafted an eleven tracker that melds jazz, funk, tropical, pop, soul and electonica into a contemporary soundscape – given unity by her melodic, on-point vocals. Ms. Simpson reveals her intentions at the outset with the album’s title cut. ‘Forest Of Idle Chit Chat’ is a beguiling, half-spoken piece that sonically creates the atmosphere hinted at in the titling. A flavour here, maybe, of Erykah Badu – a flavour that’s more obvious on ‘Afro Love Forest’. The tough beats, vague vocals and mystical imagery have Baduism stamped all over them. Elsewhere Kinny offers funk (‘Back Street Lust’), exotica (‘Desire’) and jazz (‘Forgetting To Remember’) while on the very crisp ‘Damn’, the Canadian gives the Duffy/Winehouse brigade a real run for their collectives. Summer optimism is evoked on the Quantic Soul Orchestra-backed ‘Enough Said’ but the lady proves she can do edgy too on ‘Water For Chocolate’. Here, her gritty vocal contrasts sharply with the gentle guitar while extra counterpoint comes from collaborator Souldrop’s growled backing vocals. Kinny has recorded before… remember Kinny and Horne’s ‘Forgetting To Remember’? Here, though, she shows she can make it on her own… and that’s not idle chit chat.
(BB) 4/5
