Sparklmami’s debut record In This Body invites us into a lush world of reverie, nostalgia, and possibility. Across nine songs, we’re immersed in a gorgeous pastiche of cascading vocal runs and breathy sighs, golden saxophone improvisations, and twinkling drum beats. It’s a sound that pulls from myriad places: the glimmering, verdant jazz made in 1970s Brazil, the open-hearted Mexican boleros she grew up listening to at home, the whimsy of Indian singer Runa Laila, and of course the improvisations and ideas of her bandmates [Eddie Burns (Executive Producer, Drums), William Corduroy (Executive Producer, Bass), Alec Trickett (Percussion), Josh Jessen (Keys, Synths) and Kenneth Leftridge Jr. (Saxophone)] .
But it’s Sparklmami’s imagination that really drives the record, especially when she revisits her early life equipped with the wisdom she’s acquired in the years since. Singing in both Spanish and English, Sparklmami dives into the murky and wondrous world of her childhood memories. Whether she’s recounting a surreal dream of a man hugging the house to the point of breaking it on “It Was 5 AM” or bearing witness to a loved one’s pain on “Fajas,” she conveys a sense of emotional turbulence and surreal childlike perception while also singing with the poise, understanding, and nuance of a grown woman.
In This Body is a record rooted in connection: in deep love for your community, your musical collaborators, and yourself. But it’s also one of undeniable loss. “When I made this album, I was figuring out so much on my own while still grieving my past,” she says. “People with unresolved pain and grief can’t help but pass it on. To love is to grieve, to grieve is to love.”