Hannah Kirby
Dallas, TX | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF | AFM
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Press
That a singer-songwriter from the Upper East Side of Texas does well on TV talent shows almost isn’t news anymore. That she doesn’t do country music may be more unusual but doesn’t matter. For Sulphur Springs’ Hannah Kirby, a top-eight finisher on “The Voice,” even defining a genre is difficult. So she calls her first CD of original music “alternative pop-rock.”
The CD is Fire in My Soul. All 10 songs are the singer-writer-fiddler’s own.
The consistently solid songs are emotional, delivered with confidence and a sometimes tendency — widespread these days — to show off Kirby’s voice (or perhaps just using what she’s got) and often heavy production (which is the way radio likes songs). The songs, beginning with the cautionary “I’m Not Juliet,” are about love and caution and fear and being brave and lost-or- losing that love: “You may be Romeo / but I’m not Juliet / I won’t take the poison . . . Love is a thing sent from up above.”
That opener is as close to country as Kirby gets, with a bit of blues tossed in. “Short Days, Long Nights,” which is more soul, also might slip into the edges of modern country: “my heart knows you don’t love me / but my mind tries to pretend.”
Half of the rest of the songs fit that broader alternative pop-rock label: faster, more aggressive, heavily instrumented explorations of sometimes ragged relationships.
“Mercy” could be a Christian song — Kirby’s many influences include contemporary Christian musician Carman as well as Bob Dylan and Loreena McKennitt — or another rocky relationship: “You didn’t believe in me / I didn’t know it was I who’d forsaken you.”
In the more haunting “Will You Stay with Me,” Kirby sings “You would drown the world just to save me / and I would drown us to save the world.”
Fire in My Soul ends with a fiddle-and- piano dominated instrumental, “Honor,” a pretty, gently coming down from the fast-paced power songs, with Sarah Masat-Holmes adding piano to Kirby’s fiddle.
Dave Walser recorded, mixed, and mastered eight of the songs; Joshua Silverberg mixed and programmed two. An assortment of instrumentalists added piano, acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, upright bass, drums, organ, and accordion.
Kirby was recording Fire in My Soul before “The Voice” came along but, she said, “Basically, nobody was even going to know I recorded an album. I had like only 50 followers on Twitter, and social media is so important for musicians today. The whole reason I tried to get on the show was exposure and, for me, it was like mission accomplished. Now I have between 20,000 and 30,000 followers.”
That’s a following that’s pleased with the fire in Kirby’s soul. - County Line Magazine
Hannah Kirby and band
Do you watch The Voice? Do you remember that epic battle during Season 8 between Nashville’s Sarah Potenza and Texas’ Hannah Kirby?
I’ll leave a reminder below but, the point being, I was recently blessed with the opportunity to interview Hannah Kirby.
She has a new album titled Fire In My Soul and, folks, this fire burns bright and long through 10 songs of awesomesauce genre blending.
The soulful and powerful vocals of a small town Texas girl fuses with the best elements of rock, country, folk, blues and some pop appeal to create something that sounds as classic as it does modern. In other words, Fire In My Soul is timeless music.
We have a review of Fire In My Soul coming soon but keep scrolling to learn more about Hannah, the new album, and life after The Voice. (She has a dedicated following in Brazil!)
What should listeners expect when clicking play on Fire In My Soul?
Fire In My Soul isn’t 10 songs that sound the same. Listeners won’t get bored with my album! All the songs are relatable, too. You’ll definitely find a song that makes you say, “I know exactly what you mean!”
You were working on the album prior to becoming a finalist on The Voice… how did the album change or evolve after your experience on the popular show?
I was holding back a little before. I was thinking that I needed to please the people I thought might buy the album.
While on the show, I worked so hard to show people what sort of artist I am through cover songs. When I got home and was able to work on my original music again, I knew I had to make the songs 100% me.
I decided that whether people bought the album or not it had to be true to who I am as an artist!
With the album released and a solid group of musicians supporting you, what’s in the works for Hannah in 2016?
I’m playing shows and trying to spread the word about the album!
Has the music industry been any easier to navigate since being on The Voice? Have you been able to take advantage of the momentum from being a finalist?
Well, not really! I will say that being on the show reinforced my desire to keep my career as independent as possible.
As far as momentum, I had about 50 Twitter followers when I went on The Voice, now I have almost 20k! The show helped me build a fan base and the fans are what give me my drive!
The people who make it aren’t copies of the stars that came before. @iamhannahkirby
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What was one of your favorite memories from your time in the competition?
My favorite memory was definitely performing “Shout” by Tears For Fears. I love that song! I suggested the song and the outfit I chose got approved. That performance was completely me!
What was the last song you listened to?
The Story off of Runrig’s new album, they are an incredible Scottish band!
Hannah Kirby performing
Where can we connect with you online? Hear more music?
Everything you need to know about me as an artist is on hannahkirby.com and you can follow me on Twitter @iamhannahkirby, same handle on Instagram and then there’s my musician page on Facebook.
On my YouTube channel you can listen to clips of the songs from Fire In My Soul. Just search my name and the album title. The album is available for digital download on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon. The physical copy is available on hannahkirby.com.
Any last thoughts? Words of wisdom? Shout outs?
If you have a way you want your music to sound, go with it. Through my journey so far I’ve been advised to follow a formula, to mimic what is popular so that my music will be, too.
However, the songs that stay with us are the songs that sound a little bit different. The people who make it aren’t copies of the stars that came before. Play the music you love, incorporate any styles you want, and don’t let yourself be constricted by genre.
Visit Hannah’s website and grab your copy of Fire In My Soul - Joshua Smotherman
Discography
After The Voice, Hannah immersed herself into what she's always wanted to do - record, produce, and publish her own original album Fire in My Soul. The album dropped Dec. 2015 and has been a media buzz ever since.
Putting her first record album together was a project Hannah Kirby took seriously.
She and Walser, formerly of Beatlegras and a well-known producer spent a lot of time in the studio before she was ready to put her stamp of approval on the 10-song record. “I had to listen all the way through to make sure the song order was right,” the 21-year veteran of “The Voice” confessed. “We spent hours upon hours going through it.” And Kirby wouldn’t have it any other way.
She can’t imagine just showing up, singing her part and turning the tracks over to someone else. “The thought of making a record that way is kinda icky,” she admitted. “I enjoy doing all of the fine tuning.” When she got the tracks where she wanted them, she took them out to her car and listened. If it was right out there, she felt like she’d “landed on it.”
Kirby, who grew up in Sulphur Springs, wrote all the songs on the record, including “I’m Not Juliet,” her first attempt at being a wordsmith.
You’ve got your love/hate relationship
You’re such an oxymoron
You may be Romeo,
But I’m not Juliet
I won’t take the poison,
And I will not take the blade
Quit throwing roses at me
Capulet is not my name
Kirby’s hoping the tune’s catchy rhythm and 2:55 length will earn it some air time on radio.
“Short Days, Long Nights” has a driving Southern rock feel, while “True Love” would fit into the set list of a big arena show. The acoustic “Will You Stay With Me” lets Kirby show off her considerable vocal talents. She seems to stretch and bend her sound at will as if it’s no big deal. Kirby says she can’t just sit down and write a song. She has to be inspired. She was reading Dante’s “Inferno” when she wrote “Light.”
Light, tremble under light
My dear does it hurt your eyes?
When darkness lays so softly on your eyelids
It is a temptation I know
Why does the color red implore you so?
When all I own are blue dresses.
She believes “LO2VE” will find a place in the heart of those who love electronica. Like, “True Love,” it will sound great in an arena.
Four songs finish the collection: "Power," “Peace,” “Mercy” and “Honor.” She released "Power" in August as a single. She hopes "Mercy" gets radio time.
“‘Mercy’ is my favorite song on the album,” she said. “There would have to be a radio edit because of its length [4:59].” The final songs reflect the conflict of love, both lost and found, and romantic and universal.
For those who know Kirby only from “The Voice,” the final cut, “Honor,” an instrumental, will be a complete surprise. Kirby goes to a quiet, almost sacred place with her violin. “I was messing around on the piano or charting another song,” she says of “Honor.” “It’s almost like that song came from the piano. I don’t even remember getting that melody in my head. I played it over and over because I thought I was going forget it.”
When she first got the song, she wasn’t sure if it would be instrumental or vocal. But the song showed its true colors quickly. “I realized pretty fast that it would be incredibly difficult to sing,” she confessed. “The melody is like the Far East. The way I wanted it to sound was more in that vein and I can’t really sing in a traditional style like that.”
The few words she had for the tune included “honor,” as in you have to honor yourself. She believes you can’t dishonor anyone else; you can only dishonor yourself.
Kirby hopes to begin touring with her “really awesome” band. She’d like to get on the indie circuit and do festivals in the spring and summer.
Whatever comes, she’s ready to work hard to realize her creative dreams. “When you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, even when it’s tedious and difficult, it’s not work,” the young songbird said. “It’s really fun.”
Hannah is enjoying playing with her band at DFW and other North Texas venues. She has also recently appeared on FOX4 DFW and NBC5 DFW KXAS and is busy writing more songs for her next project!Photos
Bio
The soulful and powerful vocals of a small town Texas girl fuses with the best elements of rock, country, folk, blues and some pop appeal to create something that sounds as classic as it does modern.
Band Members
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