To say this is the most radical project Marcella Simien has ever done would be the understatement of the year. Other than DJ QEMIST supplying the beats for “Yogananda’s Affirmation” and co-producing the track, it’s only her on the remaining nine cuts, no Memphis-based funk-soul band this time. Simien’s vocals are beautiful and uplifting, and she plays synthesizer, piano, harmonium, accordion, guitar, drums, percussion and a drum machine throughout the release. She’s been writing intensely personal, mantra-based, nonconventional songs for some time and decided to record one of the tunes, “Stars.” As luck would have it, the session went well. Simien caught the spirit and booked more studio time to record the rest of this.
The songs are primarily synthesizer and keyboard-driven, with many eerie, trippy and séance-inducing effects juiced with electronic beats that constantly shape and reshape the album’s moods and emotions. The songs have no traditional verse-chorus structure; they ebb and flow at will.
For Simien, it’s a snapshot of her life, overcoming personal struggles assisted by diving into yoga and meditation and marrying her soulmate husband. “Lelia” is the centerpiece of the proceedings, a tribute to her great-grandmother, Lelia Manuel Simien. In the spoken-word intro, Simien explains this strong Creole woman gave birth to 15 children, made her own soap and clothes, and lived entirely off the land with her family. Simien never had the opportunity to meet Lelia but got to know her through meditation. She admires her ability to be resourceful and survive. Lelia advises her to bend to the will of a dream being fulfilled; in other words, don’t resist it but “follow the flow.”
Simien closes “Lelia” with a short bilingual poem her father, two-time Grammy winner zydeco artist Terrance Simien, heard from a descendent of a Creole slave alive during the Civil War. It’s basically about working hard to save their lives and praying to save their souls to survive.
Similarly, on “Bloodline,” a meditative chant, Simien, whose family has been in Mallet since the early 1700s, expresses her gratitude for her previous generations of ancestors who persevered through the prejudices and injustices of the day.
In saluting the rich heritage and family legacy she hails from, another prevailing theme deals with Simien’s personal transformation. On “D4ytime Dr3am,” she vows to never go “back to the other way,” the person she once was. On “Stars,” she proclaims, “For the very first time /I see the sky with both my eyes /Finally, I’ve got nothing left to hide.” “Eyes On” and “Psychic” are also part of the journey—her happiness with her soulmate.
Though yoga concepts have a strong presence, two songs have specific titles yoga practitioners will identify with. Simien’s “Sahasrara” is a variation of the theme about personal transformation. “Yogananda’s Affirmation” comes from the words Hindu monk/yogi/guru Paramahansa Yogananda. It’s the most powerful track of all with lines like “I am free /I am love… /I’m pleased with all,” an affirmation Simien still uses occasionally. Her hope is that others will embrace it and all of humanity will feel that way so it’s possible live in a world where everyone feels their best.
