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"I imagined myself to be a grown man for this song, addicted to porn and trolling the internet for a fight," says Kinnie Starr about "Gotta Do Something," the first single released from upcoming album, Feed the Fire.
Starr, an avowed lover of language, returns with her unique blend of conscious hip hop and groove driven pop. It's an album that comes out of much reflection done in the aftermath of a taxi cab collision that resulted in a brain injury. Her road to recovery deepened her interest in the nature of communication in an era where immediacy is king and anxiety disorders rise alongside extroversion and "urgent" digital chatter.
This exploration resulted in a record that opens a dialogue on where we are at in our relationships to the screen, to our faiths, and to each other. Our devices allow us to stay up all night viewing porn, fighting for likes or hype on social media, tailoring our public personas as a means of delivering toxicity...or warmth. Feed the Fire is about hope and despair in perilous times and reconnecting with our truest selves.
PLAY YOUR GENDER In 2012, Kinnie Starr was approached to make a film about herself, but chose instead to make a film about the gender gap in the music industry. By 2016, the film was completed. A collaboration with Stephanie Clattenburg and Sahar Yousefi, Play Your Gender continues to grow in the international film festival circuit. This film is a look at the lack of gender parity in the fields of songwriting, music production and live sound. It features interviews with Sara Quin (Tegan & Sara), Melissa auf der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins), Patti Schemel (Hole), and Chantal Kreviazuk among many others.
In the age of #metoo, #timesup and the PRS foundation Keychange initiative, this subject matter, long at the centre of causes Starr has championed, is now more relevant than ever.
Play Your Gender will be screened at the 2018 Reeperbahn Festival, where Kinnie will be doing an on-site Q&A session. We also have a confirmed screening at the 2018 Breakout West festival.
ADDITIONAL Starr's career has taken her around the world -- across Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia, but she is first and foremost an artist and activist. Her activism began before her career in music as a visual artist, and her current visual work continues to touch on her areas of interest: race, home, family and humanity.