Ahead of her debut solo project “Edge of the Earth” dropping on March 27, Farayi Malek spoke with Web Services Coordinator Gavin Miller about her influences, excitement, and upcoming events. With Farayi’s upcoming performance fast approaching at The Umbrella Arts Center, you can get tickets for the show — a Salt Lick Sessions concert happening on March 28 — here! You can also listen to the show, featuring Farayi, Grace Gardner, and Sofia Lafuente, here.
From the flurry of genres she experiments with to the multifaceted workload she undertakes, folk and jazz artist Farayi Malek wears a lot of hats. Farayi juggles titles — Grammy-nominated singer, innovative composer, and forward-thinking educator — that often intertwine. “I gain a lot of inspiration from my students,” Farayi told me over Zoom. “I feel like both [being an educator and artist] fuel [one another].”
This approach makes sense, as Farayi’s non-traditional musical upbringing led diverse sounds to seep in from every which way: Idaho’s bluegrass roots, an arts high school that fostered a passion for jazz, Boston’s very own Berklee College of Music. Although Boston is where Farayi has landed for now, the city remains special because of the new inspirations it offers. “Being in the city has been really nice, because I’ve been exposed to a lot of different kinds of music and people from all over the world. I’ve had the opportunity to play with and share the stage with musicians from everywhere, playing all different types of music. It has really expanded my ears, artistically,” Farayi said.
The expanding context of a city environment is not without challenges for an artist. The multitude of artists in Boston challenges cross-genre experimenters like Farayi to reflect on her experience cementing a niche with the music she releases. “[The inspiration of Boston’s musical environment] put me in the position where I really had to figure out, ‘What is my thing? Where is my art [...] stemming from?’ I think that’s one of the things that has caused me to take my time when releasing music.”
And take her time she has. Farayi’s debut solo EP Edge of the Earth, reaching streaming services March 27, delivers a solidified release for years of songs dropped as covers, singles, and live performances. “It’s the third project that I’ve recorded, but the first I’ll be releasing,” Farayi said. As a fan, the wait for music may seem benign. However, while speaking with Farayi and listening to songs become polished, the worthiness of the wait became clear — each tune has a patient vision behind it. One can hear the vision become realized throughout the released singles; the smooth rides on “Tonight” and careful key arrangements of “I Wrote You A Letter” speak for themselves.
“Nothing has felt forced in this process,” Farayi told me, reflecting on how Edge of the Earth came together. As a natural storyteller in her music, Farayi models her songwriting after the influences that have permeated since her youth. The songs take their own shape, though. As each track grew and morphed, arrangements bloomed, sprouting exciting new sounds. The debut project’s title track, “Edge of the Earth,” followed a similar path before its completion.
“[‘Edge of the Earth’] came quick, but the sections changed a little bit. So, at first there wasn’t a solo, there was kind of a bridge. And then I ended up taking the bridge out and adding an instrumental solo and adding [...] a Celtic fiddle part at the end.” While some artists prefer following familiar structures or surrendering to the conventions of genre, Farayi appears destined to let her tracks breathe as they’re born. Another great example of Farayi’s unique energy hit is on her cover of the classic Whitney Houston hit “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” The raw zeal in the cover’s vocal performance feels like an entirely original hit, no matter how widely known it is. That’s the quality that makes every Farayi Malek song blossom into endless replayability: taking familiar influences and doing the boldly unexpected.
Farayi’s version of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” complete with a reimagined arrangement of folk-infused strings, will be performed at The Umbrella Arts Center’s upcoming Salt Lick Sessions in March. The concert, which has tickets available here, will feature Sofia Lafuente and Ellie Williams alongside Farayi. If you’re not able to make it, don’t fret: Farayi is going on tour as a part of the same trio this year, and will be back in Boston on April 10!
