MaMuse
With deep roots in the folk and gospel traditions, and their hearts in the present, MaMuse (Sarah Nutting and Karisha Longaker) create uplifting music for the next seven generations to thrive on. Their newest release, Heart Nouveau, is a masterful mix of exquisitely blended heartfelt harmonies lifted with purpose and reverence above sultry strings and deep percussion.
What sets this album apart from their previous creations is the budding collaboration with singer-songwriter Molly Hartwell adding in a third harmony on five of the 13 songs, as well as a tasteful and spunky horn section, keys, violin, and guitar, which give new breadth to the well-loved sound the duo is known for.
Interweaving brilliant and haunting harmony with lyrics borne of honed emotional intelligence, MaMuse invokes a musical presence that inspires the opening of the heart. Playing a family of varied acoustic instruments including upright bass, guitar, mandolins, ukulele, and flutes, and backed by inspired drummer Mike Wofchuck, these two powerful women embody a love for all of life. The synergy that is created through this musical connection is palpable and truly moving to witness. It’s a magic carpet ride of delight, sailing through the clouds, enriched by the sun, in stillness near the waters, grounded and planted in the earth. As above, so below.
This merry and beloved MaMuse (as in “mama” and “the one who inspires”) weaves voices upon an instrumental palette with original songs transmitted through the heart and infused with improvised storytelling, leaving audiences softened and singing along. It seems that everyone who hears them falls in love with MaMuse—begin your own lifelong love affair in San Rafael on October 22 at TMS Performing Arts Center. MaMuse.org
—LLOYD BARDE (LLOYDBARDE.COM)