Memory becomes a soundscape. Chicago’s own multihyphenate artist Sparklmami just released her debut album ‘in this body’ via Verve Records / slowplay. You can listen now.
She first opened the door to this world through the impactful 2024 singles “fajas” and “running,” early glimpses of the vivid emotional and sonic universe she expands across the full record, alongside recent singles “no te vayas” and “quisiera.”
‘in this body’ runs on Sparklmami’s own imagination. She mines her psyche and conjures surreal imagery to make sense of childhood memories, viewing them now with a refreshed adult perspective, each one a portrait of a moment in her life. The stories unfold through a dreamlike soundscape shaped by the music of her upbringing, from the glimmering jazz of 1970s Brazil to the Mexican boleros that filled her childhood home. The album moves like a radio dial scanning through the soundtrack of her life, a meditation on identity and the familial, cultural and geographic influences that shaped her and her art.
That openness shaped how the record was made. Sparklmami and her band improvised freely and built songs together, with each player bringing ideas to the table. Eddie Burns (executive producer, drums), William Corduroy (executive producer, bass), Alec Trickett (percussion), Josh Jessen (keys, synths) and Kenneth Leftridge Jr. (saxophone) brought the music to life, guided by Sparklmami as the album’s audacious conductor. She also drew on a wider community, with contributions from Nico Segal, Alex Santilli, Raphael Olivier, Adlai Reinhart and Chris Misch.
The album shimmers with warmth, curiosity and real adventurousness, the sound of an artist building a world entirely her own.
Merging improvisation with her love of visual art proved revelatory while she worked on the live graphic score. Before music, Sparklmami earned her BFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where her work explored memory and identity through dioramas of her childhood home and green screen recreations of the telenovelas she grew up watching. She carried that visual practice into live performance, directing the visuals for “no te vayas” and “quisiera” herself.
The album arrives after recent shows opening for UK powerhouse Joy Crookes and Spanish star rusowsky in Chicago. She has a full slate of summer dates ahead, including a hometown show supporting Patrice Rushen as part of Chicago’s Millennium Park Summer Music Series, headlining nights in Brooklyn and LA, and a set at the COLORS: Tones of London showcase in September.
Tracklist:
“no te vayas”
“fajas”
“vaga”
“running”
“quisiera”
“penso en voce”
“grounded”
“it was 5 am”
“in this body”
Upcoming Live Dates:
June 25, Chicago, IL, Millennium Park Summer Music Series (supporting Patrice Rushen)
July 8, Brooklyn, NY, Baby’s All Right
July 22, Los Angeles, CA, Moroccan Lounge (headlining show as part of Jazz Is Dead)
September 2, New York, NY, SummerStage in Central Park (DJ set at Verve Records’ 70th anniversary concert)
September 13, London, UK, COLORS: Tones of London