Hailing from Dallas, Texas, but born in the Middle East and raised in London, Kimia Penton has many professions under her name. She has musical ties as a singer-songwriter, violinist, and psychologist. Using her skills and range as a psychologist has enabled Penton to adapt the themes of human nature and obligations in her music. She is able to incorporate what she knows about the human heart and explore the themes that are there.
Lessons from Life and Love is a cultural retake of what it took to live in so many countries as well as having to jam so much adeptness out of every corner of the world. Penton’s latest release explores the themes of unconditional love, unrequited love and even the loss of loved ones. It produces music that has an edge of pop as well as flavors of jazz.
Consisting of Kimia Penton (vocals, violin, songwriting) as members, with Wes Stephenson (bass), Leslie Williams Blum (piano), and Kelyn Crapp (guitar) playing for Penton during certain live shows, Lessons from Life and Love comes across as Adult Contemporary music but with a delightful worldly flavor to enhance the pop/jazz Middle Eastern influences in her music. The culmination of Penton’s full musical education delves into three stages of her life. Her classical training with the violin began at age 7 when she entered her music school program and enjoyed her time there in the youth orchestra. She began songwriting during her teenage years in order to reflect and make life easier and has been writing ever since. As a psychologist, Penton invokes in her lyrics what she has studied about human behavior in her profession. She professes to incorporate what she has learned into her own course in which she wishes to teach the youth about music and songwriting.
In the track “My Kind of Love”, the music is loud. The riff of guitar matches the vocals which is adamant in its promptness. The sound is balanced with stirring spirals of harmonies. The percussions keep time to this music and with Latin flavors infused in this jazzy concoction there is a requisite to this track. With abundant solo violin performances in this track, Penton is definitely able to show her chops. The violin playing is on key and definitely enhances the Middle Eastern twist in this track.
In “Crossroads” here we see a country-balanced song. With grandiose storytelling, Penton tells us in this fable that there can be many wounds taken from the act of love, but it’s all worth convincing. The singing is swift, and Penton takes this lullaby-like track and takes what is lulling and makes it effectual.
The haunting melodies in this album will take listeners on a ride. With distinct rhyming and superb songwriting in the lyrics, Penton does a wonderful job conveying to us the music. The journey is worthwhile and with an opportunity to travel to India to write and produce music, Penton will be releasing brand new material in 2016 due to these collaborations, so be sure to look out for those!