Lia Kuri’s missive on behalf of Motherland

Lia Kuri wanted to sing about the nature that surrounds us, the importance of taking care of it. Her first solo project – she was firmly convinced – had to be a unifying call, a cry to the universe to protect the planet, this mother provider mistreated by humanity.

Without straying from the universality of the themes that animate it, Kuri nevertheless delivers a most intimate work.

Called to take care of her parents in their illness, the singer drew on this experience which changed the course of her twenties to create Motherlandpublished on October 25.

Becoming aware of her parents’ fragility before their time, Lia Kuri noticed at a very young age that the roles were being reversed: it was now up to her to be this benevolent figure, responsible for their well-being. I became the mother of my parentsshe summarizes.

I was 22 when I started caring for my mother, who was suffering from cancer, Kuri says. And I was 26 when my father was diagnosed with dementia and I took him into my four and a half to watch over him. I wrote Motherland when I resigned myself to moving him into a residence.

Like the Earth which offers its resources until exhaustion, Lia Kuri explores with Motherland the depths and limits of self-giving, making the voice of Mother Nature your own. Through it, I manage to infuse my own experienceshe confides.

Art, an outlet for anxiety, becomes for Kuri a vehicle to meet others – even if they can hardly understand the ordeals she has gone through.

Stripped of all embarrassment and apprehension, the singer opted for vulnerability to reach her fans, many of whom knew her within the group Afternoon Bike Ride. It was by seeing the spectators moved during the performances of the Montreal trio that Kuri measured the extent of his superpower: that of disarm people, through my music and my storyshe realized.

The singer, now 29 years old, took on the challenge of creating an album where the climate emergency is distilled through each of the pieces – from synthpop to drum and bass – without being clumsily shoved down our throats.

Through poetry rather than preaching, Lia Kuri gracefully addresses the greed of man which brings us dangerously close to tipping points, industrialization and the infinite repetition of machines, the annihilation of forms of life which are nevertheless essential .

Rather than shouting her dismay to the world, Lia Kuri sings with gentleness and melancholy about the progressive erasure of things and beings. A reminder that what we hold dear is doomed to disappear if we let our guard down.

Does this mean that the grief of loss comes to supplant the feeling of revolt? It’s complicated to sayreplies Lia Kuri. His gaze moves behind me without stopping, taking the time to think about it.

With Motherlandyou could say that I side with sadness rather than anger. But that doesn’t mean I’m not angry. I really am! But it’s hard to stay only in anger when what we love disappears and demands our attention.

I did my bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences at McGill University. And the most important thing I learned is that to change people’s hearts, it takes time and education. She shrugs before continuing: If we find what challenges – or better, ignites! – people, the message is getting through more quickly.

Consistency in the approach

Driven by a desire to put an end to the monster tours placed under the sign of private jets and the accumulation of waste, artists tried to green their practices in recent years.

Billie Eilish banned the sale of plastic bottles in stadiums where she performs; Radiohead has reduced its air travel to prioritize less polluting transport; Massive Attack has vowed to power its shows using only renewable energy. On a smaller scale, Lia Kuri decided not to leave any detail to chance.

T-shirts bearing the image of Motherland – used clothing purchased from Renaissance and the Salvation Army – features the labels and seams revealing the back of the sweater on which the album logo, signed Hayley Lim, was printed.

Instead of vinyls traditionally made of PVC, a polymer derived from petroleum, Motherland was engraved on bioplastic discs designed by the company Green Vinyl Records using corn starch and sugar cane.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album, concert tickets and promotional merchandise will be donated to two environmental organizations she chose: Amazon Watch, which ensures the protection of the forest Amazonian, one of the lungs of the planetand Ducks Unlimited Canada, which campaigns for the preservation of wetlands in the country.

Other artists have written to me to have all the information, because they want to draw inspiration from it for their merch, rejoices Lia Kuri. This is exactly what I wanted! Because we have the responsibility to integrate the environment into everything we do.

The singer is not kidding herself: it’s a drop in the ocean, but it’s already a new step forward. Being cynical, according to her, will not allow us to act to improve our lot.

On the posters plastered all over Montreal to announce her show, Lia Kuri also calls for “celebration”. But what is left to celebrate?

The release of my album! This is all we can celebrate after the US election resultsjokes Kuri, an American citizen born in Maryland. Instead of paralyzing us, concern, she pleaded after the announcement of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, should instead encourage us to mobilize.

I think of celebration as a call to action. Especially with the lights [de forêt] and this abnormal heat for the month of November, she hastens to add. Mother Nature tells us: if you have to start, it’s now.

Lia Kuri will present her first solo album, Motherland, Thursday evening at the Phi Center in Montreal.