There is a certain captivating quality to an artist who comes out of the gate with a fully-formed debut album and Amara-Fe does just that with her album Reborn. This is not a tentative start of a novice, this is the surefooted step of someone who knows her voice and her mission.
The musical pedigree in Amara-Fe family is evident in this work as her uncle Eugene and Rene used to jam in Tulsa and her grandmother had songwriting ties with Minnie Riperton. However, she has not fallen back on heritage, but has created her own. Within 13 songs, she creates a seamless journey of growth, healing and self-discovery that is both incredibly personal and yet universal in its appeal.
Her vocal talent is immediately impressive-confident and acrobatic in the best way, with references to such powerful singers as Beyonce and Alicia Keys, but without losing her individuality. The production is clever and combines contemporary electronic sound with organic instrumentation, such as piano and some brass embellishments. It is refined but never overproduced, and leaves room to allow her voice to stand out.
The specialness of the “Reborn” is its emotional honesty. Songs such as Too Good That and Hole in Chest draw lines with an air of certainty, whereas heartbreak is engulfed with the raw emotion in Hole in Chest. The song that is the most prominent is the song Look in the Mirror, as it has the gospel influence and contains the theme of self-reflection and empowerment that is felt long after the song has ended.
The move by Mara-Fe to fully control her music production process proves to be a good one here. The deliberateness of each decision is audible, how every song fits into the greater story of personal growth. This is a musician who has a real sense of the idea that great music is made by taking life experiences and making them relate to the personal histories of other people. Reborn does that very well.
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