"Kristi Martel loves life, and the joy she gets out of it exudes from her every pore. She can be singing about the darkest things in the world–betrayal, self-hate, death–and yet somehow, coming from her, it feels hopeful and uplifting."
-Marion Davis, Motif Magazine
When Kristi Martel was three years old, she was making up harmonies; when she was five she was coming home from musicals to pick out their melodies on her step-mother's piano; her father got her a piano on her seventh birthday.
Today, Kristi Martel's sweet presence, stunning vocals, intricate piano rhythms, and fearless songwriting endear audiences nationwide.
Featured on MTV/LOGO, NPR, WERS, in Curve Magazine, and voted Rhode Island's Best Alt-Rock Female Vocalist, 2011 MacColl Johnson Fellowship Finalist and avant-soul piano diva Kristi Martel grew up in New England, and left in 1990 to earn an ASCAP grant and two music degrees (Bard and Mills College) before beginning her touring and recording career.
Kristi's piano playing combines her love of blues dissonance and syncopation with her classical training. Her powerful voice is at once sweet and bitter, able to leap and soar, whisper and rattle, expressive of any emotion she chooses and fluid throughout her range. She is visionary in her lyrics and composition, writing her prayers and quirky autobiographical narratives in the same breath.
Through Sealed Lip Records, Kristi has released seven CDs. "Ravengirl" is Kristi's goofy joke superhero name for herself, her recognition of the crazy blessing it is that she felt joy everyday, amidst the profound grief, after her former life partner's suicide in 2003. This newest album is full up with that joy, with the healing and transformation Kristi has undergone to be singing still so powerfully today.
Kristi has recorded and released demos for her next full-length CD, "Sacred Whore." She is currently working on a release of the remaining four demos, on vinyl! The work is more jazz and soul, and focuses on the universal in our human experience and our need for inner and world peace
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Margie Adam
Gwen Avery
Garrin Benfield
Edie Carey
Alix Dobkin
Cliff Eberhardt
Melissa Ferrick
Ferron
Holly Figueroa
Fred Frith
Littlebird
Erika Luckett
Bobby McFerrin
Erin McKeown
Jason Mraz
Peter Mulvey
Pauline Oliveros
Doria Roberts
Dar Williams
and more!
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2011 Robert and Margaret MacColl Johnson Fellowship Finalist
2009 Outmusic Awards Performance
2008 MTV/LOGO Homophonic Interview Feature
2007 Solarfest Singer Songwriter Competition Finalist
2007 Curve Magazine Interview
2007 NPR's Open Mic Feature
2006 WERS 88.9FM Artist of the Week
2006 Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge Winner
2006 We Are Listening Singer Songwriter Awards Honourable Mention
2006 Solarfest Singer Songwriter Competition Finalist
2006 RI's Best Alt-Rock Female Vocalist by Motif Magazine
2005 NEMO Emerging Artist Competition Semi-Finalist
2004 12th Annual Billboard World Songwriting Contest Honorable Mention
2004 SongPrize International Song Competition Honorable Mention
2004 Music-Tech Indie Artist Showcase Semi-Finalist
2004 DM Southwest Independent Music World Series Semi-Finalist
2004 North By Northeast Music Festival & Conference Finalist
2003 Reach Semi-Finalist
1994 ASCAP Foundation Grant for Young Composers
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Kristi tours nationally in clubs, cafes, ecovillages, concert halls, colleges, festivals, and house concerts, including:
Webster Hall, The Knitting Factory, Meow Mix, PS 122, CB's Gallery • New York, NY
Nietzche's, Roxy's Greenroom • Buffalo, NY
Bard College • Annandale, NY
University of New Hampshire • Durham, NH
2004 Boston Pride, Club Passim, Lizard Lounge, WERS, Felt, Milky Way, Simmons College • Boston, MA
2005 & 2006 & 2007 RI Pride, Blackstone River Theatre, Stone Soup, AS220, The Hi Hat Jazz Club • Providence, RI
World Cafe Live • Philadelphia, PA
Babes • Richmond, VA
Temple Ball DeLaLuz Performance Space • Carrboro, NC
Bosendorfer Hall • Raleigh, NC
Namaste Center • Asheville, NC
Coffee Underground • Greeneville, SC
The Art Bar • Toronto, ON
Crazy Wisdom • Ann Arbor, MI
Abundance Ecovillage, Cafe Paradiso • Fairfield, IA
The Music Cafe • Columbia, MO
Alley Cantina, Eske's Brew Pub, Taos Inn • Taos, NM
OUToberFEST at Reid Park-DeMeester Center • Tuscon, AZ
Seattle Art Museum • Seattle, WA
Mississippi Pizza Pub, Portland State University • Portland, OR
Cafe Paradiso • Eugene, OR
Southern Oregon University • Ashland, OR
Hopland Women's Festival • Hopland, CA
Russian River Women's Weekend • Guerneville, CA
Rose Street House of Music, Blake's • Berkeley, CA
The Nameless • Oakland, CA
Yoshi's, Bazaar Cafe, Kimo's Nightclub, Dolores Park Cafe • San Francisco, CA
Cayuga Vault, University of California at Santa Cruz • Santa Cruz, CA
14 Below • Santa Monica, CA
Genghis Cohen • Los Angeles, CA
Twiggs, Claire de Lune's, University of California at San Diego • San Diego, CA
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Firewater (SLR12, digital single) April 2011
Blessed Community (SLR11, digital single) February 2011
Seeds (SLR10, digital single) December 2010
The Sacred Whore Demos (SLR9, CD LP) June 2009
Ravengirl (SLR8, CD LP) October 2006
Quaint & Curious Ravendemos (SLR7, CD LP) August 2005
The Mule (SLR6, CD LP) March 2004
bound (SLR5, CD single) July 2003
brave enough (SLR4, CD LP) November 2001
give me a little... (SLR3, CD EP) October 2000
With Mouth and Hands (SLR2, cassette) September 1998
4-Track & Live Recordings (SLR1, cassette) August 1996
What People Are Saying:
“Kristi Martel is a breed unto herself in the world of singer songwriters. She sounds like no one else. Unafraid of the quirks in her character, she mines her inner conflicts in an unembarrassing and daring way. Her musical vocabulary is wild and varied without ever being beyond control...smart-hearted artist.”
“Incomparable!”
“Damn!”
“...love emanates from every note.”