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Kadupul is the new EP by percussionist and producer Michelle Kestrel. Eklectic Sounds, is a new, multi-genre, sister label to the iconic West Coast house music mainstay, Uniting Souls Music. Deeply influenced by ambient, world and underground dance music, her compositions are a confluence of dreamy synths, haunting dub crashes, lush tabla, percussive polyrhythms and shuffling dance beats.
Michelle Kestrel’s second solo album is a discovery of worldly sounds that feature her signature tabla playing and vocals. Whipped up in a fragrant incantation, you might forget where you are for a moment. A meditation for the dancefloor that blends underground dance music grooves with organic sounds from around the planet.
Title: Kadupul
Artist: Michelle Kestrel
Label: Eklectic Sounds
Genres: Global Groove, Organic House, Electronica, World Music, Deep House
Release Date: 18-April-2024
Distribution: Symphonic
From the artist, Michelle Kestrel:
“EklecticSounds, is a new, multi-genre, sister label to the iconic West Coast house music mainstay, Uniting Souls Music. Kadupul is named after a rare and beautiful flower, also called the Queen of the Night (Epiphyllum Oxypetalum), which blooms for only one night and is gone by the dawn. It symbolizes many things to me personally and to many around the globe. Also called the Flower of God, or Beauty in the Moonlight, it is revered in Asian cultures as having mystical powers, and anyone who views it and takes in its fragrance will be granted blessings and good fortune.
The image used for the album cover is a photo I took of my own Queen of the Night plant, which bloomed for the first time in 2023, after 12 years of waiting. This flower, a great Queen, who thrives on consistency and patience, but will unfurl her glory in her own time. She will not be rushed, and her fragrance only captured in a fleeting moment of beauty. A reminder to stay the course, and to fully experience the magical moments before they are gone.
I’m proud of the material I wrote in 2023 for various live performances including; Cascadia NW Music and Arts Festival, Caravan, NW Folklife Festival, and the Proton Radio Amplified series. This album is a collection of sounds, instruments and genres from around the world. Like the Kadupul flower, exploding into a shimmering globe of petals, all emanating from a universal source. Live tabla and vocals by yours truly blend into dreamy santur, oud and kora melodies. Shuffling cumbia rhythms move alongside Middle-Eastern percussion and warm congas. I hope you will go on this journey with me. May we all bloom in our own time and fill the world with our fragrance.”
