From the onset, "Flesh It Out", by New Zealand / Nashville artist Proteins of Magic, feels mysterious, spiritually drawn from Gothic mythos and viewed through wavy vintage glass. The tribal toned drums, bending drones of sound and, especially, Kelly Steven's (aka Proteins of Magic) exquisitely artful vocal countenance pulls you into an other world. If an engagement pie chart was created to define the artistic pull of Proteins Of Magic's sound, the songwriting would of course, encompass a large part of the pie but the second largest slice would notably be Steven's voice, the character that is her voice, the obtuse parts of it, the emotionality consistent as if drip fed right into your veins. Her magnetic look, interestingly enough matches that voice, fits it like a glove. Love her voice and all that it brings to her sound.
"Flesh It Out" has alluring seeds as Liner notes reveal (bracketed):
"Flesh It Out" has alluring seeds as Liner notes reveal (bracketed):
[Written while gazing into the flickering flames of an open fire in Nashville, Proteins of Magic found herself caught in the daze of a flashback in which she had seen a young couple openly having sex during the day on the beach in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
“The hope and the idealism, the youthful sheen on their skin, being unaware of what life lies ahead for them. That is what triggered the start of the lyrical process. I think the song lays out an emotionally treacherous life for them, a day in the life spanning 10 years and 2min 52 seconds.”]
I am taken aback by Steven's imaginings here. Want to explore inside her head and now, want desperately for this song to be made into a full fledged movie or Hulu binger, don't you? Until that happens we, thankfully, have the Official Video.
From Liner Notes (bracketed):
[Directed by Ranger Garrett, “Flesh It Out” arrives with an art-house style official video intended to capture a ‘day in the life’ in Nashville. Showing another side of the fluorescent glitz and glamour of the music city, it was shot around various alternative landmarks using a vintage Sony PMW-F3 and Sony Handycam DCR-SX45, including footage of the Dragon Park that was featured in Harmony Korine’s Gummo.
“I liked the idea of it being lo-fi and raw, and I wanted the filming to be like the recording process,” says Kelly of the video. “Less formulated. The cameras were actually literally held together with tape and things were falling apart. I wanted it to be a ‘day in the life’ in Nashville, in a manic, irregular, fractured way.”]
I love "Flesh It Out" in it's entirety but the bridge at around 1:41 amps me up. After a flute flourish, Steven's vocal patter rushes and diverts in cool mid-register ways as she harmonizes in lower tones. It is just stunning. A high baroque pop-esque point for me. Love it.
Proteins of Magic's EP 'Angel Hieroglyphics' will be released February / March 2024.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.facebook.com/proteinsofmagickelly
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3olKLHRlNSrJa9LiWq5d57
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCERwGaROMG3cR04F3vCPvXQ
https://proteinsofmagic.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/proteinsofmagic/
There isn’t a single genre that describes the musical output of Proteins of Magic, but in broad terms it embodies the realm of Gothic; from the use of voices from elsewhere, layered upon one another, to the drama of art pop melded with eerie post-punk, accompanied by videos that morph from the natural to the cyber.
Living between Auckland and Nashville, Tennessee, Kelly Steven is a multi-faceted artist practicing in both audio and visual media. She writes, produces and performs as Proteins of Magic, and creates visual worlds to translate it to the screen using claymation and digital art.
On stage she has a solitary, commanding presence, she doesn't just transform, she almost seems possessed. Delivering her existential poetry over layers of loops of vocal harmonies, breath, flute and keys, she fuses them together with her pulsing bass guitar.
"I consider her in that lineage of female musicians with a completely unique voice and approach, in the tradition of Nina Simone, Nico, Patti Smith, Björk, etc. She is the real deal.” - Shayne Carter 2022
Kelly Steven has played bass with seminal NZ band Dimmer, which also included touring America with The Brian Jonestown Massacre; she also played bass in NZ band Voom, and was in the duo Punches with James Duncan. For the last two years, she has created her own solo project Proteins of Magic.
Proteins of Magic has had five songs debut on NZ Alternative radio charts, and her self released debut album was a finalist for the 2022 Taite Music Prize / Auckland Live Independent Debut Award.
2022 saw Proteins of Magic come into her own, with her single 'Lethal' being placed as Number 1 in the NZ Radioscope Alternative Charts, Number 1 in the SRN Top 10, and number 2 on the bFM Top 10. She performed at The Othersway Festival, did a headline tour of NZ and supported Dimmer on their National Theatre tour. She also played live sessions on RNZ and Radioactive, and was on the cover of New Zealand Herald’s Canvas Magazine.
In 2023, her single 'Divine Physics', went to Number 1 in the 95 bFM top 10, and she performed another headline NZ tour and played three New Zealand festivals - Splore, Cuba Dupa and Cross St. She then performed to a packed room at the Big Ears Festival (USA), two sets at the The Great Escape Festival (UK), two London shows, and a captivating performance at Primavera in Barcelona. She will also perform at BIGSOUND (Brisbane) and SXSW (Sydney) in September / October 2023.
"Proteins of Magic commanded the entrance of the festival, captivating attendees with a performance that exuded emotion, intensity, darkness, and yet a peculiar luminosity". ZERO.NINE Magazine - Primavera review
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