It was just a few years ago that Kirsten Thien found herself graduating college,
a degree in finance in one hand and an undeniably sultry singing voice and natural
songwriting gift in the other, trying to figure out which way to go.
Obviously,
all through my college years, I planned on getting some sort of job in banking.
I was heavily involved in music and performing in college but I didnt realize
people did music as a career. In thinking it over, Kirsten decided to play it
a bit safer. So, using her education and knowledge to finance her talent and ambitions,
Thien went to New York, got herself what she thought would be a simple day job
at Columbia University so that she could spend her evenings and weekends writing,
performing and recording her music.
The Columbia job went so well, however,
that Kirsten found herself being promoted into bigger (and more demanding) positions.
She even negotiated herself into a 4 day work week hoping to give more
time to her music, but she eventually started feeling as if she were living a
double life.
That didnt really work for me, she goes
on, because I soon realized that to make it in music, I had to be willing
to give myself 100% to it. So, she used the money earned at her job, invested
it wisely (sometimes that finance degree comes in handy) and devoted herself fulltime
to her God-given talents. A natural ability to write songs that tell life stories
and a powerful, sexy singing voice that leave no doubt that Kirsten Thien is making
the right choice.
While her debut CD, She Really Is started building Kirsten
a fanbase both with the public and the media, her new release Youve Got
Me places her poised on the verge of mainstream success. The blending of Kirstens
influences blues, soul, rock and pop is handled so skillfully that there
is a strong continuity on the CD in spite of the variety of genres represented.
The bluesy quality to her voice and songwriting is the thread that holds the whole
album together. While the voice is what hits you immediately, the maturity of
her songwriting is equally impressive. The passion that is heard when listening
to Kirstens album is transformed into a confidence that can be felt when
seeing her live on stage. It is an undeniable presence that captivates her audience,
luring them closer with an intensity they can hear in her voice, see in her eyes
and feel in the music.
It took Kirsten awhile to write and record Youve
Got Me, but once you hear it, you know it was well worth the hours put into it.
I am not one of those songwriters who can just say to myself, okay,
I need another 4 songs and there they are, she explains. Occasionally,
Ill be hit with a full song at once, but usually theres the initial
inspiration, followed by a lot of time and attention to a song until I feel okay
thats it. Once the songs were ready, Kirsten shifted her attention
to recording.
I wanted the CD to sound live, but I had to do it on
a budget that worked for me, she explains, so rather than spend money
on an expensive studio, I would drag the recording gear into musicians home
studios, sometimes even their kitchens, and then take the tracks back and mix
them together. The songs on this CD all reach within both Kirsten and the
listener and touch those experiences and emotions that everyone has known at some
time in their lives.
On See You Again, Kirsten brings the feelings
of missing a lover home in the lyrics. By combining it with simple pop-rock rhythms
the song becomes one of the strongest radio possibilities on the CD. Youve
Got Me features her sexy voice pining about another type of distant lover
while the foot-tapping quality of the chorus over the organ track hooks us in.
Its one of those songs youll find yourself humming to yourself hours
after hearing it. Anyone whos had their heart broken will get lost in the
lyrics to Thank You And on the other side of the spectrum, when Kirsten
belts out Ill make it up to me . In If Ever,
a song about finding the best love of her life, she proves that a girl from southern
Maine can sing blues and soul as well as anybody. I like to tell people
Im from the south anyway, she teases, southern Maine.
Kirstens voice is dynamic in a way that could carry the album, but
the instruments offer it a bed to sit on top of and the balance between the song
lyrics about love and heartbreak, the classic melody lines and Thiens vocal
delivery make for great listening, song after song after song after song
The music on Youve Got Me transcends its genres and will prove in years
to come that Kirsten Thiens music is that which will last through time and
trends that come and go.