Music
Press
How do you write about perfection? Versatile, smooth, energetic, and thought-provoking - "Gynocracy" is all of these and more. What impressed me (and what I hope will also impress you, the reader), is that every track is straight from Mavi's own emotions, feelings, fantasies, and life expereinces. The vocals on "Beast", "No Grave but the Sea," and "My Darling" evoke imagery of a siren's sensual appeal. While asserting the relevant power in the title track, Mavi also gets cute in "Boy". "Rendezvous", which she played live in Athens for us, is masterful. If you crave an album to stir your soul, this is it. - cd baby.com
Surfing about myspace, I came across Mavi Graves page and was struck with the ambient drone of "Do unto me." It confounded me at first, just long enough to listen a little further. Then I moved on...
Several days later I found myself humming "Do unto me." I took another listen later that day and this time I stuck around to hear "Tired Eyes," "Boy," and "Diamond." Each one better than the next! I was smitten. I bought "Gynocracy" on CDBaby and I was not disappointed.
What strikes me most about Mavi Graves' music is it's intricate layers of sound and the maturity of her existential lyrics. It's truly poetry set to timeless music. Thank you Mavi Graves, where ever you are! - cdbaby
Discography
Gynocracy the CD available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/mavigraves
streaming available at www.coloradoexperimental.org
under Mavi Graves
www.mavigraves.com
www.myspace.com/mavigraves
Photos
Bio
As one male fan in Athens, Georgia said during her 2007 grease tour, "my friends think I'm crazy for loving an album called "Gynocracy", but I tell them, "Guys, it's amazing!"
Mavi is influenced by the emotional and sonic strangeness of Bjork, Tori Amos and Radiohead and describes the lives of unlikely, sometimes unsavory characters in a style inspired by Tom Waits but Mavi brings songwriting to a transcendental, global level by incorporating her ability to speak Mandarin Chinese and to combine foreign policy, political crookery, love and struggle into non-obvious and solidly poetic musical gems. Mavi grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado surrounded by pet chickens, sheep and peacocks. One song, the Mica Mine, about a fictional scenario where Mavi and a childhood friend decide to bomb local oil-shale drills, was recorded at Mavi's home in Grand Junction and the distant sounds of peacocks can be heard at certain points along the track. Mavi has a gift for foreign languages and studied Chinese in college. It wasn't until after a traumatic experience processing to be a translator for the National Security Agency that Mavi decided her calling was in music. After 9-11 Mavi was awakened to the invisible strings of power than run between our country and others and the effects that those power relationships have on average people. She decided to subvert power by launching a tour in an RV that ran on vegetable oil and making a documentary film about small town Americans who are innovative and not content to accept America's identity as a nation of ignorant, consumerist war-mongers. She and several other musicians toured the American south for two months and the experience was called The Break Free Project. After the successful release of her stunning first album, Gynocracy and her radical grease tour, Mavi now has aspirations to release an all-Chinese EP and tour in China as well as finish her second English album.
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