Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Striking Gold


In the spirit of Josephine Baker, a brilliant musical artist left her life in the US and ran off to Paris to live out her dream. Introducing, Yaasika Quist: TheGoldenChild.

With an unapologetic shaved head, piercing gypsy eyes and a deceptively sensual voice, blended perfectly with head nodding trance tracks and hypnotic grooves, TheGoldenChild takes music back to a time when dancing and thinking walked hand in hand.

“I always felt awkward here in the States,” says Yaasika.  Growing up in Minnesota, the progeny of an African father and White mother, feeling the pull between two worlds but never really fitting in with either, she did what any rational human being would do – “I got rid of my car, left my Hollywood apartment, booked a one way ticket…and spent a year and a half homeless in Paris!” Yaasika laughs, “I went to Paris on a hunch with $60 in my pocket…and found myself.  It was the best 60 bucks I ever spent!”

While in Paris, Yaasika combined her honey voice with the soulful groove tracks from various independent producers.  The collaboration created a pleasing combination: a bohemian cerebral journey propelled by melodic European dance tracks. “I see music in colors and light…combining that with the creative energies of others creates a vibrant experience.  The collaborative process is cleansing and empowering. ‘Petit a petit l’oiseau fait son nid’ [little by little the bird builds its nest].”

TheGoldenChild’s EPK is as thought provoking in its lyrical content as it is in its musical diversity.  With songs like Laisse Tomber, TheGoldenChild asks us to “let it go.”  Phony Type – with its infectious drumbeat – confronts the materialism and superficiality that has permeated so much of our world.  In L.O.V.E., TheGoldenChild tells us that “you can build me a castle as high as the sky and dress me like a queen”, but it means nothing without love.

Throughout her music, Yaasika’s distaste for materialism juxtaposed with her passion for true love is obvious. The track, Love’s Revolution, inspires the world to wake up, embrace humanity and become one through our Universal connection.  Yaasika’s musical journey has one goal: to raise the emotional, intellectual and spiritual frequency of her listeners.

In Paris, being homeless allowed Yaasika to discover herself and find her golden seal skin.  That discovery has created the artistic enigma known as TheGoldenChild.  And like Josephine Baker, America gets to experience the rush now that Gold has been discovered in Paris.