FEELING BODY – Nyokabi Kariũki (2023) – Album Review

Album: FEELING BODY

Artist: Nyokabi Kariũki

Release Date: March 3, 2023

Composed during the throes of extended illness, the album carries an unexpected restorative quality. I truly believe that we all have a pain, deep within us, that cannot be healed by oneself. It requires the help of others. A line in this album that, on the surface, seems to be rhetorical, was actually an honest question: “If you’re not hopeful for your body, then who is?” Indeed.

FEELING BODY is just splendid and healing. The drip of a faucet grounds the listener in the ordinary, while distant horn-like drones establish a sense of depth and weight – and a language that seems more incantation of love and healing than mere words. You have no choice but to feel vulnerable in this space that Nyokabi Kariũki has created. I feel the shivering fragility and brutal tonal pressure – I feel a deep, healing voice making me feel all of the rough edges of my existence. This album carries the weight of fragility and the strange clarity that comes when the body refuses to cooperate. It’s unsettling and restorative.

I think FEELING BODY ultimately reveals the truth that some wounds cannot be resolved in solitude – that healing often requires a chorus of others who can hold the space with you. I was very thankful to go on this journey with Nyokabi as she, herself, healed slowly throughout the album, and I can say unequivocally she helped heal a part of me – if only for a few moments. You listen, you recognize yourself in another’s experience, and suddenly the weight you’re carrying feels less solitary. A deep solemn reminder that healing is a shared practice.

Listen with us – you won’t regret it.