Lily Vakili’s new album OCEANS OF KANSAS marks a bold and deeply personal chapter in her artistic journey. Created with producer and engineer Reed Turchi, the record expands on the soulful groundwork of last year’s TANNERSVILLE EP while venturing into a rich hybrid of jazz, rock, blues, and even hints of bossa nova. What began as a striking discovery during a tour stop in Kansas, where she learned the state was once submerged beneath an ancient ocean, soon became the album’s guiding metaphor. It’s a reminder that the past is always shifting beneath our feet, waiting to be uncovered. That sense of excavation runs throughout the project, informed by Vakili’s revelation that she is “the archivist, the archaeologist” of her own life. With Lily Vakili, we voyage through OCEANS OF KANSAS uncovering what was once lost and what is still rising to the surface. For On The Record, this unique songwriter offers listeners an intimate yet expansive portrait of an artist in full creative bloom.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Lily Vakili, can you introduce yourself?
Thanks for having me! I am a songwriter and singer born in Honduras and raised in Florida, Bangkok, Thailand, Puerto Rico, and Iowa, and am currently living in the great State of New Jersey. About twelve or so years ago, I decided to pursue (or resume) a dream of building a life as a creative person, where my pursuit of expression through music, song, and performance would be front and center. This was after raising three wonderful children and working as a biotech attorney in a New York law firm. It’s been, and continues to be, an amazing ride; even the hard times have brought meaning and purpose.
Congratulations on the release of your album OCEANS OF KANSAS, what inspired this oxymoronic title?
It’s a good one, isn’t it? The thing is, it’s true! On the last leg of a solo tour on the west coast and midwest, I stopped one night in Hays, Kansas (on my way to a show in Kansas City). There, I visited the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, where I learned that 80 million years ago, Kansas was an ocean. That fact, and the stunning fossils displayed at that museum, stuck with me all the way home. I couldn’t shake the image from my mind, and it inspired this album.
How does your role as the “the archivist, the archaeologist of your own life” show up in your songwriting?
I believe we each have the right to tell our own story. How we do that is myriad; there is no one right way. And we are an archival species; we take notes! This is simply a part of how I make songs, poems, and stories – by examining the past, by listening to people talk about their own lives, and by discovering myself through or with others.
Do you see parallels between your approach to music and the museum curators at the Sternberg Museum?
I like that question! Yes, I do – we both are engaged in a process of uncovering and revealing a truth – evidence of the vibrancy, diversity, and wonder of life – whether in a human lifetime or 80 million years ago.
Your album feels far from a stationary fossil, as it’s an adventurous blend of jazz, rock, blues and even Bossa Nova, so what inspired you to spread out your sonic horizons?
My musical influences and interests are wide and varied. This album, the songs, and the musicians allowed me to explore sonic expressions that I’ve wanted to pursue for some time now. It’s a risk, I know, but that’s one way I learn and evolve.
Would you also say that the inclusion of other musicians like Dave Mann, Chris St. Hilaire and Eric Burns helped to diversify the record?
Absolutely – this group of musicians were so wonderfully collaborative and creative, it was a delight to work together. And I have to say a lot of this is to the great credit of Reed Turchi, who produced the album, for encouraging a recording environment that was focused, but also loose and flowing. Chris’ keyboards on “Hold On They Say” perfectly capture the yearning nostalgia of the song. His percussion on “Tannersville” and other songs is inspired and surprising. David Mann’s flute and saxophone parts add a sublime dreaminess and distinctive voice to “April Fools,” “Maybe It’s All Over,” “Photograph,” and “One Human Being.” Seth Barden (bass), Joe Yount (drums), Reed (slide guitar), and Eric Burns (lead guitar), as the core players, provided me with the foundation and color to focus on my vocal performance and storytelling. It was an immensely satisfying exploration.
Let’s take a closer look at the album track ‘Hold On They Say’. Why did you want to make your mother’s advice available to your listeners?
My mother’s advice was that if I wanted a creative life, I had to make one for myself: “What are you waiting for?” she asked. “No one else will do it for you.” It’s sound advice and it is true. That is what I’m getting at when I sing “hold your dreams close, don’t let them slip away.” Dreamers need that reminder every so often.
‘One Human Being’ and ‘April Fools’ both carry a sense of gentle optimism amidst complexity, so how do you balance vulnerability and hope in your work?
Vulnerability and a sense of hope (if not optimism) are essential for my creative process. I am attempting to express one human experience in the world. I am hopeful that what is made has meaning for whoever receives it. I believe that is one of our highest obligations to each other: to bridge the space that separates us, to console, inspire, and love each other.
You’ve described your music as “music that feels like a friend”. What does that mean to you, and what kind of friend do you hope this album will be for listeners?
I could also have said that freedom of expression is a natural human right and that the exercise of that right is essential to having a complete sense of self – one where you feel heard. For me, making music is a way of being heard. If someone listening to my music feels that a song captures an experience in their life or takes them to a place where they feel good, then I will have done something worthwhile.
Following the release of your album, what will be next on the horizon for you?
Touring in support of the album, which I love! After working so hard to bring the album to the world, it’s the icing on the cake. We’ll tour New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and DC. It’s an opportunity to travel the highways and byways, meet people where they are at, and play my music for them with an excellent band of musicians – I hope we’ll see you out there!
You can also find ‘One Human Being’ in our Indie Rockers playlist.
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