Lockdown Led to Somi Releasing Poetic Live Album, ‘Holy Room’

As an American person of East African descent, living her formative years in Champagne, Illinois, the burgeoning artist, Somi, regularly felt like she resided between several realities. Musically, for example, there was often a difference between what she heard at home and what she encountered outside her front door. And while there is nothing wrong with that, per sé, having a foot, so to speak, in two distinct sonic pools does create a unique point of view for any musician. More recently, Somi has turned that vantage point into a creative thesis statement. It’s become her mission to bridge seemingly disparate parts, to bring them together in her songs, in the way she tells stories and in how she talks about the world. For this work, Somi has distinguished herself. To wit, she was recently nominated both for an NAACP award and a Grammy for her 2020 release, Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper with Frankfurt Radio Big Band, which is as much an homage to live performance as it is an example of art at its highest ambition.