JANINE & THE MIXTAPE Words: Joshua R. Weaver Photos: Gavin Thomas
There’s a story beneath the surface of us all – the languish of a darkened past and the lust to relinquish its hold on us. For New Zealand songstress Janine and the Mixtape, this triumphal surrendering of a disquieting history comes in the form of her debut extended play Dark Mind. “This is holding hands with a Dark Mind,” Janine warns in the first line to her debut mixtape. “Don’t let your palms get sweaty.” It’s an open invitation to take part on a five-track odyssey marked by moments of grim hope and innerturmoil, but encapsulated by a recognizable moxie – a fortitude to not only confront things that happened to her, but to share them with the world. With a celestial, yet enrapturing voice that commands every verse, hook and refrain, Janine transports you to her zone, using roomy vocals and an eclectic mix of R&B, hip-hop, experimental and downtempo elements to assert both a riddance of the past and optimism for the future. “And, though my mind won’t be the same, I’m still around,” Janine proclaims at the end of the EP’s titular track.
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