Meri Kenaz

I'm a traveling musician with an interest in the people and the places I go to. I have a strong love for words and a philosophically driven mindset about most things. I grew up in South Africa, in the Eastern Cape. I read a lot of non-fiction while growing up, and only really got bitten by the fiction bug in 2009. That has also, in a sense been the start of my second childhood. The book that first made me see the absolute value in laughing, keeping a lighthearted attitude, and daydreaming was Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Quite fitting for my current nomadic lifestyle, I think. I've always used writing and music to help me relate to and make sense of the world around me. I've written songs about honouring yourself, songs about scaling personal boundaries, songs about the intricacies of falling in love, and others about philosophies of happiness. There is immense power in words to bring about change, to inspire creative thinking, and ultimately creative doing. It can make you more aware of your own struggles, as well as the plights and joys of the community and people around you, cultivating what we in South Africa call Ubuntu. So I share with you my travels and thoughts as I engage with the world around me. And as my paths cross with other people's, and I share the adventures that arise, I hope that my posts can encourage more people to engage and relate to their world with the awareness that "I am what I am because of who we all are". Press quotes on Meri Kenaz: "When she sings her voice tends to take on another character boasting spiritual intonation which comes out naturally. To get to where she goes when she performs one requires a sense of freedom or a certain ease within themselves. But sometimes the music is just too powerful that one has no choice but to submit to it. Kenaz writes poetically and there is a genius about her and the music" - Kgomotso Moncho of The Star “She performs. Pure energy, rays beaming and belting out of her like a celestial fountain. I am telling you, this is how it felt. The guitar work is flawless. But it’s in the face. It mesmerized us; we cannot shift our gaze … She bends sounds like few others I have ever heard, and never in South Africa. Every song an original, and she never stops. She’s restless, an adventurer, a thinker. I am reminded of Tori, Patti Smith, even Bob Dylan! She is a goddess!” - Mike Loewe www.artsblog.co.za For more on Meri, her music, art, and writing visit www.merikenaz.com. Singer-songdreamer | Guitarist | Explorer