In her 2006 single "Larva," Georgia Anne Muldrow addressed themes of reincarnation and deliverance, ideas she revisits in the mesmerizing "Daisies," a tribute to her late father, jazz guitarist Ronald Muldrow. Filling the song with phantasmagorical imagery — "Pushing up the daises / Flying through dimensions / I am a part of you / so take me where you're going" — the younger Muldrow lets her hazy, overdubbed voice evoke the blues of Bessie Smith and the sass of the Brides of Funkenstein.
While the dirge-like tempo conveys sadness, Muldrow counters it with bittersweet optimism: "Hadn't seen him for a while / until I heard that he had passed / But every bass line was his blood / Like a bird, he's free at last." In addition to showcasing Muldrow's status as an imaginative lyricist, "Daises" also reveals her to be an intrepid producer and multi-instrumentalist. The prepared-piano rumblings, the loping drum beat, the jangly guitar noodling and the funky bass line — reminiscent of Paul Jackson's work in Herbie Hancock's 1973 version of "Watermelon Man" — were all crafted by Muldrow. Along the way, "Daisies" demonstrates that her father's noteworthy sonic explorations with saxophonist and soul-jazz hero Eddie Harris live inside of her.
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