Peace and comfort blow in
on Nicole-Marie’s “Ocean Breeze”
By Kurt Beyers
“Ocean Breeze,”
the song by Nicole-Marie off her EP Roars, Flames and Embers, is such a
beautiful, calming acoustic track that you would never know it was inspired by
dental trauma.
Dental trauma,
and the sounds of the dental office — the drill, something that sounds like
suction — explains the line that says, “There’s a voice that’s demonic.”
“I was under
the influence of nitrous oxide,” said Nicole-Marie, “and it was the sound that’s
— well, demonic — but I pretended it was an ocean breeze. I thought, ‘Okay,
that’s just an ocean breeze washing over me.’”
I am one with the morning
I am one with the world
And my soul is exploring
The ocean breeze that has
unfurled
“I have so much
dental trauma that I cope by making up songs while I’m under the influence of
nitrous oxide. I feel like if I go to the dentist, I’m at least gonna get a
good song out of it for going through all that pain and misery.”
There’s a voice that’s demonic
but I am focusing
On ocean breeze in the distance
blowing evil far from me
It’s a great
story. Hearing her tell it, and listening to the song, it’s also believable.
But evil is real for her, both in her personal experience — having lived
through 25 years of narcissistic abuse — and in her day work as a social worker
and mental health therapist specializing in trauma.
“There’s still
stuff I’m deprogramming from, and I’m still in recovery from that situation,
but there are situations in the world that are not ‘just’ narcissistic abuse,
but psychopathic and sociopathic abuse as well.”
“I’m expanding
the metaphor to mean the demonic presence in the world,” she said.
“Ocean Breeze”
is a way of calming the soul, combatting the mental, spiritual presence of
evil, whether it’s fanciful, like hearing Satan in a dental drill, or the much
more destructive kind that is all too common in what she calls “the 3D world.”
The song
features slow, melodic rhythms of guitar, banjo, and mandolin, timed by drums beating
at the pace of a heart at rest. Nicole-Marie’s lyrics are delivered in her
deep, soothing voice. Doug Rusk is a featured vocalist on the track and is also
the lead guitarist.
She and Rusk
are also featured in the video, produced by Smokescreen Media.
“I was really
impressed with them. I’m going to work with them on another video soon,” she
said.
Nicole-Marie’s
voice can climb. It has changed since she lost all hearing in her left ear more
than a decade ago. Her right ear loses hearing intermittently and sometimes,
she says, she is legally deaf.
“I used to be a
first soprano when I did choir in high school. Since my hearing loss, I’ve
become more like an alto. I’ve learned to sing in that method — I don’t know
what it’s called, actually — but you hear by feeling the vibration in your
body. On some of those notes, I might not even be able to hear what I’m
hitting.”
Abuse, hearing
loss, cancer. She has survived and is recovering still from a great deal of evil
herself. Her music and her life are conducted in accordance with her
spirituality, which is at heart a non-denominational Christianity influenced by
a pan-spiritual outlook and yogic and other influences.
Christianity is
fractured, a “divided kingdom,” she says, and needs to be much less judgmental,
which is inherently divisive, “because we don’t want to be conquered by being
divided.”
“I want to
inspire other people to make the highest vibrational choices for their lives,”
which she defines as making life choices and decisions out of “gratitude, love,
joy, contentment,” rather than out of fear, anger or guilt.
“Ocean Breeze”
is the lead single she is promoting from Roars, Flames and Embers, but
two other songs from the EP hold special meaning for her.
“Pour out the
Oil” was inspired by Kim Clement’s prophetic writings on the biblical Esther.
The song features a woman, she said, who would “pour out the oil, pour out
healing to the world.”
“I wanted to
put in influences of biblical women, powerful women,” she said. “So I put
Esther in a verse, and then Mary of Bethany, in a verse. Both were powerful
biblical women. I wanted to focus on that and what I think will be the return
of the divine feminine.”
She added, “And
I’m not referring to the Barbie movie.”
The other song is
“Beyond the Stars.”
“That one was
written in the voice of God. I wrote it after experiencing some workplace
bullying. It’s like God speaking to me, saying, ‘I know who you really are, no
matter what other people call you, or say about you. I know who you really
are.’ It’s about forgiveness, too, of the bullies and of anybody that has to
live in this crazy world. I think it’s a very healing song.”
Nicole-Marie
has been putting out music since 2003. Her catalogue includes six albums and
EPs and several singles. She lists her genre as “spiritual folk rock” and those
are all present, each by itself sometimes, sometimes in combination.
She has
performed live, but not since the pandemic. She is dealing with a case of
performance anxiety but wants to perform again. She especially wants to go on a
tour.
That reality is
in a world that lies a little way down the road.
In the 3D world
of now, there is promoting “Ocean Breeze” and Roars, Flames and Embers
and, also, “I’m working on my next music video. That’s where my immediate
attention is.”
“But beyond
that, I hope to do some shows, get over some of my fears and inspire others to
face their fears and get over them.”
Connect with Nicole-Marie
on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/nicole-marie/16755350
https://soundcloud.com/nstaeheli
https://open.spotify.com/artist/29GCUWCofGEkh3uwjrhJV0
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE0Oz6pxxUrIy1VV4yMTCuA
https://www.reverbnation.com/nicolemarie79
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