131. Single Review of Shadowfire by Jasmine Catherine
Originally Published on May 14th, 2025
About the Artist
When I was a boy, I loved movies like The Neverending Story, Willow, Conan the Barbarian, and of course The Hobbit. I was one of those dreaded “daydreamers,” always staring out of the classroom window instead of at the chalkboard; often embarrassed by a teacher interrupting my daring adventures taking place in my imagination with a vague question I would have only known the answer to had I been paying attention. I guess I learned that I could create a better world for myself, in my mind, than the one I was inevitably forced to live in real time.
In my imagination, I was a daring adventurer, like Atreyu, who fearlessly rode towards danger, saved princesses, and was revered by storytellers who spread tales of my legendary feats from village to village. In reality, I was the little kid in class. I was the poor kid. I was the nerd who played the violin and took ballet. My best friend, sometimes my only friend, was my dog, Spot (he was the greatest companion).
Fantasies were an escape from reality. It makes perfect sense that I would gravitate toward them. As I got older and I began appreciating my own life more, I never lost that love for fantasy. It’s an admiration that is shared by many people.
One person, in particular, is Jasmine Catherine. Jasmine is an independent recording artist and musical theater actress from the UK, as well as a classical piano teacher. As a recording artist, she sites her love of fantasy and folklore as a muse for her songwriting.
“Every song written by Jasmine is a story; a story to transport you to the world of pirates, villains, princesses, and rebels. They are a movie in your mind.” (jasminecatherine.com)
Jasmine Catherine debuted as a recording artist less than a year ago with the June 2024 release of her song, Checkmate. Checkmate is a piano power ballad featuring Catherine on vocals, piano, and accompanied by synth strings and horns. In a word, Checkmate is inspiring. In another word, uplifting.
She followed her debut release with the September release of A Court of Clowns, a more melancholic story. A Court of Clowns has a deeper, more dramatic sound, as it wades through a solemn atmospheric melody. Just as with Checkmate, it features Catherine on vocals, piano, and a synth string accompaniment.
Jasmine Catherine’s first release of 2025 was March’s Tightrope. The ambience of Tightrope is a determined hope. It’s the song Frodo would listen to just before embarking on his journey to destroy the One Ring. It sounds like hope in an impossible situation. Catherine’s vocal performance is beautiful, weeping, and tragically wonderful.
Stylistically, Jasmine Catherine is hard to pin to a specific genre. Alt folk and fantasy pop would be the closest, but there is a theatrical and classical influence to her music as well.
Jasmine Catherine will be performing on the 14th of June, at the North Walsham’s Street Feast.
About the Single
Shadowfire is the 4th single by independent recording artist, Jasmine Catherine. It will release on May 17th, 2025. It features Jasmine Catherine on vocals, piano, and a synth string arrangement, and has a run time of 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Shadowfire was written, performed, recorded, and produced by Jasmine Catherine.
About the Music
Like her previous releases, Shadowfire is driven by the vocal performance of Jasmine Catherine, accompanied by her piano and synth string performances.
Melodically, Shadowfire feels inspirational in the sense that it is telling a story of determination. The melody supports this emotional reaction, as well as a stylistic change to the strings. In her other records, the strings are articulated in a general legato. In Shadowfire, the strings do sometimes play at a legato but shift to a more staccato articulation in the chorus.
Vocally, Catherine’s performance amplifies this approach with a driving repetitiveness, as she belts “Shadowfire” over the the chorus. The lead vocal melody is often highlighted by a very strong backing vocal that weaves in and out of the music like a dance at a Renaissance Festival,
The production value of the track aligns with the fantasy atmosphere of Shadowfire as well. There is a pleasantly exaggerated reverb to really open the sound space, and it prolongs the lives of every note. They don’t simply stop, but are absorbed into the air surrounding them.
Final Thoughts
Jasmine Catherine has pushed all of her chips in with Shadowfire. Like her singles before her, the gravitational force to her creativity are the fantastical worlds we don’t see every day. They inspire her voice, they inspire her instruments, and they even inspire the visualizers she produces to support the stories told in her music.
Jasmine Catherine doesn’t do anything half way. As any great actor of the stage will tell us, performances must alway be big. We want the show to be just as good for the audience in the back row, as it is for the front. Catherine exhibits this in all facets of her performances.
Shadowfire holds true to Jasmine Catherine’s promise; it plays like a story or a movie. It ferries us to fantastical places, leaving the monotony of the real world momentarily behind us. As I listen, I find myself staring outside my office window, reluctant to start my work day, not ready to abandon this captivating quest of wonderful music.
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Shadowfire releases on May 17th and will stream on all major platforms!
Turn just one fantasy into a reality and GO PRESS PLAY!
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