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WMU Tour Diary: Soundtrack to My Week

When I was young, I fell in love.

Malaki.

We were 13 and inseparable. He knew my goals early on; I wanted a life on the stage. I wanted to be a Blues artist. I wanted to take my saxophone and vocals on the road and travel the world. He supported and embraced every damn one of them.

The moment we turned 16, we armed ourselves with a tour bus and took our music out on the road. We shared laughs, cups of noodles, and saw the world in a way I can never recapture. It was amazing. As luck would have it, just before I turned 17, I fell pregnant with my proudest accomplishment, Everly.

Malaki and I were two scared teenagers, yet we remained committed to each other. Midway through the pregnancy, Malaki became unwell and ended up in hospital in Sarajevo.

He passed away not that long after.

One of my first ever, original tunes, Sarajevo Heartbreak, was inspired by that time. How I'll never forget the way my heart broke that day in Sarajevo when Malaki slipped away. How hard I cried, screaming how unfair it was, and wondering how on earth I could raise a baby on my own.

It brings me to now, reflecting on why this is important. I am so grateful for my husband, Ryan. Maybe it's because I've lost so hard before, but I have such an appreciation for our partnership. In love, life and music, he is by far my most favourite collaborator. This is obvious in our first official collaboration Something New (feat. Ryan Johnson).

Love influences and inspires us in so many ways. As glorious and painful as it can be, I am grateful to learn the lessons from it and be musically inspired by it every single time.

Blog licensed by WMU - World Music United Group.