My Music Episode 264 - Ally Cribb

Ally Cribb has been on this earth before. Her voice is heavy with a soul that defies her eighteen years. While her home city of Toronto, Canada has exposed her to a rich and diverse musical scene, for Ally, “What I do is all about creativity and imagination: two things that can be found and fostered anywhere. Whenever I’m going through something significant in my life, I turn to my piano or guitar and start sorting through feelings of confusion, frustration or wonder and finding the words and music to give them expression.” She always understood music. It was a gift she inherited from her father who, too, is a musician and a writer. Through her own flair for creative expression and an instinct for conveying sentiments to sonics, Ally started singing lessons at the age of eight and piano a year later. She never looked back. As a natural empath, Ally’s experiences have given her song-writing sensitivity and resonance. Just like her heroes Joni Mitchell, Shawn Colvin and Taylor Swift, what she sings demands to be felt. Her debut release, a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” with more than 200,00 views on YouTube, sees the track transformed beyond recognition, swapping guitars for the gravitas of the piano, which brings the song newfound dimensions of vulnerability and strength. She followed it with Bigger, her first original release, which spoke to her versatility as an artist. It is an anthemic celebration of resilience and resolve in the face of challenge. That theme played out more fully in Ally’s debut EP, Unbroken. The seven-song collection explores the suffocating grief she experienced suddenly losing her mother during the already profound isolation of the pandemic and the quiet wisdom and perseverance that emerged from that darkness. Ally’s songwriting strength has always lied with the intimacy she weaves into her exposed lyrics and hypnotic melodies. Unbroken is leaving an indelible mark on listeners with thousands of streams each week, dozens of media reviews and a finalist spot in the Song Academy Competition’s international category. “From the depths of uncertainty and loss, through the power of the self and the blessings of tomorrow, Unbroken encapsulates it all – the journey of a life, with all of its complexities and gifts,” wrote one reviewer. For Ally, this is only the beginning. “I write what I see and feel,” she says. “I hope it can offer some glints of compassion, hope and resilience to anyone who needs them as much as I have.”