Ivy Roots

Find Your Light and Pass it On

by Ginny Barnes

As we reach a year of existence in our post-COVID reality, with personal and global struggles unending, it takes dedication, day after day, to rekindle that spark that keeps you going. For Ivy Roots, the careful balance of absorbing art and creating art is what keeps the flow of inspiration going. 

Multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Ivy Roots, carries herself with an energy that is contagious. She has a kind of light that reminds you of the one you also have inside. But this radiance doesn’t come from thin air. 

In her new album, Love Art Growth II, she touches on these themes of the artist’s journey and calling home. We talked about the ethereal places you find for yourself through the alchemy of making art, keeping inspiration close, and the generosity of sharing both with others.

Ginny Barnes (GB): Do you have rituals that motivate you to create? 

Ivy Roots (IR): I wake up in the morning, I like to workout. If I’m not feeling like doing anything crazy, I’ll do some yoga. I’ll try to get my mind set in the right place. You are always most productive when you have a waking up ritual. How you introduce yourself to a new day is very important. 

GB: Do you fill your spaces with things that inspire you?

IR: I fill my spaces with good music, nostalgic music. I love Stevie Wonder, he is one of my favorite artists. His catalog is impeccable, and so soulful. I love Amy Winehouse. Michael Jackson, classics, D’Angelo. Anything that Questlove played on, that’s my type of jam. I listen to lots of East Coast hip hop, R&B, jazz, but I appreciate all types of music.

GB: The first track on your new record, Love Art Growth II, is called “Home”. Tell me what home means to you.

IR: “Home” is a track that has two meanings. Home being the place that you're from, being away from that place and wanting to return. It can also have a spiritual meaning, where your spirit came from and your spirit going back to. It can have a creative side, you call home to go somewhere else. Have you seen that movie Soul?

GB: Not yet!

IR: I don’t want to spoil it, but you can have a place that you visit whenever you create. Whenever you’re singing, or performing, or dancing. When you are in your zone, your element, that is your place of existence in another realm, maybe or another dimension. So you call it, whenever you are asleep or when you’re dreaming. I have a lyric that goes, “You pulled me away to the unknown in search of a place to call home.” When I wrote it I wasn’t thinking too much about what it means. Later on I thought about it, what meaning I wanted it to have. It can be interpreted any of those ways.

GB: Can you tell me more about how you found home as a returning place for your creativity?

IR: Honestly, I’m still finding it. I feel like it's constantly evolving, constantly changing. You are constantly inspired. When you stop being inspired, that’s when you stop having a home. Inspiration is so contagious. It just takes me being inspired, to make you feel inspired, and we can constantly inspire each other. I found my home by surrounding myself with things that feel nostalgic to me, and opening myself up to be inspired. That’s how I found my home, to have a balance of inspiration and nostalgia, newness and nostalgia together. Think about how music evolves through the times, jazz, R&B, hip hop, Run DMC for one generation. What are the nostalgias of each generation and how do they travel to inspire each other through time?

GB: What about your literal home, how does that inspire your art?

IR: Growing up I did choir. I played clarinet first, and then I learned how to play piano. I learned guitar when I was in college. I did choir throughout high school. I always was into musical theatre and always in productions. I lived and breathed music. It's funny to think about as a kid, the things that inspire you. That was one big thing for me, being able to express myself through music. 

I’m from Kansas City. I love all the inspiration and the 18th & Vine historical jazz district. I had opportunities to perform all over Kansas City, that’s my hometown. I’m in Austin right now. I really love Austin. They kind of have similar vibes. Kansas City has a Kansas side and a Missouri side, and I grew up on the Kansas side. Jazz was very influential in my development. When I first started playing, I would go out and rehearse and have shows and just meet amazing musicians. There are so many amazing musicians in Kansas City. Janelle Monae actually grew up in the same school district as me. 

GB: Can you describe your relationship with your instruments? In what moments do you reach for them?

IR: I just love being able to express myself, that is what drives me to play different instruments and try different sounds. Whenever I feel under pressure or stressed, I try to give myself what I need specifically in that moment. If I feel like there is a lot on my heart that I can’t hold, or I feel inspired or happy, or I hear a melody in my head I’m like, I need to write this. 

GB: How do you measure your growth as an artist? 

IR: That’s funny because my album is titled Love Art Growth II. You measure by how much you love. You should always evolve into the highest version of yourself. A kinder person, a more loving person, loving others, and loving yourself. Also the realization that your self is other people. It's also about the creation aspect. We were created and we are creators. So it's about the acceptance of other creations and creating yourself. 

GB: What dreams do you have?

IR: I want to tour the world. I would love to perform at Afropunk Johannesburg, Africa. That would be so amazing. I would be complete [laughs] I already feel complete. I am whole! I just want to inspire people. I want to go as far as I can, and I want to reach as many hearts as possible. We need to be inspired. I love inspiring other people. The energy that you send out comes back to you. 

GB: Any shoutouts for current projects or artists in your community?

Yes! I have some shows coming up at Far Out Lounge February 26th. You can follow my email list. I appreciate all the support I have received in Austin since I came for SXSW two, three years ago. I was blown away by the level of musicianship. I’d like to shout out D Madness Project and Billy Blunt for putting me on really dope music. It was such a magical night that I met them. I respect the music scene here so much, and I love that everything that is happening with music locally in the scene is very inspiring. I’m just grateful to be here.

Listen to more Ivy Roots on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Instagram.

March 1, 2021