With a keen sense of observation and a wisdom beyond her teenage years, Newmarket, Ontario’s Katriel has begun her foray into the music industry with a sweetly compelling and universally appealing debut single entitled, One Foot Tall. It is a simple composition infused with depth of feeling and truly insightful lyrics which point to her confidence as a writer as well as her profound empathy for those who are struggling in life.

Katriel has a musical style reminiscent of Billie Eilish, YouTube star Abbey Glover, and 90’s Australian pop band Frente. There is a plaintive tinge to Katriel’s vocal performance that draws the listener into the head and heart of the song’s subject, while the bouncy ukulele accompaniment adds a playful elegance to the track.

“The vocals and the music do kind of contradict one another, but I have this saying that when you’re happy you listen to the tune and when you’re sad you focus on the lyrics. When you’re just listening in the background, you will pick up on the happy uke part but if you’re really intently listening to the song, you realize there’s a pretty deep meaning to the words,” Katriel explained.

Katriel says she feels her purpose in life is to spread joy and positivity and to make a genuine difference in the world through her words and melodies. She has a way of shining a bright light in a sometimes dark world by highlighting the sorts of issues and questions as well as the joys and sorrows of people for whom life is not always going their way.

“I have always wanted to do something that would change the world. I know very few people have that power to actually make that sort of impact, but I have always wanted to do that, and do it through something creative and up-lifting. I know there are many songs you listen to that can actually change your mood, change your thinking and change your life. People look up to the artists who create those songs as role models and listen to their songs to make them feel a lot better.

I want to write songs like that, where people can really relate to them. I think it would be amazing knowing that people have sort of connection with one of my songs,” said Katriel, who is an avid support of community causes and was a top fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay For Life this year.

One Foot Tall works on a couple of significant levels. It is a deftly composed song that on the one hand utilizes the upbeat tone and tenor of Katriel’s primary instrument, the ukulele, with a vocal performance and lyrical subject matter that is altogether more serious and heartfelt.

“I want people to make a connection with my songs but to interpret it as their own. It is my song and I have my own reasons for writing it, but it’s a message that anyone hearing it can take for themselves and apply to their own circumstances,” she explained.

“One Foot Tall is kind of obvious, it’s about being ignored and feeling like you’re one foot tall. It’s from the perspective of someone who is feeling isolated and alone, someone who is maybe on the margins and feels like they are invisible. It is from my own experience to a certain extent, but it’s general enough that a lot of other people can relate to it.”

Katriel has felt like an outsider at times. A deep thinker, and fiercely independent of mind and spirit, she sometimes relishes being a little ‘disconnected’ from the world. As a young child, she was enrolled in piano lessons, but soon quit and taught herself. She tried guitar lessons, but found she preferred to teach herself ukulele. She’s now charting her own course as a singer/songwriter and following her own muse, wherever it takes her.