You may remember the “musical gumbo” analogy from our first interview. (If not, you can read about it HERE) Picking ONE genre for Anre’s music is challenging, if not impossible. We hear a little about this and get a taste of tracks 3 and 4 in this week’s segment.
Keren: You mentioned the genres jazz and R&B regarding the opening track, Missing U. Is it the same for all your music? How would you describe track 2, Come 2 Love?
ACB: When I hear the song, there’s a mixture of house; there’s a mixture of rock; there’s a mixture of blue-eyed soul; and the strings… those are just Anre strings. It’s just the way that I do strings. I just have my own way. It’s not necessarily influenced by anyone, it’s just what I want to hear, basically.
[Track 3, “Happiness” plays]
Keren: Well, this one has had several title incarnations. What do you want to tell me about this one?
ACB: This is one of the oldest songs on the album.
Keren: So, it’s one of the first songs you wrote, you’re saying.
ACB: No, it’s not one of the first songs I ever wrote, but it’s one of the oldest songs on the album. I wrote it probably 1990-1991. It’s gone through many, many updates over the years. It had a completely different title. It was called “Sweet Love”, but this particular version was inspired by my heart. And when I say my heart, I mean the woman I love. So, this song, again, has elements of early 80’s R&B and 90’s R&B, and jazz of course.
Keren: I love the melody in this one. It’s happy and bright… What did you want to say with this one?
ACB: This particular song is kind of interesting. I had so much fun recreating it. [smiles] It’s very different than the other songs on the album. It has a different feel, it has a different sound, and it brought me a lot of joy. So the first title of this new version was “Kimberly’s Light”, but when Kimberly talked about how happy this song made her, “Happiness” was a great title. So I guess I wanted to convey happiness. It’s like that feeling that you get when you’re walking in the woods, walking on the beach with that person that you love and you’re looking out at the ocean, and then suddenly you look at them and they take your breath away. That’s what I wanted to say.
[Track 4, In Your Eyes plays]
Keren: What’s the story behind this one?
ACB: OH! I originally wrote this song in 2001. I had just finished writing and recording another song, which was “Desert Rain”. And it was like 2 o’clock, 3 o’clock in the morning, and as I’m getting ready to turn off the computer and turn off my keyboard, my fingers started playing this arpeggio. Literally 20 minutes later, I had the song written and recorded. It was the fastest song I ever wrote. …maybe 30 minutes. [laughs]
Keren: Wow. When you say that, are you talking about the parts—the orchestration—as well?
ACB: Yes. Because it’s such a simple song.
Keren: Its simplicity is its beauty.
ACB: Yes. [smiles]