“Answers" by Victoria Barral (April 22, 2022 Release)

"Answers" is the latest single from the talented singer Victoria Barral! 

You're going to want to listen to this song as soon as you can! What can you expect from the song? Luckily, Victoria was willing to answer a few questions about it for us.

What was the inspiration behind “Answers”?

Many people in the world are searching for answers, and especially these past few years. Waiting for answers for your life can be excruciating at times. “Answers” is a work that expresses the frustration of uncertainty but also sheds light by saying that things will get better. Life will get better, because God has our lives under control.

Inspiration for “Answers” came in 2020, when I came across Psalms 4 in my quiet time with God. It says: “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!”

I got inspiration off of the Psalm and wrote lyrics in God’s perspective. The lyrics of the chorus came to me quickly - “I see you in your deep distress. I see your heart when there’s nothing left… I know you’re scared hurting for answers, it’s no fair but life will get better. I know you’re scared waiting for answers. Trust that I care more than ever…” This was so reassuring to write something in God’s perspective because it was almost like a response to the call of the Psalm. Writing “Answers” was a blast. 

What was the experience of putting the recording together like?

The recording process for “Answers” was a slow one, I really took my time with this. Probably more time than any other song I’ve worked on. From October 2020-April 2020, I produced “Answers” in my little bedroom studio and worked on multiple versions until it was the final product. The writing process instrumental wise went smoothly. I produced most of the instrumental I including the synths, piano, sub bass, drums, and I took a few loops of guitar my dad recorded on voice memos and sampled it, and ended up reversing the audio. My classmate Amirah Gharbi produced some of the drums and a little bit of vocals. 

The most challenging part of the recording process was recording all the layers of harmonies. Recording vocals required a lot of hard work and time. Vocal performance and emotion in the music was my priority in terms of tracking at home, so it took months to get it right. I ended up video recording the takes and the process of recording.  It was around April of 2021 that I felt I had good takes to send over to my friend and mixer Connor Wang. Connor did a beautiful job mixing. After the mixing process was done my friend Josh Sebek mastered the song and the rest is history. I’m very proud of this work and thankful for it to be out. 

Do you have any goals for the song?

I just hope that this song gives hope to people who are hurting and searching for the right answers for their life. Most importantly, I hope this work is moved by the power of the Holy Spirit! I pray that it will reach both an audience of people of faith and people who aren’t of faith 

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You'll be able to find “Answers" just about everywhere you usually get your music like Spotify or Apple! So, there's no reason why you won't be able track it down…which I highly suggest you do. Right now!

If you want to learn more about Victoria, check out her Section 36 Music profile page. There you can find links to her full interview with Section 36 Music, her social media accounts, as well as more samples of her incredible singing.

You can also hop directly to her recent interview right here on Section 36 Music. That will give you an opportunity to learn more about this fantastic singer.

Be sure to give “Answers" a listen!

ASHERAH Visits Section 36 Music!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! ASHERAH is an incredibly talented singer, coming off the release of her latest EP "Ephemeral". I was absolutely thrilled she was willing to visit with us and discuss her music, and more. I’m sure you’ll love everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when ASHERAH visits Section 36 Music!

I really enjoyed your recent EP “Ephemeral”. What can you tell me about it? 

Thank you so much- Ephemeral was written for a close childhood friend of mine who passed away from an overdose. He was also my first serious relationship. The process of writing, producing, coming up with the visuals for it, and marketing it took close to 3 years- I think mostly because it was so hard to let go of. Each song on Ephemeral is about a different aspect of the grief process, with the exception of River, the intro track- which was written as a metaphor for addiction.

What was your favorite part of the recording process?

I wrote two of the songs in one of my Ableton classes at school. I was just learning how to use it, so using my Push to create melodies I wouldn’t typically come up with on a piano was really cool. Holy was made entirely with the Push. Writing and layering harmonies is also one of my favorite things to do in general, so it was nice to have a project with complete creative control to create this lush, vocal landscape. 

You’re currently attending Berklee College of Music. What’s the biggest way that is helping your career? 

I’ve been at Berklee Online for the last two years and it’s had a tremendous impact on me both as a musician and creative entrepreneur. I knew nothing about marketing music, publishing, or rights before I started studying music business. I’ve become so much more well-rounded as an artist and businessperson because of it. I did Ephemeral’s marketing and PR campaigns entirely on my own because of what I learned at Berklee. I’m moving to campus in Boston in a few months so I’m really excited to meet and collaborate with the incredible musicians there. I love picking other artists’ brains, especially when we make completely different types of music, so it’ll be interesting to see how being on campus impacts my creative process. Berklee is also just notoriously unmatched when it comes to networking- I can’t wait to be among people in person who share my passion. It’s been my dream to go to Berklee since I was 8 years old. 

Who or what would you consider your biggest musical influences?

I’ve always been fanatically obsessed with the cosmos, theidea of parallel universes, reincarnation, quantum entanglement… the movie “Interstellar” was a huge influence for Chasm. My friend Medulasa did an unbelievable job on the sound design. Sonically, I’d have to say my biggest influences have been Lights’ earlier work, especially her Siberia record, Bjork, Purity Ring, Grimes, FKA Twigs, Enya, Adam Young, Kerli, MARINA, Imogen Heap, Evanescence, and producers like Aphex Twin and Telefon Tel Aviv. I also listened to a LOT of Skrillex and his earlier songwriting when I was in middle and early high school. 

What would you say is your biggest career challenge?

I genuinely think it’s keeping up with the demand for new “content.” Being a more private person when it comes to my creative process, letting people into my brain before I’m ready has never been within my comfort zone. I like to take my time, sit on things, let them marinate… and then bring them out of the oven when they’re ready. Never before. I see a lot of artists showing their production or songwriting processes on TikTok and that just isn’t me, even though I get it, and I’m sure my marketing professors would prefer it. But who knows! Maybe I’ll change my mind. 

What are your immediate career goals?

I really just want to become as well-rounded a musician as I can, and become as self-sufficient as possible when it comes to marketing and managing myself. I’d love to tour within the next couple of years and definitely put out another single or two before the end of 2022. Maybe meet my future touring band on campus! 

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Another single or two sounds like a great idea!

As always, I want to thank ASHERAH for visiting, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I know you’ll all want to follow along with ASHERAH to see what she's up to. The best way to do that is probably to follow her on Instagram and/or Spotify. I suggest doing both right now!

You can also check out her Section 36 Music page. It's a perfect way to enjoy everything ASHERAH has to offer all in one place.

Thanks again ASHERAH, and good luck reaching your goals!

“Sorry For Myself” by Allison Leah (Feb 8, 2022 release)

“Sorry For Myself" is the latest single from the fantastic singer Allison Leah! 

And you NEED to listen to it right away!

I’m sure you remember Allison from her interview with us, where we discussed her single “We can Still Sing". I've definitely been a fan of her work ever since. That’s one reason I was so excited to hear this newest release. To say I wasn't disappointed is an understatement. My immediate feeling was that this was a break-up anthem worthy of Taylor Swift. The beat flowing from chorus to chorus will make you want to sing it at the top of your lungs. I know you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

You can find “Sorry For Myself" just about everywhere you usually find your music, like Spotify, and Apple! So, there's no reason why you won't be able track it down…which I highly suggest you do.

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If you want to learn more about Allison, check out her Section 36 Music profile page. There you can find links to her full interview with Section 36 Music, her social media accounts, as well as more samples of her incredible singing.

You can also hop directly to her interview right here on Section 36 Music. That will give you an opportunity to learn more about this amazing singer.

Be sure to give “Sorry For Myself" a listen!

Kelsey Blackstone Visits Section 36 Music!

Photo: colorsbyharry

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Kelsey Blackstone is an incredibly talented singer, coming off the release of her latest single "Alice". I was so excited she was willing to visit with us and discuss her music, and more. I’m sure you’ll love everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when Kelsey Blackstone visits Section 36 Music!

I really enjoyed your recent single “Alice”. What was it like putting that together?

Thank you so much! The way this song came together was really effortless and refreshing. My good friend, Garrett Goodwin, called me one day and asked if I’d come over to his place so we could write some lyrics and melody to a cool guitar theme he was working with. When we met up, I hit ‘record’ on my voice memos app, he looped the theme for a few minutes, and I improvised a melody and lyrics on top of it. I’d recently been thinking about a wonderland theme, so it came really easy to me as I improvised. Then we listened back to our voice memo recording, and picked out the lines that we wanted to build on. From there, we set a date with my good friend and producer, Laura Clough, who recorded us live in my apartment living room. After she finished producing it, we sent it off to our friend, Josh Kay, to master the song. Then we had our finished product!

Are you currently working on any other projects?

I have many other projects in the works right now! The version

Photo: Isis Alava

of ‘Alice’ that you’ve heard is an acoustic, live recording. We’re re-releasing the song with a more produced, full sound in a few weeks! [April 15] You’re the first to hear about it, which is really exciting! I have a few other singles I’ll be putting out this year as well. The best way to stay updated on my projects is to follow me on Instagram and/or Spotify.

You’re a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music. What’s the biggest way that’s benefitted your career? 

The biggest benefit of being a Berklee grad is definitely the community and the connections within it. Getting to work alongside other Berklee grads or current students means that there are always a lot of talented people to create with. I know Berklee has a big community in Nashville, which is where I’m planning to relocate to in a few years. I’m really looking forward to it!

Who or what would you consider your biggest musical influences?

My biggest influences come from the 60s and 70s. The communities that musicians back then were able to create were ones of inclusivity and creative inspiration. I strive to create the same types of communities through my artistry. The music from that time also emphasized social causes, which is very important to me as a person and musician. Music is a great unifier, and we need that now more than ever. The musical styles themselves also speak to me; powerhouse vocals, live instrumentation, and blues influences, just to name a few. I take modern day inspiration from the other independent artists like me, who are trying to make their dreams come true by building their own legacies.

What would you say is your biggest career challenge?

My biggest career challenge so far has been not letting the downsides of social media get to my head. Because artists today are required to be posting content on social media and promoting themselves as much as possible, it’s hard to not let the superficiality impact your self-worth: it’s really easy to compare yourself to what others are doing on social media. Writing songs about this feeling and getting inspired by my own creative content, has helped me continue to overcome these moments.

What are your immediate career goals?

Photo: colorsbyharry

My career goals for this next year include: releasing the 5-6 singles I’ve been working on for awhile, and performing around Boston with my band. My band was formed just a few weeks before covid came in 2020, and although we’ve played many virtual shows between then and now, we’re more than ready to get in front of some live audiences and start to make more of a name for ourselves. We’re really excited about the music we’re making and look forward to sharing it with as many people as we can!

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I'm excited to hear that new music!

As always, I want to thank Kelsey for visiting, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I know you’ll all want to follow along with Kelsey to see what she's up to. As she mentioned, the best way to do that is to follow her on Instagram and/or Spotify. I suggest doing both right now!

You can also check out her Section 36 Music page. It's a perfect way to enjoy everything Kelsey has to offer all in one place.

Thanks again Kelsey, and good luck reaching your goals!

“Night Music" by Jackie Therrien (March 4, 2022 release)

"Night Music" is the first EP from the talented singer Jackie Therrien!

Make sure you listen to it now!

What's is the EP like? Well, luckily, Jackie was nice enough to tell everyone all about it. On her Instagram account she shared some background on each song. She was generous enough to allow me to repeat that here...

Track 1: April
The first song I wrote and released for the EP. Writing this song felt like a turning point in my music, I hadn’t written something I had loved so much in so long. I don’t think I really knew what I wanted to do next until I wrote this song.

I wanted to write a love song without actually using the word ‘love’. Instead, I used a bunch of colors, small moments, and other little things maybe most people wouldn’t notice, because I think that’s what love is built of.

Track 2: The Hunters
I’ve found that people often try to take away other people’s happiness and/or love for whatever reason. I felt so defeated and upset having to constantly be defensive and I was bothered by everything. They can never just let two happy people be.

All we really want is to be able to love and live in peace…but in the end, you’ll always be running from the hunters.

Track 3: Jacob
I wrote this song July of 2021 while at a friend’s lake house up in Maine. I wrote the little chorus bit first:

“You’re classic as champagne,
Warm as summer,
Sweet as rain
Oh, Jacob”

And immediately knew I needed to write this dreamy, airy, fluffy song. I knew exactly what I wanted and it didn’t take long to write the rest of the song around those few lines.

I always hated the idea of using someone’s name in a song, for me personally it just felt too personal…but look, here we are.

Track 4: I Tried Too Hard
The second single off the EP. I actually wrote the first draft of this song around the time I was writing Dreaming, but ended up forgetting about it as it didn’t feel like it fit either everything else I was writing at that point.

This song was a vent, a confession to my piano before I went to anyone else. It was a song I wrote one night after a party in a moment of sadness, loneliness, regret, and longing.

I was trying too hard to force feelings that just weren’t there.

Track 5: Lavender
This was the last song I wrote for the EP, and I actually completely finished it (writing & recording) in 3 days.

I had heard someone say recently that you’ll be with that person or thinking about something or someone, and you catch yourself smiling with no teeth. I thought it was both so interesting and beautiful, and so it sparked this entire song.

Track 6: Storm in a Teacup

The third single off the EP. I had been trying to write this song for the longest time, but never knew how to do it. I didn’t know how to say what I wanted to say.

I’ve written a billion versions of this song, all completely different but all trying to say the same thing this one does. But nothing else did it for me or was something I wanted to share.

I wrote this song as if I was having a straightforward conversation with this person, for all the times I was choked up on the phone and couldn’t get a word out. All the things I should’ve said to him but didn’t.

Track 7: Be

As soon as I wrote this song, I knew it would be the last track. It just has this resolving feel to it, I think.

Everyone wants comfortable love. Love that you don’t question or feel awkward in. Being able to sit in complete silence or talk about anything and everything for hours on end. Knowing someone and having someone know you, inside and out.

I’ve never wanted anything more than to just be.

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That is definitely a collection of songs you'll want to hear for yourself.

You'll be able to find “Night Music" just about everywhere you usually get your music like Spotify or Apple! So, there's no reason why you won't be able track it down…which I absolutely suggest you do.
 
Immediately!

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If you want to learn more about Jackie, check out her Section 36 Music profile page. There you can find links to her full interview with Section 36 Music, her social media accounts, as well as more samples of her incredible singing.

You can also hop directly to her interview right here on Section 36 Music. That will give you an opportunity to learn more about this amazing singer.

Be sure to give “Night Music" a listen!

“Pretty Face” by Brittany Rogers (Feb 28, 2022 release)

“Pretty Face” is the latest single from the amazing singer Brittany Rogers!

If you're a fan of great music, I'm sure you're familiar with Brittany Rogers. Following up incredible singles like "Linger On (Avery's Song)" and "In My Dreams" I know I was anxiously waiting for her next release. I was absolutely not disappointed. There is a powerful emotion behind the song that just drew me in and wouldn't let me go. You'll want to feel it for yourself. 

 
You can find “Pretty Face" just about everywhere you usually get your music like Spotify or Apple! So, there's no reason why you won't be able track it down…which I highly suggest you do.

 
As soon as possible.

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If you want to learn more about Brittany, check out her Section 36 Music profile page. There you can find links to her full interview with Section 36 Music, her social media accounts, as well as more samples of her incredible singing.

You can also hop directly to her recent interview right here on Section 36 Music. That will give you an opportunity to learn more about this amazing singer.

Be sure to give “Pretty Face" a listen!

“Freedom” by Raquel & The Wildflowers (Feb 10, 2022 release)

“Freedom" is the latest single from the incredible group Raquel & The Wildflowers!

I just have to say, I was blown away by this song the first time I heard it. Everything about it just "worked" to perfection, from the music to the lyrics. I was disappointed when the song ended, and immediately set it to play over again. I imagine you will too.

You can find “Freedom" just about everywhere you usually get your music like Apple and Spotify. So, there's no reason you won't be able to find it.…which I highly suggest you do.

Immediately!