“I think (music) is a platform to be vulnerable, to talk about certain things and also to connect with people with similar stories. For me, it’s a tool to help people open up. There are so many people who have different songs that really resonate with them and that makes it an extremely powerful tool that allows us to be vulnerable.” -Andra Day
You may be fooled by her Billie Holiday persona and sweet-and-sour retro jazz voice, but Andra Day is so much more than your typical jazz vocalist. She is a part of a new generation of artists that is taking the world by storm and not resting until their voices are heard. Her powerhouse vocals are just an accessory to her fearlessness in mixing and matching sounds and rhythms. After years of studying in school, jazz and classical vocals are just the root for her most recent album "Cheers to the Fall," and you will hear a wide range from her empowering anthem “Rise Up” to the Flamingos-inspired doo-wop “Forever Mine” track. Discovered by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Andra Day should be on the top of your radar.
Who are your music influences?
AD: Well, Billie Holiday of course. She is one of the biggest ones and I was introduced to her fairly early on. Like I said, I studied jazz vocal performance in school, so my choral teacher showed me these voices. I remember first hearing Billie Holiday and thinking, wow! That put a spell on me and I just remember her voice sort of poked through the speaker and it just reached out and grabbed me. (laughs) She literally put a spell on me. “Strange Fruit,” that was the very first song that I heard, I don’t even think at the time that I heard the song or truly understood what she was singing about. I just remembered the message in the song and how powerful it was within her voice, and I was automatically like “Yeah, that. That’s what I want to do.”
To you, what is the most important message to get across to your audience through your music?
AD: For me, my music is a message about the truth, vulnerability, and fearlessness. I think we spend a lot of time in our lives building up walls and placing this casing around us. That idea of how we portray ourselves in a way that we want to be seen. (With my music I like) how freeing it is to come into an interaction with someone or even with yourself, to be completely exposed and completely vulnerable. With music, you can do that and you are that vulnerable compared to when you are thinking about your shortcomings and the things that hurt you. You are not a prisoner to anything anymore, you know nothing can be held over your head like, “Oh I have this secret about you.” I like the idea of being completely free of this and that is the message I like to portray from my music.
Jumping around, can you provide any insight on where the next generation of music listeners interests will lie?
AD: I feel like I am starting to see a trend right now of young people who are interested in music and who is doing music for the sake of the art again. You know it’s not about the fame or the money, I am starting to see people who are saying, “I am going to use this to express myself, I am going to use this to effect change and I am going to gravitate towards music that does the same thing.” So I am seeing that and I am also starting to see young people break down barriers. I love that the more we are seeing good music, the less music is designated to this genre or this genre. People are starting to mix everything now and I think it is going to continue being that way. Then, for me as an artist it is exciting. Now I feel like we are getting to a place where again we are going to start to hear things that are new and things that you (won't) be able to categorize it. You can’t exactly say what it is, so to me I think the trajectory is moving in a very exciting direction. A good example of this kind of artist where you are left thinking, "What is this, I don’t know, but I love it," is Laura Mvula.
Andra Day will begin her headlining tour Monday, Oct. 12th, and will be performing in cities on the East and West Coast as well as some cities in Canada.
