Interview with Carleen Anderson


Q: Please tell me something about the recording process of Soul Providence. How long did it take you to complete the album and what was your motivation to record an album that's much more of a soul album than your two previous albums where you've tried to incorporate other musical influences?

Carleen Anderson: I've always tried to include all of my musical influences in each of my albums. This album has as much as any of the influences I've performed previously, but this time, Soul Music has gradually re-integrated into the culture with contemporary production techniques more in line with the roots music I deliver to a primed market. The youth culture has taken a liking to authentic sounds combined with the technology which allows for me to record with a live band, including sampling and music programming as well, without having to sacrifice my inspirational creativity. The graduation of sampled music to the fusion of the live band element is heard in young artists like Beyonce, Vanessa Brown and Lemar, all of whom I rate as excellent. The actual recording time was about 3 months, but preparation, songwriting, demos, pre-production, etc., was over the course of about 15 months. Some of the songs were written within the past 2 years, others had origins from over 20 years ago, but only now was complete as compositions since other musical influences and performance maturity came about.

Q: What was it like to record a duet with Paul Weller and Jocelyn Brown?

Carleen Anderson: Recording duets with Paul Weller and Jocelyn Brown was absolutely a magnificent experience! For both, the plan to record a duet had been on the back burner for a while, it just so happened circumstances surfaced to finally get it done in time with the album process. With Paul, finding the right cover song was the priority and once the idea of Micheal Jackson's single with the Jackson Five of Leon Ware's 'Wanna Be Where You Are', popped in my head, Paul gave his enthusiastic immediate concurrence. 'Wanna Be Where You Are' also appears on Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On' album for about a minute's groove. Both versions made me a lifelong fan of this classic song. The song Jocelyn and I sang I'd written just before my son and I moved to England. Jocelyn's dynamic vocals show further her tremendous skill and power. She and I both are trained in Christian beliefs as taught by the Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal protestant faith originating in Memphis, Tennessee, organized nationally in 1903, with an exclusive doctrine which made singing with her a spiritually uplifting connection through music. There are subtle codes within religious sects, and for Jocelyn and I, singing style references unique to the 'holy roller' musical environment, the exuberant outbursts of praise with very African tribal characteristics, like spell binding chants, screams, wails, etc., recognition of similar journeys brought great restitution for my weary soul and recording Parting The Waters with Jocelyn was the proper revival necessary.

Q: You've once said that you're way too critical of yourself. How happy are you with your new album then?

Carleen Anderson: I don't think I could be too critical of myself as there is always room for improvement. I'm very happy with this album as I believe I've matured artistically enough to deliver a more complete scope of the music I'm inspired by.

Q: In which way would you like to see your music develop? What's the musical vision you have?

Carleen Anderson: I am totally an inspirational music artist so however I develop depends completely on my experiences which dictate how I create. If the music I make happens to link up with the times, that's great, but most importantly is for my delivery to be true to me.

Q: Your lyrics show you as a self-reflecting and strong person (although this seems to be a hard struggle like A Different Me suggests). Please tell me what inspires you writing your lyrics.

Carleen Anderson: The paths I've taken in life are reflected in my lyrics, be they my own steps or my view of the steps others have taken in front of me or along aside me, the emotional outlet of song writing is a healing absolver for me.

Q: And who keeps inspiring you musically?

Carleen Anderson: I get invigorated by various artists, old and new but my inspirations are more from life enhancing spiritual results that.

Q: You've also done session works as guest vocalists for Agent K, Mamayo/Yolanda Charles, Incognito or Guru amongst others. What do you like about session works and what makes it different from recording your own music?

Carleen Anderson: Session work has always seemed like final exams at school to me. You come as prepared as possible but your skills are put to the test of having to deliver whatever is requested in as familiar a way as possible. The challenge of it keeps me on my toes plus the musical bonds with the other artists are worthwhile also.

Q: Speaking of Yolanda Charles, please tell me how you've ended singing on her album and what was it like to work with her.

Carleen Anderson: I first met Yolanda Charles when she was the bass player for Paul Weller in '96. She, along with fellow Weller band mate, Steve White, played on my Blessed Burden album, which Weller produced. In '97 & '98 Yolanda toured with me as my bass player to promote that album. When I was the support act for Weller on his tour of '97, I was so in awe of Yolanda, although she's at least a decade younger than I am, I would say to her that when I grow up I wanted to be just like Yolanda! She's a brilliant musician, songwriter and producer, a beautiful wife to her talented husband, Miles Bould, who plays congas on 'Soul Providence, and loving mother to her 2 wonderful kids. I just wanted to be sure I would sing everything the way she wanted, to get an 'A' in Yolanda's class is tops! She's great to work with, very clear and kind, with a delightfully gorgeous smile to make all feel at ease!

Q: You've grown up in the USA but are living in the UK for a long time now. What do you like about the UK/Europe that's different from the USA? And what could be the reason for this in your opinion.

Carleen Anderson: What I like most about the UK is how accepted I feel as I am, instead of as invisible as I do in the USA. The strides I've made here in the UK would never have occurred in the US, the system is rigged not to. I call it the homogenize concept. The social politics in the UK compliments my temperament better for one thing. The prejudices woven into the US culture is so deep, the happy faces only slightly cover the dark notions across the nation. Racism still functions in the mind set as it did 50 years ago, despite what they show you on TV. The UK and Europe defined absolutely and have struggled to maintain distinct territories and nationalism for centuries. Put them all together and the individual European countries are barely bigger than Texas, so the support of artists like myself, just outside the pop eye, isn't as feasible in the US as it can be in the UK/Europe, where the regions are smaller and easier to support non-mainstream singers. Plus the UK has a history of trading and negotiating with African royalty, where the US history with Africans began with slavery, graduated to segregation, moved on to the Civil Rights march, and still the churches, where God should be, very few hearts with different skin colours congregate together there. The first church I attended in Acton, West London, had Africans, English, Irish, Scots, Asians, all went to the same church because it was in the neighbourhood, none of this driving 40 miles to another church just to sit amongst those who look just like one's own self, a point not considered by most in the US. This environment in the UK allowed for my son, who in the US could have easily been another black male statistic given the political atmosphere there, but in the UK, he grew up to be a man that could maintain his own identity and learn the skill of international camaraderie that he has with his friends whose heritages are from various parts of the world. In the US, my son would have been forced to choose a side, there is not much tolerance for those who choose their company by their personalities, race is the unspoken and primary factor in the companion choice arena. Of course racial dilemmas and disenfranchisement exists in the UK, but no where near as stark as it is in the US. For instance, with the mounting gun crime in Britain, poor blacks and whites herald the same cause side by side, in the US, even the poor don't come together in a crisis. What's more, I'm a single black woman living in the English suburban countryside, 5 minutes away from the stables where my Irish Cob horse Dexter stays. A story you'd hear of in the US? I think not.

Q: Where do you see your progress as musical artist from the days with the Young Disciples to today?

Carleen Anderson: With every album I aimed for better musicianship skills, to see how much I can give, where I fit best. It's been a delayed progress, but it feels like I'm getting the groove in gear now.

Q: The single releases of your first album True Spirit had been released in various mixes. What's your opinion of getting your music remixed? Do you think it's useful to cater different markets or are you afraid that the message of the song gets lost?

Carleen Anderson: At the start of remixes, I didn't get it at all. Nor was I a fan of programming and sampling. Since then, with the improvement of Sonics technology, the fusion of the processed music with live instruments allow the tracks to breathe now, so the sounds aren't so compressed and one can still feel the original vibe of the song, even with a new production treatment on it in various remixes.

Q: Why don't you play piano more often on your records?

Carleen Anderson: So far, I'm only a vocal accompaniment piano player, so I stick to recording the piano I play on songs that bests compliments that style of playing. Besides, with a keyboard player like Mark Edwards, I can concentrate just on vocals for the jams.

Q: You're also the head of the vocal department at the Brighton Institute Of Modern Music. Please tell me more about this job. And in which way does the teaching there influence your own way of singing.

Carleen Anderson: I've been a tutor at BIMM since they first opened in September 2002. I'm into my 4th year now soon, my second as Head of the Vocal Department. My specifics train for Live Vocal Performance Pre-production to Diploma and Higher Diploma students and Recording Session Vocal Skills for Degree students. The school was created by Bruce Dickerson, former music director at the Guilford Academy of Music, where I met him through my son's drummer who was a student there and had asked me to do a master session for his class project. Soon afterwards, Bruce and his partners started a school designed to promote skilled musicians for today's music industry, focusing on talent to encourage artistic cultural development. The school has grown very large now, from 10 students per class the first year, to 30 or more in the third year, making the teaching demands a very different challenge, but the rewards of witnessing new talent take form is exhilarating and most definitely makes me continue my quest to deliver as best possible. I was trained to be a music teacher at the University of Southern California in LA, that was my career path before deciding on music performance when Reagan was president and took art from the schools. To have this opportunity to encourage young singers to give the most they can of their voice is a wonderful experience. I remember being a music student, the insecurities, etc., so I can identify with their concerns as well as share my knowledge of the industry in addition to the vocal tutoring, as with all the other music departments at BIMM, guitar, bass and drums, musicians for musicians. It's an atmosphere that keeps one in shape, as you cannot slack when you are the example.

For more infos visit For more infos visit carleenanderson.net, domerecords.co.uk orangeroommusic.co.uk, True Spirit and read my review of Soul Providence.