With Lovelyish.
Famous for such hits as "A Thousand Miles" and "White Houses," songstress Vanessa Carlton is about to release her fourth album, entitled Rabbits on the Run.
Continuing her evolution as an artist, Rabbits on the Run is Vanessa's first album on an indie label. It is produced by Steve Osborne (who has worked with the likes of U2 and KT Tunstall) and recorded in the UK at Peter Gabriel’s renowned Real World Studios directly onto tape. Rabbits on The Run features 10 written or cowritten by Vanessa with Patrick Hallahan (of My Morning Jacket) and Ari Ingber (of The Upwelling).
"Carousel," the first single from the album, is available for purchase. But because Lovelyish readers are so wonderful, we're giving away a free download of the song at this link.
Recently, Vanessa took some time out of promoting her album to sit down with us for a super quick interview!
Q: This album is a bit of a departure from what you’ve done in the past. What prompted you to make this change?
A: Necessity, really. I wanted this dreamy kind of quality to my music, and it was that or nothing. So I had to kind of go and do it for myself.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about the collaborative process and what went into co-writing your songs?
A: I started co-writing a little bit on my second record when I started working with Stephen Jenkins, but I’m a songwriter. It depends; actually, it’s a little tricky. It depends on how you connect with the other person. Sometimes someone’s really great or really strong at writing lyrics, or melody, or coming up with chords. Ari [Ingber] and I are really good friends and we came up with this really simple guitar part. And it’s super simple, but something I would never have done before, being a pianist. So it was really wonderful.
Q: What kind of sound can your fans expect? Is it anything like your other stuff?
A: Totally stripped down. Totally streamlined. Very warm in terms of the sonics, and very much inspired by my vinyl record collection.
Q: What’s your favorite song on the album, or the one most important to you?
A: I think it’s probably "Hear the Bells," and that’s really kind of about the transformation I went through, specifically starting with my health. I was really sick, and that song chronicles the process that I went through and how I came to a certain peace. So that song is crystallizing a moment in time that’s very important to me, and it’s still continuing so it’s like a meditation. I think it’s very beautiful.
