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Anya Singleton; Not Easy to Forget

Written by Bruce Moore

Anya Singleton, is a multi talented singer, songwriter and actor whose latest CD “Not Easy to Forget” is just that; not easy to forget. A graduate of Emerson College with a B.F.A. Singleton has appeared at Lincoln Center, Foxwood, and the Turning Stone as well as in TV shows such as Law and Order and Sex and the City. Using what she learned from her acting career she has successfully made the transition to a successful music career as well. Singleton is very comfortable belting out Jazz infused Blues tunes, each one of them telling its own story. I recently caught up with Anya to discuss the new CD and her unique approach to writing and performing.

Has your new CD been well received by the Blues Community?

Yeah it has, it really has. I mean it’s kind of always interesting because it has a sort of heavy jazz influence and you sort of don’t know how that is going to go but it has gone really well and I am very pleased. It has been well received critically and that is a really good sign.

You have been compared to legendary artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, and Joni Mitchell. How has that affected your career?

It has been pretty amazing because those are some incredibly powerful women with such strength in songwriting and storytelling. Storytelling is really important to me. I think it is really great when people comment that I have a great voice but the thing that I always love is when people comment on the fact that it is sincere and that the story is sincere; and I think all of these women do that really well.

Do you find it intimidating being compared to those women?

It is funny, I can see how you could be intimidated but I am not. What it does is serve to remind me that I need to get better at things, you know? That is a pretty formidable thing to be compared to and I think I really need to keep working to sort of try and attain a little bit of what these women have achieved.

On top of being a musician you have also had success as an actor. How has your acting career affected your music?

I think it has affected it tremendously because I don’t think that I would be able to tell a story very well if I did not understand what it was all about. I think the biggest thing I notice today is that people sing songs but they don’t seem to really get into what the story is about. That is why people don’t know what the lyrics are about or what is happening emotionally. I think as an actor you are very tuned into what is going on emotionally and when I am writing lyrics I break it down into what the story means.

Any plans to act again?

Yeah, I continue to act all the time. That is basically what funds my music career.

How do you think you have grown as a songwriter and a musician over the years?

Well, that is interesting, when I first started, coming from an acting background, I was doing sort of more cabaret stuff where I was doing other people’s material. While other people’s material is certainly inspiring I started to realize that I didn’t really feel like I had my own voice, and that is what I wanted to find. So I started writing my own material. I still think I have a long way to go but I think it is starting to become clear to me that if you tell your own emotional story there is something more emotionally impact full about that.

Are there any tracks on your new CD that are favorites or that have any good stories behind them?

I have two that I feel very strongly about; one is “Not Easy to Forget” which I co-wrote. I really love the story, it is about relationships but it is something that I can really identify with. I based it on a personal experience and it has a sort of New York flavor to it which I really like. I just always feel very emotional when I am performing it, I can see myself at the birthday party blowing out the candles. I also really love and feel very close to “Silver or Gold” which I actually did not write, my friend Dave Sherman wrote it, but he wrote such a great story, it is so emotionally moving and I always get really worked up when I am singing it… the audience does as well which is great because it means they are getting the story.

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?

I would say that one of the most memorable moments so far is when I kind of sat down at the piano and I realized that I might be able to write something that other people would really like. That to me is a really amazing experience because when you are acting it is tangible in a sense and you either do a good job or you don’t but with songwriting it is very objective you know somebody may hate what you do or somebody may love what you do. But when I first wrote something myself and performed it live and got a good response that was an amazing moment. It was like a real light bulb kind of moment for me because ‘I wrote this song and people are responding to it…maybe I should be doing this.’

Who were your influences when you were learning how to play?

Well, I was hugely influenced by jazz and I remember listening to Miles Davis and, John Coltrane when I was young. I think they were strong influences because of their improvisation skills and understanding how something could be told so sincerely without having to be overdone and bombastic; that left an amazing impression on me. There have been several singers that I have been influenced by, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin and a lot of the Gospel Singers like Mahalia Jackson. It is sort of an eclectic answer but there were a lot of people that I thought had certain strengths. I mean I really liked the Beatles just because they were able to be so versatile and it is hard to lump them into one category.

How do you think your live performance differs from your studio work?

Most of the singer songwriters I know, because, they come from a singer songwriter background are more comfortable in the studio setting. I think that because I come from a performance background I am much more comfortable on stage. On stage it is very live and energegetic and I am much more energy fueled. I love being on stage that is my favorite part, hands down, much more than going into a booth and recording.

What message do you want your fans to walk away with after listening to your CD?

I guess the best thing I can say is that I would love for them to feel that it was a sincere telling of a story and something they could identify with, even if it hasn’t personally happened to them, they could say, “yeah I think she knows that I have been through something similar and I feel this way’, or even if they haven’t they could say ‘I understand what is going on in the story. For me when I listen to a lot of popular music, I don’t understand what is going on in the story. It is great when people tell me I have a good voice but it is nicer when people say “I cried when I listened to this or I laughed when I listened to that.” To me if the emotions are stirred up, and they are stirred up so you are thinking about the material, that’s the best message, you can leave someone.

Official Website: http://www.anyasingleton.com/live

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