Music Q&A with Wildlife Freeway
Photo courtesy of Wildlife Freeway
Jazz infused indie folk meets pop artist, Wildlife Freeway, released her debut album, Sunny, in February and if this sound is your jam, this album may be an AOTY contender for you! Wildlife Freeway’s Sunny recently took some time to talk about the making of the album, how Alex Ebert (Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros) ended up working on the album, who she’d like to see in concert, and more!
Congratulations on the release of Sunny! What does the album mean to you?
Wildlife Freeway is a bridge for wild animals to cross busy human roads without getting squashed.
I hope for the songs to build a bridge for hearts to safely cross over from hiding and shame to the party of their dreams, where we whisper and weep over dessert in the kitchen and dance like no ones looking with our favorite trusted friends.
The Wildlife Freeway SUNNY album is a bridge to experiencing our true selves through sound and story.
The album was recorded in February 2020. In what ways did the pandemic affect the making of the album, if it did, as the album is now officially out?
The SUNNY album was recorded the first week of 2020, actually, and that new beginning knew not of what was to come. I like to shine on any positive aspects on the pandemic times, but it was rough. Wildlife Freeway was a freight train screeching to a halt, burning smoking brakes pedal to the ground. It was like telling a blossom not to flower. It was a bummer. Now that the Wildlife Freeway album is free, it feels like everyone needs these particular songs more than ever.
What’s your favorite song off Sunny?
I can’t pick a favorite child, but I can talk about “Family” song. I sometimes say it’s the most important song I’ll ever write because it knits people together in a way that is most needed right now.
It is the most simple song and that is why it is so strong.
Alex Ebert worked on the album as well. How did he end up being a part of the process?
I met Alex when I was on tour with my upright piano in the back of my old station wagon. I called it my heart healing tour bc of the grief I felt at the time losing my dog. So I toured the whole country crying with everyone everywhere I went. The shows were powerful, sacred. The night before my show in New Orleans my host brought me over to Alex’s studio, and I would say our musical connection was pretty instantaneous. I have piano magnets in my fingers, so I just started jamming, getting to know the pianos. One of them, the beautiful Steinway grand, is what I ended up recording the album on a few months later.
What is one artist or band that you haven’t seen in concert, that you hope to see someday?
Tsegue Maryam Gebrou. I have never felt a musical connection to any other pianist the way I feel with her. I don’t play other people’s music, and I don’t want to learn her songs, but the conversation she creates with the piano spans all languages. I hope to do the same.
We all have our days where it may not be going as well as we’d like. People deal with their worst days in different ways. What helps you get through the bad days? How do you stay positive?
Dang it really depends on my proximity to my shadows how I answer that. Sometimes I’m not positive and sometimes I am. I’m a workaholic, so I really have to stay in touch with my friends for fun times. It’s a sacred balance that I resist because I’m so focused on creating these musical experiences to shine like the sun on everyone. And when I’m not doing that, when I'm behind the clouds, I also paint secret paintings for hours a day, crowding up my house ! It’s cool being an obsessive creator but it requires stamina, persistence and relentlessness. Basics like eating healthy, rest, sunlight, moonlight, dog, kind true hearted friends, and wrestling myself to the floor to do some yoga moves are all the glue.
Thank you for taking the time for this Q&A. Any last words or final message for the readers?
Peace Peace Peace Kindness
Sweet Words
Health Wealth Love