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Chastity Brown plays fresh new songs in The Current studio

Chastity Brown performs in The Current studio
Chastity Brown performs in The Current studioNate Ryan/MPR
  Play Now [27:03]

by Jill Riley, Brian Oake and Simone Cazares

April 17, 2017

Chastity Brown - Whisper
by MPR
Chastity Brown - Drive Slow
by MPR
Chastity Brown - Wake Up
by MPR

Chastity Brown's passion for music was born out of the Tennessee gospel church she grew up singing in, and for a while, she said, her music was mostly influenced by the soul and country music she grew up listening to at home.

"A lot of soul singers, we all grew up in the gospel church and those characteristics of literally singing out of your gut and allowing your body to just be swept away with emotion, I feel like that's one aspect of my music," she told Brian Oake and Jill Riley. "The other aspect is just growing up on country and folk and sittin' on the porch. That's what you do: you tell stories and so there's kind of those two combos happening."

When Brown moved to Minnesota 12 years ago, her music began take a different turn and reflect more of the Minnesota music scene she became a part of. For Brown, moving to Minnesota helped her accept where she came from. That's something she has carried with her as she continues to grow as an artist.

When Brown went into the studio to record the song "Colorado" in 2014, she knew something wasn't right. To her, the song sounded too perfect and she knew she needed to make a change, so she canceled the album the song was to be part of, and started fresh.

"It sounded so perfect, but there was distance between myself and the band because everyone performed their parts separately and so we had to scrap a good chunk of that," she said. "So I scrapped it all and then lost my mind. It was such a clear decision, and then the next moment I just felt so lost from myself and started writing some new material."

For Brown, her new album Silhouette of Sirens feels more real to her: it has "a full spectrum of emotions."

Silhouette of Sirens will be released next month, with a release show to be held at the Fitzgerald Theater on June 2.

Songs performed

"Whisper"
"Drive Slow"
"Wake Up"

All songs are from Chastity Brown's album Silhouette of Sirens, which will be released May 19.

Hosted by Brian Oake and Jill Riley
Produced by Anna Reed
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Simone Cazares

Resources

Chastity Brown - official site