Phoenix-based singer-songwriter Annie Moscow has just released a fantastic new album, “Land of Dreams.” Poetic lyrics ride atop Moscow’s lush and layered music: it’s an album full of depth and emotion, touching on love, loss, learning, letting go, and, above all, acceptance. Life lessons learned by living them. Anyone with a predilection for excellent storytelling will appreciate Moscow’s marvelous collection of songs, and we sat down with her recently to discuss the album and her music in more detail.
Hi Annie! You have a terrific new album out in February called “Land of Dreams.” How did these songs come together and what broad strokes can you tell us about the collection?
The songs were written during the lockdown years, when there was plenty of time for reflecting and creating. They are songs of the universal human experience, as viewed from the observation deck of my own — with the underlying theme being acceptance and gratitude for the gifts life can bring, especially from experiences that don’t seem like gifts at first.
One of the songs on your new album, “Open Dream,” is really great and stood out to me. What can you tell us about this song? What inspired you to write it and what is it about?
Thank you. That song is special to me, too, because it came to me in a dream. I often get messages in dreams. Sometimes I get messages of comfort, and sometimes I get a song. This time I got both. Dreams are so ephemeral; if you don’t grab on to pieces as soon as you wake up, they start floating away immediately. This time, I caught some of those pieces and was pretty happy about it, but then had to literally drag myself out of bed and over to the piano at 5 a.m. to make sure I got it down before it got away.
The dream gave me a beautiful melody, along with the reminder that in spite of any drama or turmoil going on out in the world, there is always a deeper place inside, “home,” where everything is ok.
What was it like recording this album overall? What was the vibe in the studio, and how did this song, in particular, come together?
The vibe was fantastic — creative and fun. This is my sixth studio album. In the past, I would put myself in the hands of a producer who would supervise everything, bring in “their” people, and you could really feel their stamp on the work. This time, I wanted the project to be more fully mine, so I sat in the co-producer chair, alongside producer/engineer extraordinaire John Herrera, and I brought in “my” people — wonderful musicians that I had my own history with. Integrity. Love. No egos. I relished every minute of it.
When the album was probably 99% complete, there were a few songs that needed just a little something more. This was one of them. I wanted it to be a tad “dreamier” in parts, so we brought in Kenny Skaggs (Glen Campbell) to put on some steel guitar, and, wow, that brought it all together just perfectly.
What do you hope this album conveys to those who listen to it?
Beauty, a sense of recognition, and peace.
Since you started out, how has your songwriting changed — both musically and lyrically? Do different things inspire you now? Where do you tend to get your biggest inspiration from these days?
Whenever I go through major life changes, a song cycle usually comes out of it. If I had one of those halls in an art gallery where they do a retrospective with the dates and then they lay out the artist’s work with little plaques — “This was the ‘midlife crisis’ period, this was the ‘electronica period,’ this was the ‘post-divorce’ period — I could have a little plaque like that next to each album. Every song collection I’ve put out, in hindsight, there are clear markers. And musically, I’m always growing and shifting as my ears light up to new sounds, and those changes are reflected in each successive album as well. Right now, I’m inspired by jazz, the on-the-spot creativity and freedom of the players, and the rich harmonic textures.
Songwriting can be a really personal endeavor. Is it tough to share that stuff that usually might be private if you weren’t writing a song about it? Does unveiling the songs publicly, when you release a single or an EP or album, make you anxious or is it cathartic to have the songs out there?
You’re right! Privately, you might only talk to a few people, but in songs you share with everyone! It is scary at first — mostly when I debut a new song and I look around at people’s faces as I’m singing it, and then it’s like, “Oh….” You forget the powerful emotions that went into writing that song, because you’ve already processed it and played it through about 500 times, but now you see how it’s hitting others for the first time. Sometimes, I’ll feel really vulnerable afterwards, like I just walked through the room naked. But it’s also unbelievably rewarding to feel seen and to be able to connect to others at such a deep level. Often, people will come up to me and relate a story, or share how one of my songs has affected their life, and it’s the most rewarding and life-affirming thing.
It’s not uncommon for an artist to be working on something new while promoting an album. Do you have anything in the pipeline to follow this album? What’s next from Annie Moscow?
Speaking of putting it out there — I’m working on a memoirish-type of book, inspired by and based around the songs from this album, that will be released mid-2024. Now that’s scary! But I find the more I can connect with myself and then out into the world, it all circles back. Life becomes richer and more meaningful. So, I’m all in.
