An Honest Conversation With Anson Seabra
Samantha Colleran, November 2021
Anson Seabra released his Feeling For My Life album in October. Written during the pandemic and using fairytale imagery, listeners of Anson’s will get a deeper look into his mind and get a feel for his unique songwriting abilities. In a recent conference with º1824, Anson discussed the process of making the album, music that inspires him, and what it was like to tour for the first time.
In terms of the pandemic, Anson shared that the world of COVID didn’t impact his songwriting process much. As a self proclaimed homebody, Anson said that he would stay home and write music for hours everyday. However, Anson noted that the ability to collaborate with people has become easier than ever, which is definitely a positive aspect of the pandemic that has become the norm. Writing independently allows Anson to be really, truly creative with his writing. Sometimes when you’re in a writing session, you may feel as though you have to stick to a certain style. You can write about whatever you want, and Anson describes the feeling as freeing.
Speaking about the recent tour he went on with Alec Benjamin, Anson reflects on the fact that this was his first time out on the road. He felt that it was really special to play for larger audiences and hear people sing the music that he had written. Being on tour gave the music a true purpose, it’s not just for streams, but getting to see an audience of people sing the lyrics Anson had written in his bedroom back to him. He described singing his music live as ‘relieving’; he’d been working on them for a really long time and finally getting to share them with the world and hear people’s positive reactions was a proud moment for Seabra. He spoke so humbly about being able to play to crowds of people, and that’s the mark of a genuine, true artist.
If you’ve listened to Anson’s work, you may wonder why fairytale imagery is so prevalent. Anson cites it as a form of escapism, he spoke openly about doing a lot of internal reflection and working on getting back in touch with himself, and he realized so many people have a disconnect with the nature of reality. People are so focused on the rigid structures of life like going to a 9-5 job, but fairytales give people a look into a world completely different from our own. When people listen to Anson’s work, he hopes to give them a new world to escape to. Cliche? To some people yes, but if you can write and sing with as much passion as Anson does, you can tell really great stories in a way that makes people think about their own lives. It gives people something to look to during dark times, and at the end of the day that’s what we all turn to music for.
One thing I took away from this conference is how unafraid Anson is to be honest in his music. One song he talked about most often is “Lucky Charms”, the eighth track on Feeling For My Life. Diving deeper into the conversation of being a vulnerable songwriter, Anson said that writing lyrics like “I hate myself but I don’t want to” is a line he was unsure of what people’s reactions would be. It proves that ‘normal’ people can have nuanced and self deprecating thoughts, which can be a hard pill to swallow. Although he had these reservations initially, he said that someone has to convey these messages, and I’m really glad he stepped up to the plate and was able to do it so beautifully.
If you haven’t heard of Anson Seabra, I highly recommend looking into his album Feeling For My Life, and his recently released Christmas EP titled a heartfelt holiday featuring two original songs and two covers. Let me know your thoughts in the comments on Anson, and be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on all future releases!