Curt Anderson Chats About His New Album & His Growing International Efforts

As singer/songwriter and pop vocalist Curt Anderson stands poised to impact growing international audiences with concerts around the globe this spring, his latest release, Every Moment Vol. II, bows April 13. Offering remixes of three singles as well as four new tracks, the album also gives listeners a unique behind-the-scenes-style bonus with demos of seven cuts and five worktapes. 
 
Every Moment Vol. II is highlighted by Anderson's current two singles: a remix of "Love Like You Love," co-written by Anderson and award-winning writer/producer Pete Kipley (Mercy Me, Matthew West), and both a Hot AC and piano-based version of "Keep Me Falling," written by Anderson, Daniel Doss and David Thulin. The latter song quickly became a Top 5 hit in Australia upon its release. 

Q: Curt, thanks so much doing this interview with us.  Congratulations on the release of "Every Moment Vol. 2," why did you decide to release a second volume rather than a new album?

Thanks! There really isn't a romanticized answer to that. I recently became an independent artist and wanted to release music the same way I consume music, and that's all about singles. So, we put out "Keep Me Falling" and "Love Like You Love" as singles and had recorded a few other songs. In the meantime, Christian retailers in Australia had ordered Every Moment to stock in their stores, but it seemed silly to me to have them stocking just that album when the current radio single wasn't even on it. I thought a great way to focus on digital singles while also having a physical CD with these new singles was to offer it with some unique content that wouldn't be available online.

Q: I believe you have some new songs as well as remixes on this new set.  Tell us more about what is on this new record?

In addition to the remixes of "Love Like You Love" and the radio version of "Every Moment," I'm really excited about "Keep Me Falling." It's been incredible watching that one climb to the top of Christian radio charts in Australia and New Zealand and to hear from stations around the world about how much their listeners are responding. "Identity" and "No Matter What" are two new songs I can't wait for people to hear.

Beyond that, the album gives people a unique look behind the songwriting and production process. I dug into the archives on hard drives and found the original worktapes from when some of the songs were written, then some demos where the songs started to take shape. To have that with the final product, I think, is a really cool thing for listeners. I've always loved hearing how a song was written and produced, and when I've come across early demos or worktapes of my favorite songs, that's so, so fun to listen to. Hopefully people will enjoy that look into the writing of my songs.

Q:  As for the 4 new songs, what can fans expect from them?

I think these songs are reflective of where I am and where I've been since writing the last album. "No Matter What" and "Keep Me Falling" are more poppy, which is where I gravitate, and "Heaven Come Down" goes further into corporate worship, which I love to be a part of at churches and events around the globe.

Q: Being a songwriter, what are your top three major sources of inspiration for your songs?  

Radio, family and faith. I love radio. It's all about great, catchy songs that are making an impact on people. Those are the songs that excite me, so that's how I write. My family is my heart. I'm so in love with who they are and who they make me. And my faith is my cornerstone. The love and hope of Christ is endlessly inspiring.

Q:  What was the most difficult song you had written?  And why is that so? 

For me, music and melody are pretty quick and easy. Lyric is what I toil over, wanting every song to say something of value that means something to me personally and will hopefully mean something to a lot of other people too. I remember that the original verses of "Keep Me Falling" took an especially long time to write. In the days that followed, listening back I thought to myself, "What is this song even saying? There's no depth. I said nothing and kept repeating more of 'nothing' line after line." When David Thulin started building the track, it put me in this whole new headspace. I scrapped almost every line of the original verses and rewrote the whole thing in minutes. I had this clarity of what I wanted to say, and it went from a meaningless mess of lyric that took ages-which you can hear in the worktapes included on the album-to something that I'm really proud of which took minutes.

Q: You have recently had a top 5 hit in Australia with "Keep me Falling."  How did that happen?

That song just keeps climbing! It's been in the Top 30 for almost four months, and Top 5 for I think half of that. You know, I believe it's a relatable song. We've all had hopes and dreams and moments in life that spark something in our soul. And we all lose focus sometimes and need a reminder of where our treasure lies. For me, that's the love of Christ and the love of my family. Those are the truths that I want to keep falling in love with.

I think the song catches your ear from the first seconds and keeps introducing new elements that draw you in deeper as it goes. From writing it with Daniel Doss; to David Thulin bringing his unique flare to the track; to Jake Rye at Social Recording Company and Mike Cervantes at The Foxboro bringing it to life in the mix and master; to Wes Jay at Woodlands Media championing the song to radio stations, a successful song truly takes a fantastic team believing in it even more than I do. Follow all that up with it getting music directors and DJs at radio stations excited to the point they want to put it on air...that technical side of it all is a crazy process.

Q: I believe you made a video in Australia and you plan on going back later in the year.  Tell us about your experience there. 

So fun! I shot the video with Peter John and Epik Films. I've known Pete for almost a decade and was thrilled to finally get to work together on something. He had a handful of ideas for locations near Melbourne and Sydney, and we ended up shooting south of Sydney in Royal National Park. The Australian coast is pretty epic-it's truly a gorgeous video. I was over there twice in March, home for four days in between, and I'll be back at least a couple times before year's end. Some of my best friends are there, and I actually get to hang with them more often than I even see my Nashville friends.

Q: Besides Australia, you have also traveled to many places.  What has God impressed upon you as you travel?

International flights across an ocean have become my standard commute. There are numerous places around the world that are like second homes to me. I spend more time driving on the left side of the road than I actually drive at home on the right; I've got frequent-visitor punch cards from restaurants and coffee shops on nearly every continent; and we've got our favorite clothing and food stores in various countries that I shop to stock our pantry and closets.

I absolutely love getting to experience the unique culture and ways-of-life of so many different people. Japan, Uganda, Kenya, Korea, Thailand, Morocco, England, Egypt, Qatar, Philippines, Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia...but despite all of the things that make us culturally different, the core is the same no matter what income bracket a person is in or what kind of material their house is made of. And music reaches to that core. Seeing people jump, clap and sing along to my music in all of these countries has shown me, without a doubt, that God created music for an incredible purpose. I'm thankful to just get to take part in a small bit of that.

 

 

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