My Brightest Diamond performs in The Current studio
by Mary Lucia
May 08, 2019
To see My Brightest Diamond perform is to see an artist fully enveloped in her craft; as songs pour forth from frontperson Shara Nova's vocal instrument, her arms reach out, moving fluidly and expressively with the music. It's hard to believe that at one time in her career, Nova eschewed movement. "I felt that when I started doing music in public, that I wouldn't be taken seriously if I danced," she recalls. "I think as a woman, and wanting to be taken for my writing and my brain, that I stopped dancing completely. After a while, I realized, 'That was a bummer.' So I wrote a dance record!"
That new record, A Million and One, released in late 2018. Now touring in support of the album, My Brightest Diamond — Shara Nova and drummer Jharis Yokley — stopped at The Current for a session hosted by Mary Lucia.
Prior to A Million and One, Nova had produced all her records herself. This time, she co-produced the album with The Twilite Tone (Anthony Christopher Khan). "I trusted him to have a point of view, and I would rather work with people who have strong points of view," Nova says.
Working with a co-producer also generated the title of the album A Million and One, which coalesced around a visual theme. "The Twilite Tone asked me what was the visual landscape of the record, and I had pictures for every song," Nova explains. "So I did make a mood board, and what I found in making that mood board was that all of the songs had collective groups of people — whether that was prison cells or skittles or a million pearls or refugees on the ocean — there was something about this idea of the million, the collective, the 'all of us.' And that is where the title came from, was me doing homework that was assigned!"
Use the audio player above to listen to the complete session with My Brightest Diamond.
More Video
Songs Performed
"Champagne"
"Another Chance"
"I Have Never Loved Someone"
The first two songs are from My Brightest Diamond's 2018 album, A Million and One; the third song is from My Brightest Diamond's 2011 album, All Things Will Unwind. Both are available on Athsmatic Kitty Records.
Hosted by Mary Lucia
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor
External Link
My Brightest Diamond - official site
