Chantae Cann reflects on her 'Journey to Golden'

It’s hard to believe that Chantae Cann just released her debut solo album last Friday (11). The sweet-voiced soul/jazz singer — who was born in Chicago and currently lives in Atlanta — has, after all, dropped a bevy of tunes over the years, mostly in the form of collaborations with heavyweights like Snarky Puppy, the Foreign Exchange, Khari Cabral Simmons, and more. She’s also traveled the globe on tour, both on her own and singing background for artists such as India.Arie and P.J. Morton, among others. So with such a rich musical resume, it wouldn’t but far-fetched to assume she’d be gearing up for LP two or three. But Journey to Golden is very much her first, full-fledged collection of songs. And come this Saturday (March 19), she’ll take the stage at Vinyl to perform some of her brand-new material. But before she takes the stage, we caught up with Cann and got the details about her fresh project.

Let’s start by talking about the journey, so to speak, to this project. What was it like putting it together?

I’ve been working on this project for a very, very, very long time. I started out wanting to do an acoustic EP, and then I recorded a couple songs … But the songs I would perform at my shows were the same songs I was gonna do for the acoustic EP … And I think I just got tired of doing those songs over and over again. So I thought: “On my for-real debut project I want to do something that is new and fresh.” I called up my friend musician Anthony Dixon and we literally just vibed out … And the majority of the songs on Journey to Golden are the results of those vibe sessions.

So during that whole process of creation and re-creation — the long road to your album actually hitting folks' hands — how did you keep from getting anxious or frustrated?

Let me tell you! Yes I’ve been anxious and I’ve been frustrated … But there have been different reasons for the gradual progression of the album. My biggest issue was time. I was making sure I was able to sustain my life, whether that means traveling doing background gigs or doing session work. I was so busy trying to maintain, I just wasn’t scheduling enough time to hone in on what I needed to write down for my own project. That can be seen as a crutch, especially if you’re used to a certain routine or certain way of life. But at some point, you have to evaluate your life and say: “Am I moving in the direction that I know I need to move in for my personal vision that I know God has given me?” So when I started focusing on creating content that was gonna be solid, then things started falling into place.

Well congrats on finally unleashing your solo music. Although, you’ve dropped a lot of tunes — mostly collaborations with other artists.

The collabs actually worked to my benefit. People would ask me: “Are you tired of doing collabs?” But the collabs really helped me because they brought me to different audiences. Whether it was singing background for India.Arie, or recording with Foreign Exchange, Jaspects, Khari Cabral Simmons, Snarky Puppy — all those people have their own individual audiences and they were nice enough to allow our audiences to be one big happy family.

What sound were you going for on Journey?

It’s jazz-based with soul undertones. Very organic with instrumentals. It’s kind of like ambiance, atmosphere-type music. It’s just kind of got a vibe to it. All positive, inspirational lyrics. The single for example, “Beauty Speaks,” is all about viewing nature as a way of God speaking to you. You know, when you see a sunset or some clouds, and say: “This is so beautiful. Man this is amazing.”

And what is the meaning behind the album’s title?

To me, golden represents everything in life you’re trying to accomplish. Golden is a state of mind. Golden is wholeness. Golden is inspiration. It’s peace and tranquility. It’s your happy place — and that’s somewhere everyone is trying to go. You know, we never really just arrive 100 percent of the time. We’re always on a journey to get better and receive more from life. So Journey to Golden is my representation of that.

Chantae Cann plays Vinyl on Sat., March 19. $17. 9 p.m. 1374 West Peachtree Street. www.centerstage-atlanta.com.