On his new album, Noise, he said, “It has been a minute since I made an album, and I was making a record with covers on it again. I wanted to push myself to make something else. I wanted to write music that inspires me. “Gentleman’ was the first song that I wrote for it, and I worked on it for a year, to get the sounds where I wanted them. I wanted them to be unique and to sound like me.”
“Once I found that vibe, everything came together,” he said. “‘Gentleman’ was the first single and it’s about where I am in my life: I’m married and I have a son. The song is a celebration of being a ‘gentleman’ in this day and age.”
He shared that the title track “Noise” was the last song that he wrote for the album. “I was very inspired by everybody’s protest movements and speaking out on things they are passionate about,” he said. “It’s a call to action to make noise on anything you feel injustice in your own life.”
Mann has “Honestly,” a new duet out with India.Arie. “I am very excited about that. I love her, and I am such a fan. I was so honored to have the opportunity to work with her. I think of it as the art piece of the whole record: it is haunting and beautiful,” he said.
On the impact of technology on the music business, Mann said, “This is the first release that I’ve treated differently. I intended to release it as one record, but I changed my mind and decided to release one song a month. Once all the singles are released, I will release everything as a full album. I am excited about it since every song gets the respect and attention that it deserves.”
“Technology has made things more accessible for everyone to listen to great music,” he said.
Regarding the recent passage of the Music Modernization Act, he said, “It’s important to support our songwriters, who are providing us with so much content and so much music right now. Without songwriters, we wouldn’t have anything to listen to in the first place.”
He listed Ariana Grande and Pink as his dream female duet choices in the music business. “I’m a huge Ariana Grande fan. I love her. I think Pink and I would do a good duet as well,” he said.
For Mann, it was an “honor” to be a part of the 25th-anniversary tour of The Phantom of the Opera. “It was a dream come true. I was so lucky to be able to do it,” he said. “I performed 700 shows. It was such an honor to with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh, and to be a part of that legacy. It was a dream role and an amazing opportunity to sing in the biggest venues in America.”
Chris Mann’s music is available on iTunes. “I am really appreciative of the fans, especially for them being into this new direction I’ve gone in. That is sweet and it means a lot to me,” he said.
To learn more about Chris Mann and his music, check out his official website and his Facebook page.
Read More: Digital Journal reviewed Chris Mann’s new single “Noise.”
