Its been almost ten years since Amerie dropped her last studio LP, 2009’s In Love & War. Since then the R&B singer has released music very sparingly, focusing her time on writing fantasy novels which turned into a success as she became a New York Times best-selling author. The 38-year-old also became a mother this year. Switching back to her original name of Amerie (it previously was changed to Ameriie with an extra “i”), the songstress releases the double album 4AM Mulholland and After 4AM.
A majority of the 13 total songs were recorded during Amerie’s pregnancy, as she tells Billboard in a new interview. “Everything on the album was recorded from when I didn’t know I was pregnant to eight, nine months [along]. “Not a Love Song” and “The Wall” were around then. I was doing little sexy rolls on those tracks. [Laughs] I record, engineer and do my own vocals and rough mixes. It was really creatively freeing.” Hear the double LP below.
Continue after the jump….
How did the idea of a double album come about in 4AM Mulholland and After 4AM?
“I love my projects to be very sonically cohesive. As I was recording, I wasn’t trying to limit myself in any way, I was feeling very, very creative — I had just came off of writing a new story and I wanted to go full-out into the recording process. I didn’t want the album to be a smorgasbord of sound, it needs to have a vibe and that’s why there’s two projects.”
I’m hearing a lot of darker and moodier vibes from you on this project.
“The funny thing to me, I’ve always felt like my music is dark — even when no one else thinks that. Like with “Why Don’t We Fall in Love,” I got on the video with the director and he’s like, “OK, I’m thinking summertime, you on a beach,” and I go, “OK, this is cool, but actually my initial thought was black, red and a highway.” No one else seems to feel that.”
Amerie — 4AM Mulholland
Amerie — After 4AM
