MC:How did the production and writing of this record differ from pass efforts?
Bareilles: Recording this record was quite different from my previous records in that this one happened in installments. I used a variety of producers and recording studios over a period of about four months and took the whole of the record in bite-sized chunks. I think, in some ways, this was how the record stayed so fresh for me, but I have to admit that by the end of the recording process, it felt like I had been recording forever. I was happy to step away and get back onstage to connect with live performance.
Overall, the writing process and recording process were both much more collaborative for me this time around, and that was also a big difference. I ended up co-writing about half the record, and I’m very proud of that. I loved my collaborators, and I feel like I learned a lot through working with each and every one of them.
MC: Do you have a process or particular conditions for songwriting?
Bareilles: Songwriting is different each time, but the great majority of the time, I start with my piano at home. I love writing in the mornings, with a cup of coffee and no agenda. I like to see what falls out. It’s usually a melody that comes first, and then the words will follow. If I am really focused and patient, I can sometimes get through a song in one sitting, but usually it takes me a longer time than that. Sometimes years, even. That is why I enjoyed co-writing so much on this record. The process was accelerated in a really fascinating way. So fun.
MC: What influences, musical and otherwise, informed the writing of this record?
Bareilles: The influences on this record are very much inspired by the sounds of my collaborators. Jack Antonoff and his band, Fun., were a great influence on the tracks we wrote, and the songs I wrote with Matt Hales were heavily influenced by my “fangirl” relationship to the music of his project, Aqualung. In addition to that, I think the influences run the gamut of the kind of music I love––everything from Arcade Fire and Sigur Ros to Prince and Raphael Saadiq.
MC: Your debut sold over a million copies and received Grammy nominations. Your second record debuted at number one. What were your expectations for yourself for your third album? How did you realize those expectations or work around them?
Bareilles: I think it goes without saying that you hope your work is successful. For me, it’s always been a challenge to distance myself from what came before and to detach my expectations from everything. “Love Song” was an amazing first step in my career, and it’s been a huge blessing, but also the one thing that everything gets compared to. I wrote that song 10 years ago at this point. I think I wanted to allow myself as an artist, to show different sides of my creative self and allow myself to grow up a little bit, and I feel that was achieved. I’m so proud of this body of work. I think it reflects a really exploratory time in my life, and the new ones are some of my favorite songs I’ve ever written. I’m really happy with this album.
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