Anne Dereaux’s Funky Take on Love, Work, And Her Music [Interview]

Photo Credit: Brandon Hicks

A deeply rich singer, Anne Dereaux, sits down with OkayMuva’s own Myles E. Johnson to talk about heartbreak, music and love.

“Every right we made was wrong,” Anne Dereaux coos on the first single from her upcoming project, Lolita. Dereaux sounds like a woman who has arrived on the other side of whatever that bleak, sticky thing we call heartbreak is. It is not a sound associated with fear, scarring or scorn, she instead sounds learned and ready to remember, and that is the point of view that is most interesting about the songstress. Usually, the role of the female singer is to be knee-deep in whatever emotion she is feeling; to be the victim. The idea is to feel like she is going through the traumatic experience as you hear it, but through her songs, Dereaux flips the timeline of the narrative, reflecting on what it took for her to arrive at the other side.

In “mo[u]rning,” Dereaux travels across the sounds of stars shooting and chains dragging, lyrically toying with the idea of the morning of waking up without a lover with the same mourning that comes with physical death; it reminds you of what Timbaland might be doing with Aaliyah today. It reminds you of what Sadé might create if she was 25 in 2017. Comparisons aside, it feels unique. It immediately passes through the layer of pop and R&B singers that seem to be chasing what they are and who they sound like, and immediately finds itself amongst the women who know; the Solange, the Beyoncé, the FKA Twigs, the Jazmine Sullivan, the Kelis. The women who just need the stage and the camera, and the public chases them because they have the mysterious it factor, but it isn’t so mysterious, they just know who the fuck they are and stick close to that space even when they are exploring soundscapes seemingly foreign to them.

I got to sit down with Anne Dereaux for a quick Q+A about heartbreak, music and that sticky, dark thing we call love.

Photo Credit: Brandon Hicks

Okayplayer: You are premiering with a heartbreak song, were there any reservations about not starting with your standard party or love song?

Anne Dereaux: Not at all, this project is really about creating a narrative, telling a story that comes full circle. Sometimes the best lessons are born out of pain, and that just happens to be where this story begins.

OKP: What is the first song you fell in love with?

AD: Growing up, the first song I learned and fell in love with was “L.O.V.E.”, as sung by Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. I was about six. That, and anything Mariah Carey.

OKP: You challenge how women are able to exist in the music industry, is this on purpose? What would you like people to take away from Anne Dereaux as an artist?

AD: It's not necessarily on purpose, it's more just a product of my experience and the trajectory I’d like to be on as a musician and creator. I didn’t start making music when I was six, or grow up singing around the piano with a musical family. I really focused on my life as a designer and visual artist as a kid, went to school for architecture, and afterwards began to explore music. At some point, I grew to resent how much my focus on architecture got in the way of the music I wanted to make, but in time grew to appreciate how much it contributed to my process and how unique it made my approach.

I did though, have to make a decision to shift my focus to music if I wanted to make it really work, which I did in June of last year when I quit my architecture firm. Ideation and execution as an artist is an all consuming process, so I started my own design firm to control my workload and schedule. I work on vampire hours, designing high end residences from my home, in order to support my music at this point. As difficult and insane as that may be, I trust that it’s going to get me to the point where I’d like to be. Which is to use my platform to become a music/design mogul, next to the likes of Pharrell, Solange, Kanye; execute design collaborations with brands, do a furniture collection for Fendi Home, a line of speakers for Bang and Olufsen, a women’s line for Adidas, direct the stage design for artists I admire, or just design their dream homes [laughs].

I honestly just want to give my best to the world, wherever and however I can, and I couldn’t do that from a cubicle, so I took some risks. This may be cliché, but if there was anything I wanted people to take away from my journey, it's that you only have one life, and I’d like people to live it to its greatest extent. Don’t create monsters or glass ceilings that aren’t there, just do it.

OKP: How did you get into music?

AD: I was studying architecture overseas and saw Van Hunt performing at a hole in the wall, and sang for him and his manager after the show. We started making songs when I moved back to the states.

OKP: How does design influence your music, and vice-versa?

AD: Whenever I write, it’s a very visual process. I see a story, a narrative as I’m writing. I think too, that many of my concepts are born of a “reverse engineered” type of mentality, which is necessary when budgets are minimal; seeing what resources are available, and figuring out a way to use those resources to create something magical.

OKP: Your project is called “Lolita”. How did you arrive at that name? What was the backstory?

AD: When I was about eight, I came up with this alter ego, Lolita. I wasn’t even allowed to watch TV, so I really don’t know where I got the name. But Lolita was the version of myself who said, wore and did what she wanted. I wouldn’t break character for days at a time, and my mother being a psychiatrist, would get really concerned. [Laughs] Anyway, I couldn’t think of a better protagonist for my EP than a girl who decided to break free of that which was expected of her, and take a chance on herself, which is where I am in my life right now. Though the bigger story of “Book of Lolita” goes beyond one’s personal experiences with love; it looks at the bigger consequences of what seems to be a societal trend of us not knowing how to love one another.

OKP: What sounds and stories inspired this new project?

AD: I think my personal experiences with relationships definitely inspired this project in part, but also stories of my friends, and the African American community as a whole. You’ll hear the progression in the project of the types of decisions one makes out of pain and desperation, the consequences for generations to come, and questions of where to go from here. I definitely wanted to experiment with more electronic elements and sounds, but more than anything get back to what made me, me. That’s really what makes you stand out in a place like L.A., where a lot of people are just trying to stay trend relevant. I grew up in Nashville around the corner from Music Row, I went to a Baptist Church every Sunday, the first song I ever recorded could have been a demo for Otis Redding, the next for Blind Willie McTell. I’m as comfortable with country as I am with blues and gospel. So I used very southern/country/blues melodic elements, and combined those with trap and electronic vibes.

OKP: Define love.

AD: Love is the constant and unwavering action that goes into looking out for and contributing to someone’s journey to their best self. That applies to self love and love for others.

OKP: What is a quote about love/heartbreak that you have never been able to forget?

AD: "The opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy." - unknown, tweaked by me.

Book of Lolita is currently available now. Cop it, share it and add some love to your playlist.

Myles E. Johnson is an Atlanta, Georgia-based storyteller. He is also the creator of the literary project, Dear Giovanni. You can follow him on Twitter @HausMuva.