New Orleans musician Erica Falls’ new song, “Good Time,” was released on Jan. 30, as part of her new album, Emotions, being released March 1.
It would surprise people to know she is an introvert, and as long as she has what she needs at home, she can be in the house for a few days, tending to her garden, sipping a glass of wine and cooking gourmet dinners.
Her family background is rooted deep in New Orleans, its music and culture. “My love for music started in my home. My mother was an outstanding vocalist, a classically trained pianist and organist outside of being an educator. My father was a great singer and true music lover,” she said.
This bled into the fabric of the upbringing for her siblings and herself. “Being the youngest of the bunch, I was introduced to all kinds of music from Gospel, Jazz, R&B, Classical and early Hip-Hop,” Falls added.
Falls saw her mother as her greatest influence when it comes to singing. Listening to her mother playing the piano and singing in their family’s home was magical for Falls.
“She sang with so much emotion, like she was in front of an audience. Hearing her made me a little afraid to sing, so I took to the instruments and played piano and violin up until high school and that’s when I really got into singing. Also, growing up in church was also a musical foundation for me that you can hear in my approach to music,” she stated.
According to Falls, being a musician wasn’t her choice. Her parents were big on education and their desire for her was to attain a degree but music had other plans and always came and got her.
“It was a natural progression. My love for singing always brought me opportunities to grow in this arena. So after surrendering to it music took me on a journey that I am still on today,” she continued.
Falls stated that as an independent artist, having her music released means a lot, even more so as a Black woman, at any time of the year. “Being able to express my truths through music is the ultimate goal, in hopes that someone whether they’re Black, white, yellow, or brown can relate and identify with my story.”
“There is no real true significance in the month of March. It just felt right to release the project at this time. It’s heading into Spring when all things new are plentiful and starting to bloom,” she stated.
According to Falls, the pandemic was one of the many life experiences that helped shape this album. “At first I was numb, I was just trying to figure out how in the world I was gonna be able to pay my mortgage. So I did grocery delivery until it became unsafe to continue and I was trying to figure out what else to do,” she said.
Then, her local radio station, WWOZ, played sets from Jazz Fest over the radio, including hers from the previous year, and she cried lots of tears.
“Those tears opened up my creativity and I started to write. Being independent and due to Covid it took a while to get in the studio. Then the world slowly started to open and I started to record, halfway through the sessions, I lost my mother and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Finishing this project at that time was hard but it was also a blessing because it gave me a way to deal with my loss,” she continued.
With the help and support of her family, producer Nick Mercadel, and her manager Mike Quinlan she was able to complete the album.
Falls feels that most of the songs on the project are relatable no matter your race, but there are a few songs that will resonate with the Black community, due to “a shared experience of having to work twice as hard to be recognized with the ever present chance of being overlooked and undervalued.”
She hopes that her album “empowers listeners to know that they are not alone, with prayer and perseverance we can accomplish anything we put our minds to.
To support Falls and stay up to date on her career, those who are interested can subscribe to her newsletter here: https://www.ericafalls.com/contact
