Candi Carpenter originally started out as a country and Americana artist, working with the likes of Brandi Carlile and Jack Greene, before becoming part of the duo Church Of Roswell with Josh Doyle.
However, earlier this year they made the switch to an alt-pop direction with the release of their six-track EP ‘Demonology – Part 1’, which mixes horror movie imagery with lyrics tackling issues including body image and anxiety.
I recently caught up with Candi to talk about the EP, how they approach their songwriting, their performance at Nashville Meets London last year, plans for the future – including new music and a possible return trip to the UK – and more.
So Candi, I guess the first place to start is your ‘Demonology – Part 1’ EP – tell us a bit more about that…
Thanks for having me, Laura, I’m so excited to chat with you. I started the process of writing the ‘Demonology’ album in 2021, just after the pandemic. It was a painful and stressful and exciting and healing experience. In the process of writing the album, I realised that I’m non binary, and that I was bisexual, and I learned things about myself I’d never known. I was extremely overwhelmed by all of these revelations about myself, and I’d sort of decided to quit music at the end of 2020. I was in a band and the band broke up, and I was devastated. And I didn’t want to go through that again.
I’ve been in the music business since I was a kid, I signed with my first producer when I was 11. And there have been a lot of ups and downs, to say the least. I had a major label record deal in in the country genre. And that didn’t work out. And I’d been singing country music since I was a child because as the child of a pastor, I really only listened to Southern gospel music and country radio. My parents believed that country was the most wholesome, family oriented genre. So I chose country because it felt rebellious, and secretly listened to Blink 182 and Britney Spears and Sum 41 in my bedroom.
So when I decided to quit, the only thing I had left was the real me. I felt like that dream died, and a part of me died with it. And I started writing songs again, just because I couldn’t help it. I always write songs. It’s the only way I know how to process my feelings. I was diagnosed with autism in December of last year. So interviews make me really nervous and always have because I struggle to find my words when I need to do it quickly, and I don’t have time to process, I have delayed processing, and also just super social anxiety, I get really stressed and I forget how to be myself.
I’d been masking for so many years in country, smiling as big as I could, and wearing extra makeup and spending hours on my hair just trying to be enough and trying to get it right. And trying to convince everyone I was a girl, trying to convince myself I was a girl, trying to convince everyone that I knew who I was and that I was happy with it. And when I watch old interviews of myself back then I don’t really recognise Candi in there anywhere. So I’ve only recently started doing interviews and showing up as myself, and writing this album was the first step in that process because I had to write the songs in order to figure out who the person inside was and what they wanted to say.
Thank you for such an in-depth answer. With the writing for the album, were there any songs that were particularly easy or particularly challenging to write?
‘Exorcist’ was the first song I wrote for ‘Demonology’ and it informed the rest of the project. I knew I wanted to tell my story, but I didn’t necessarily know how deep it went. I’ve been through a lot of trauma. People with autism tend to have a lot of trauma. And starting in the music business when I was so young I never had the chance to… I’m sorry, can I start that over? I lost my train of thought.
Sure, go ahead…
Yeah, so ‘Exorcist’ was the first song I wrote for the album. And it took about six months to finish. I had to find my voice in order to tell these stories. And the album took about two years to finish lyrically – there are actually a couple of songs for the second half of the album I’m still not totally done with, and I’m working on right now. It’s been important to me to make sure that every line was true, and the most honest I’ve ever been. And I can’t say that any of these songs are easy. There were probably 12 versions of ‘Cult’. This started out as a song about an ex who was abusive, and ended up being about growing up in the church. So it was just as much of a mystery to me as it was to everyone else.
[laughs] I wish that my go to wasn’t oversharing. But I, I don’t really know what oversharing means. And I don’t think I believe in it as a concept.
Was making the record quite a cathartic experience then?
I’ve never experienced anything more cathartic than performing these songs live on stage. Obviously, I was nervous to say some of these things in public. But the reception has been beautiful and healing for me. It’s amazing how similar we all are. In sharing songs on social media, I’ve seen a lot of responses from fans saying, “Have any of us had even one unique experience? Because this is my story too”. And that connectivity, and the stories that we share, and bring us together, it’s my favourite part of making music is finding common ground with other people and sharing those experiences.
I did want to ask you a bit about what the fan response to the EP has been like. Has there been anything about it that’s surprised you – maybe songs people connected with in ways you weren’t expecting or anything like that?
I had no idea what to expect changing genres, and releasing a pop album after spending 20 years plus in the country music business. This has all been new territory for me. I was surprised to see how many people specifically related to the line ‘I was afraid I was the Antichrist’ [in ‘Cult’]. I had no idea s many of us were sitting at home worried about that. It’s a relief to know it wasn’t just me, huh?
One thing which really stood out to me with this record is the horror movie motifs and references. Was that something you consciously wanted to explore the idea of on this project? Or did it evolve in that direction as you were making it?
Thank you so much for asking about that. Yes, real life is a horror movie. And that’s what this album is about, growing up, the scary things that happened to us. The concept for ‘Demonology’ revolved around the study of personal demons. And each song on the album represents a different personal demon that I’m studying by writing about it. Or that I studied by writing about it. I guess I’m still writing about it. I really need to get the second half of this album released because I’ve started writing the next record and now I’m pumped about that.
Yes please! Because I love the first one so much already, I need to hear the rest of it…
I’m excited for you to hear it. I just listened to the first mix of the next single, and we were crying. It’s about losing my best friend of 10 years sort of abruptly. And how much a friendship breakup can feel like a romantic breakup and how difficult it is to heal from.
There’s also quite a lot of humour in the record particularly on a song like ‘Serial Killer’. Given that your lyrics are talking about quite serious topics, was having that important to you to sort of balance things out?
I was never trying to be funny. I was surprised to see where people laughed the first time I played the songs live. I was just trying to be honest, and I think honesty is humorous. ‘Serial Killer’ is about trust issues. I left an abusive marriage in my mid 20s. And it took me a hospitalisation, and about five or six years of therapy to become a healthy partner for someone else. I was afraid to date again. Whenever someone would smile at me or flirt with me, I would close my eyes and imagine the worst and think, “what is their intention? Who are they really? Who are they going to turn into?” Because when I met my ex, he seemed like a nice guy. And he kept a lot from me. I discovered that I was married to a completely different person. So ‘Serial Killer’ is about learning how to open your heart again. And I married the guy that I wrote ‘Serial Killer’ with and about in July of this year.
Congratulations!
Thank you! We’ve been together for a long time. And as far as I know, he is as wonderful as he seems to be. There’s been a lot of time for him to prove me wrong [laughs].
Speaking of playing the songs live, I know you played some of them at Nashville Meets London last year – how was that whole experience?
Performing in the UK is one of my favourite things in the world. We actually got married at Stonehenge in the UK because we’re so in love with it. It was the first time I performed a lot of the songs live. The year before that. I played ‘Exorcist’ and ‘Serial Killer’ and some of the songs from the album at the Blackpool Country Music Festival. The welcoming reception I’ve received from the country music community in the UK and the friendships I’ve been lucky enough to form mean the world to me. I still talk to Tim Prottey-Jones probably once a week on WhatsApp. And Gavin and Christine Shaddick are like our UK mom and dad.
I also wanted to ask you a little bit about your writing process and if you’ve got a typical way you approach your writing, and if that’s changed over time as well?
I have no idea what my writing process is still, because it’s different every time. I’ll get an idea, and then I’ll obsess over it for weeks, months, sometimes years. And eventually, it’ll click into place. I sing it in my head over and over again. Sometimes I seem like I’m not paying attention, or I’m completely distracted, because I’m writing a song in my head. And I need a pretty good foundation to bring into a co-write unless I’m writing for and with a different artist for their project.
Personal and deeply intimate details are important for me to share, because I want the listener to be able to get to know me and also be able to give them a piece of myself. They’re giving me their time, and I want to make sure I’m sharing something with them in exchange. I’m actually producing an EP for my friend Danni Rose right now. She’s out in my studio, I just stepped in to talk with you. But we’ve been working on her album all day, and I’m very excited for that to come out. It’s gonna be incredible.
And how have you been finding venturing into producing?
I co-produced my EP and my album with Peter Shurkin and Alden who’s my partner. So we work together, which is interesting, but I think we have a pretty good balance. I think we do a good job of creating time for our relationship, but also not bringing our relationship into our work. Others might disagree with that [chuckles].
What’s the song you wish you could have written?
I usually hyper fixate on one song at a time. My answer today might be different than my answer a year ago. Hmm. [pause as Candi thinks] This is such a such a tough one. You know, I think it’s ‘Riptide’ by Vance Joy. It brings me so much joy, which must be why that’s in his name.
Is there anything left on the list of things you’d like to do musically – people you’d want to work with, places you’d want to play, things like that?
I’m really secretly in this just so I can play Saturday Night Live someday. I want to meet Steve Martin, and thank him for my dark and twisted sense of humour. And it’s a gift I want to give to my mother because we watched Saturday Night Live together when I was growing up. And I think it would be the most special experience for us to share. I’m not sure she’d like the songs that I performed on the show, if I ever had the chance to do this, but I think she would find a way to enjoy herself anyway.
What does the next six months to a year look like for you? Is there going to be a ‘Demonology – Part 2’ soon?
Yes. I’m not sure on the release state for the second half half of the album, but I do know that the next single is coming very soon, because I’m shooting the artwork for it on Sunday.
Can you give us any clues about what that’s going to be like?
Well, the artwork is a mystery to me as well, at this point. My dear friend… so I’ve been collaborating with a creator named Said Del Diaz. for over 10 years, he’s one of my best friends. Said is an amazing photographer and visual artist, and he’s been helping me create the visual world around the album. Filming the videos you see on TikTok, which I edit, and taking gorgeous photos to help promote the project. And we have no idea what we’re going to do for the artwork. We’re going to get together Sunday and experiment and try some things. I’m a little nervous about that, because I usually have a very clear vision and plan. But I think the song is so difficult for me to listen to, that I’m having trouble immersing myself in a visual world for someone else. Because when I listen to the song, and I close my eyes, the only thing I see is the face of the person I wrote it about. And I’m trying to minimise that connection just for both of our sake, you know?
And lastly – have you got any plans to come back to the UK any time soon?
Not yet. I don’t really have a tour schedule lined up just yet. We’re working on that. But the UK is always a priority for me. It’s great to see my friends and I love the food. I love fish and chips more than anything in the world.
That’s what everybody always says – fish and chips or Indian food…
Yeah, and that’s, like, probably our two favourite things, my partner and I.
I don’t know if you’ve been to Dishoom but I’d definitely recommend that next time you’re here…
I ate at Dishoom the day after we got engaged. We got engaged in Glasgow. I’d asked my partner not to propose to me [laughs] on this trip. It was our first trip to the UK. And I knew he had a ring. But I also know that we’re both very neurodivergent and extremely forgetful. And I was imagining this scenario where he lost the ring and then we couldn’t enjoy our trip because he was so upset about it. But he did propose to me on the trip and totally surprised me. I had no idea. I had been joking the entire time, at different locations as we were sightseeing that he should have proposed there and apparently devastating him each time because he’d had this great plan. He took me to see the Glasgow necropolis and I redeemed myself before the proposal by saying you should have proposed here.
That feels like such a brilliant place for a proposal…
I’m not sure I’d agree with you on that, but I sure loved it!
Candi Carpenter’s latest EP, ‘Demonology – Part 1’, is out now on A Frame Records.
