Andrés Miguel Cervantes said the title of his new album, Songs For The Séance, references his process as a songwriter. “It has to do with the concept of getting in touch with the spirits of the past and present,” he said. “Exploring the memories that move us, or hold onto us. Your life experiences are a well that you can draw upon. The title song was written 10 years ago, and it took a while to build an album off of that concept.
“I like to meditate on the ideas that arise within me and let them grow and develop on their own,” he continued. “A lot of time, I’m composing in my mind, but I try not to get too involved with what is happening, organically. I let the songs be what they want to be. The process can happen quickly, but sometimes it takes years to finish a song.”
Although he grew up in a home full of music lovers, it took Cervantes a while to decide he wanted to be a songwriter. “My parents both sang, but I played sports as a kid,” Cervantes said. “I had a friend whose mother played music. She heard me singing over the years and encouraged me. I bought my first guitar when I was 22.”
Listening to the music of guitarists John Renborn and Bert Jansch got Cervantes interested in fingerpicking. He began teaching himself. “When I was 25, I was gifted a Bert Jansch record,” he recalled. “That sent me down the path to create my own music. It took years to discover my own voice and decide what I wanted to write about.”
As he developed a catalogue, he began performing occasionally, once or twice a year, while working a day job. That changed in 2012, when he met producer Alicia Vanden Heuvel, owner of Speakeasy Studios in San Francisco. After seeing him perform, Vanden Heuvel asked him if he’d like to make a record.
“I think he’s one of the great poets and storytellers of our generation,” she said. “His voice is unique, lush, yet familiar, classic.”
With Vanden Heuvel producing, Cervantes recorded The Crossing, showcasing his acoustic fingerpicking and mellow tenor up front in the mix. Vanden Heuvel brought in musicians to add subtle touches of pedal steel, violin and backing harmonies. “I wanted to create a sonic landscape reflecting the open spaces of the West,” Vanden Heuvel noted.
They took the same approach on Songs For The Séance. “I recorded five songs alone, singing and playing guitar,” Cervantes said. “We recorded five more with a rhythm section.”
When the basics were down, they discussed the direction of the arrangements, adding wordless vocal harmonies that drift in and out of focus, with subliminal washes of sound supplied by other players.
“New Friend” is a mid-tempo country tune, driven by a heartbeat supplied by a bass drum. A gospel-like call and response between Cervantes and the women singing backup illuminates the chorus. “I was living out in the high desert and thinking of an entity that would guide someone through the process of songwriting,” Cervantes explained. “The new friend is music, or my inner light.”
On “Sis and I,” Cervantes plays a simple rancheria rhythm on his acoustic, as he describes the childhood experiences he shared with his older sister: climbing trees, watching TV, eating at family barbecues and driving down to Mexico to visit relatives.
“As you acquire more experience, you see the world differently,” Cervantes said. “As you grow as an observer, you can reflect on whatever you see in the world, and make meaning out of it. It’s like an artist that paints a slice of life on a city street. It doesn’t have to be a profound moment; it’s just a moment, and it has a value to the people who are living it.
“It’s like the music of Townes Van Zandt or Leonard Cohen: the ability of being able to capture something simple, that could be seen as superfluous, but it’s a beautiful moment that you want to share,” he continued. “I want to be creative and keep writing. For a long time, I didn’t feel like I had a voice. I like to keep that in mind when I’m writing.”
‘Songs For The Séance’ was released on Speakeasy Records on Nov. 1. Listen to the album on Cervantes’ Bandcamp page: andres-cervantes.bandcamp.com. More info: andrescanta.com. Cervantes performs Fri, Jan. 23 at 8pm with Indianna Hale and Jimmy Touzel at Little Hill Lounge, 10753 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito.
