Singer-songwriter, Ana Cristina Cash, recently released My Christmas Collection, a unique compilation featuring eleven all-time favorite holiday classics and one original song. The project was produced by John Carter Cash and recorded at the historic Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee and features everything from a captivating bilingual track, “Silent Night (Noche de Paz)” that showcases Cash’s rich voice, outstanding harmonies and Hispanic American heritage to a heart-warming duet, “Baby, Its Cold Outside,” with John Carter Cash. Here, Cash kindly took the time to answer her Essential 8 where she shared the story behind the album's title as well as the song "Santa Claus is Real," discussed her songwriting process, and more.
Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? When I was a little girl, I listened to a lot of Celine Dion’s voice. I think that listening to Celine deepened my appreciation for power ballads and for songs that required a broad range. What is the story behind "Santa Claus is Real?" With the song, “Santa Claus is Real”, that I wrote together with my husband, John Carter Cash, we wanted to document Santa’s visit to a home on Christmas Eve and how he came down the chimney and ate all of the cookies. It was a fun process for the both of us to work on this together and imagine what that would be like. Is there a story behind your album’s title? I named my Christmas album “My Christmas Collection” because it is literally a comprehensive collection of my favorite Christmas songs. I hope that other families will add it to their holiday collections as well.
Please share the story behind your album’s artwork. I worked with Gina Binkley for photography and the art direction of my album. She made me feel so comfortable since It was my first official photo shoot after having a baby and I will still working on losing weight following the birth of my daughter, Grace June. I was feeling a little self conscious after giving birth and she eased my worries. Meg Boes did an amazing job with my hair and makeup and Kim Perrett was my stylist. It is important to work with a team that makes you feel confident and beautiful. When I explained the concept of “My Christmas Collection” and how I wanted the artwork to portray something that was timeless and classic, Gina understood the concept immediately and ran with it. We had fake snow for the shoot and the fallow deer on our family property even got to make a cameo. Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? I chose most of my holiday favorites for this album. For example, I have always wanted to do a one woman choral version of “Carol of the Bells” we mixed it up with “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman.” “O Holy Night” was a song that I sang a lot in church as a kid. I got to do a really jazzy and playful version of “Santa Baby” which was really cool. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? I draw from personal experience or the things that I see around me. If it is based on a fictitious story, I make sure to really put myself in that situation before writing about it. When/where do you do your best writing? In isolation. Right now, that means my bathroom floor with a bunch of pillows and essential oil diffusers and soy candles around me. What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? Don’t take “no” for an answer. People are going to try to bring you down, but the most important thing is to believe in yourself. If you are coming from a truthful place, people are going to want to hear it. If people try to bring you down and tell you that you can’t do something, it’s because they are either jealous or they are projecting their own fears onto you. Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
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