Naomie April & the Moments debut release: 'Stages'
Local Music Makers
By Peggy Ratusz
I first learned about Mills River, NC native Naomie April from her voice teacher and mentor, exemplary instructor, performer, composer, Wendy Jones. When Jones asked me 6 years ago to attend one of her student’s performances, I was happy to oblige.
I distinctly remember then teenager, April, taking the stage looking cool as a cucumber. When you know, you just know, when a singer is going to take their gift further. All of us attending that performance knew.
After graduating early from West Hendersonville High School, April went on to receive a degree in music from Brevard College studying opera.
She and I have shared the stage a few times and while that’s exciting to remember, it’s the intimate conversations we’ve shared that I recall just as fondly.
These deeper dive discussions stem from her innate curiosity; her desire to at least try to get things right the first time by seeking the counsel of those who walk or who have walked a similar path to the one she ventures now.
Maybe it was growing up on a small farm that instilled in her this solid, persistent yet patient drive toward her dreams of a career in songwriting and performing.
Right after the storm-of-all-geologically-changing-storms, I was fortunate to land on a video April posted on social media of a song that she indicated would be on her upcoming album. This song made me cry. I listened to it five times before sharing it on my timeline.
I beseeched my followers to stop and take a look and a listen. Those who took heed expressed similar reactions to mine after doing so. More on this song to follow.
I immediately reached out to April and invited her to be interviewed. I love introducing readers to exceptionally gifted musicians and there’s no better way to get to know Naomie April than to break down the tracks on her debut record she calls “Stages.”
If you love the “speak easy” vibe, you will be entranced with this collection of song poems. April’s ability to get to the heart of an emotion gives us permission to call forth our own romantic and life changing stages.
“The building blocks with form and lyrics on most of the songs were there before I met with the instrumentalists that appear on the record. Once we began running the tunes, it was all about putting them in the right places, giving them enough space that the songs could grow and each musician could bring their own tastes to them.”
It’s obvious throughout the album that these stellar players/feelers reflect and play up to the lyrical content, making it easy for listeners to melt into each song.
The first of the nine tracks, “Doin’ To Me” finds her voice, the violin and piano meandering in and out of harder and softer textures.
“With this song, my intention was to create an argument between the voice and the violin as if the violin was the person. We intentionally decided to keep this one loose rhythmically because when you’re having an argument with someone, no one is staying in meter.”
Falling in at number three is “Happy to be Sad.” I told April that when I listened for the first time, I felt like I was reading pages from her journal. And guess what? The song was inspired by a journal entry.
“My main intention with this song is to convey that you don’t have to fix how you feel, you just have to feel it. Sometimes you have to meet yourself where you’re at in order to feel your way through it. In order for me to be happy, I sometimes have to be sad.”
With “Business to Pleasure” there’s a shift in confidence and positioning. A dynamic saxophone solo with a quivering violin in the background, had me feeling like the violin represents the “business” and the saxophone, the “pleasure.” “I feel like anyone can relate to this one, “she says, “it’s a little sassy.”
The song the band agreed would make the best first music video is track number six, “Scaredy Cat.” Giving unsolicited advice in accusation form as a way to turn the tables and gain control is my take away.
It’s maybe a little childish too, April admits. “Sometimes I’m the scaredy cat and sometimes I’m dealin’ with it. All of the lyrics to this one just flowed out one day sitting in my car in a parking lot.”
One of my favorite tracks is “Kaleidoscope Eyes.” It conjures up for me, this scene of two lost souls slow swaying in bitter sweet syncopation, on a kaleidoscope dance floor. One trying their hardest to let go and the other conflicted about love and commitment.
The voice and cello combination on this one makes it even more poignant. “This was the hardest one to record because I’m the most vulnerable. I’m sometimes the heartbreaker. I’m the one who sometimes hurts somebody. We do sometimes, what’s done to us.”
We finally come to the song I mentioned earlier and it’s called “Spell.” Her voice brings all the feels and the message of hope, perseverance and promise is overwhelmingly comforting.
She recorded this song solo when she was eighteen after the end of her first relationship. She calls this amalgamation “the grown-up version.” During the relationship she says, “I stopped writing completely. I didn’t perform either. Then all of a sudden it came to me. It’s a song that you wouldn’t really think is about romance.
"But the concept came from the idea that we were sinking together, like Jack & Rose on the Titanic. I look at people sometimes and it feels like they’re under this spell.” She explains further that she feels compelled to help people feel their feelings and snap out of the spell they seem to be under.
Naomie April knows firsthand what that feels like. “I have four or five songs in my head all at once all the time and it just never stops. I can’t fall asleep at night sometimes.”
Album Cover Photographer- Brennan Dugan
Other two photos taken by Stephen Houseworth
Stages Album Credits
Singer/Composer- Naomie April
Piano- Alex Taub
Drums- Micah Thomas
Violin- Alex Travers
Bass- Travis Lunsford
Saxophone- Ben Colvin
Franklin Keel- Cello
Photographer- Brennan Dugan
Mixing/Mastering- Phil Ludwig
Mixing/ Mastering for “The Garden”- Zachary Miner
Studio- Seclusion Hill Music
Cover Art Photographer- Brennan Dugan

Peggy Ratusz is a vocal coach,
song interpreter, and songwriter.
For vocal coaching email her at
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