How Did ABIAH Create “Life Is a Ballad”? | Talks at Google

TL;DR

ABIAH created “Life Is a Ballad” through a rapid, intuitive process, writing most of its songs within two weeks of recording the entire album in one day. In this Talks at Google interview, he explains how Anita Baker sparked his passion at age nine, why storytelling shapes the largely non-autobiographical record, and what vocal coaching has taught him. Read on for the stories behind his music and craft.

Transcript

RYAN LOREN: So Abiah, welcome. ABIAH: Thank you very much. RYAN LOREN: It's so good to have you here. I'm really looking forward to this evening. It's going to be great. ABIAH: I'm excited to be here. RYAN LOREN: Excellent. So the first thing I wanted to talk about is just give us a little bit of background on how you came up and started your music... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤕 Abiah's passion for music started at a young age, and he wrote numerous songs by the age of 12.
• 🍰 The album "Life is a Ballad" was written and recorded in a short period of time.
• ❓ The album is a collection of stories, with only a few songs being autobiographical.
• 😀 Abiah is a vocal coach and faces challenges with people having unrealistic expectations.
• 🧑‍🎤 He enjoys the process of coaching and witnessing the growth of other singers.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did ABIAH create the album “Life Is a Ballad”?

ABIAH wrote most of the album’s songs within two weeks of the recording session and recorded the entire record in one day. He says songs usually arrive with the lyrics, melody, and full arrangement together.

Q: How did ABIAH begin singing and writing music?

ABIAH started singing at about nine years old after growing up around classical music and singing in a church choir. Hearing Anita Baker perform “Sweet Love” made him fall in love with her voice and with music, prompting him to write songs feverishly.

Q: Who influenced ABIAH’s early musical development?

ABIAH’s mother was a pianist for the late opera singer William Warfield, so classical music surrounded him while growing up. Anita Baker became another defining influence when he heard her sing “Sweet Love” at about age nine.

Q: What is ABIAH’s songwriting process?

ABIAH describes his music as highly through-composed, with a song often arriving nearly whole. The lyrics, melody, and arrangement usually come to him at the same time, reflecting a craft he began honing when he was young.

Q: What inspired the title song “Life Is a Ballad”?

ABIAH had the album title about four years before writing its title song. The song emerged after he watched Steve Irwin’s wife and children on Oprah Winfrey’s show and heard his wife say that the wind had stopped moving since he left; ABIAH says the song poured out in about 15 minutes.

Q: Is “Life Is a Ballad” autobiographical?

The album is mostly storytelling rather than autobiography. ABIAH identifies only “Foolish Heart” and “Turn the Light On” as songs based on his real-life stories, while friends’ experiences helped inspire the rest.

Q: Why does ABIAH often write melancholy songs?

ABIAH says he is naturally drawn to melancholy and can write from a sad place even during the happiest moments of his life. Despite that sadness, he believes hope is always present in his work.

Q: What does ABIAH teach singers through vocal coaching?

ABIAH challenges expectations of instant results, emphasizing that he spent years developing his own craft. He encourages singers to be patient, vulnerable, complete the necessary study, and become the best performers they can be with their individual abilities.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Abiah started singing at a young age and was influenced by classical music and Anita Baker.

• He had a prolific writing process and wrote a whole album of songs by the age of 12.

• Abiah's album "Life is a Ballad" was inspired by a moment on Oprah's show and is a collection of stories, not all autobiographical.