Best Vocal album of the year award winner, Grammy nominated artist and Blackmore’s Night front woman with several #1 Billboard charting albums under her belt, Candice Night, known to families across the world as the Princess of Magiquest has written a new album entitled, STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT inspired by the birth of her children and her love for the children of the world.
In an exclusive interview with RadioNursery.com, Candice talks about her music inspiration, her roots in renaissance music and her 1.5 year old daughters foray into writing music!
RadioNursery.com – Why did you decide to make a CD of lullabys?
Candice Night – When I was pregnant with my 1st child I felt so incredibly spiritual. As if I were part of something so much bigger than myself. So grounded…part of a true miracle. I was still touring, recording, singing all the time and performing. So, my child, in utero, was around music all the time. When she was born, I always wanted the 1st sound she heard in the morning upon awaking and the last sound she heard at night that would ease her to a world of dreams to be the sound of my voice, singing soothing comforting and loving words just for her. When I was still pregnant I was inspired to record some of the songs on Starlight Starbright in a very simple form. The idea was that if I had to be away from her, when I went back on tour, she would still have the comfort of Mommy’s voice to sing to her whenever she wanted. A couple of friends of mine got pregnant around the same time I did. When they asked me if I sang my children to sleep I said “Of course! Don’t you? “but they weren’t confident enough in their own voices to sing to their children. I was so surprised because your child doesn’t know if your voice is good or bad- just that its Mommy’s soothing tones. Sounds of love. So another reason to create this CD is for people who don’t feel secure enough in their own vocals to have their children be sung to sleep each night with lullabies. It is created with so much love that that love translates into the songs and the vocals were recorded to keep that intimacy of those special bonding moments. I still sing my children to sleep. My son and daughter both ask for me to sing to them at the end of the night and we make up songs all day long about different things. Music is such a very important emotional and creative aspect of a child’s life. I believe it’s crucial in the foundation of their childhood.
RadioNursery.com – How did your roots in renaissance music affect your approach to Starlight, Starbright?
Candice Night – I utilized my love of renaissance music with the interpretations and instrumentation of certain songs. Obviously most of the instruments I am used to playing on stage or on recording in my band Blackmore’s Night were going to be too bombastic as I am used to playing shawms, rauchpfifes, crumhorns and other double reed woodwind instruments. So I had to rely on playing the recorders on the tracks and also incorporating plucked psalteries and hammereddulcimers to bring the renaissance inspirations presence to some of the tracks. I also have a true love and respect for strong melodies for the sake of the song, not for the modern day sake of fashion, or trends or materialistic gain so my path always seems to be the winding one through the woods that I try to brave on my own. I feel my way and just enjoy the journey, step by step. I also am taken by the visual of the renaissance times. Before all the electronics took over. Before air and road rage and things being so sensationalized. Just simple times, a star filled sky, bon fires on the hillsides and a castle in the distance. So nature is very important to me, and a great inspiration. It brings me back to those times, to that inspiration. Just to appreciate the colors of a sunset, feel the wind through my hair or the grass beneath my feet, as they would’ve done back then, is very grounding for me. And my children are raised to have the same respect and awe of nature as I have.
RadioNursery.com – Your daughter, Autumn wrote a song on the album when she was 1.5 years-old. How does it feel to watch her create music?
Candice Night – It’s incredible. My son Rory can do it too, but he’s doing it a bit more sparingly. Autumn just does it unabashedly and with full on confidence. She is the sun and he is the moon, symbolically in my world. Autumn has written so many songs, and on a daily basis will respond to my questions with answers sung to me. We also play a game where I name a topic and she makes a song up about whatever it is – spur of the moment and at the top of her voice. She can play this game for hours and never get bored, changing tempos, keys, rhythms, it’s absolutely amazing. The story behind Lullaby In the Night, which we shot the video for in Germany and Autumn is featured in, is that when she was 1 and a half I heard singing from her room. I looked in and she was sitting in a rocking chair, rocking her doll to sleep and singing this song. I got my camera and videotaped her singing it. It was magical in its simplicity and always stayed in my head and my heart. Such a touching moment, so innocent –just between her and her dolly. So when my producer came out I said we just had to record it. And I was so excited for her to get her 1st writing credit. It’s a “proud Mommy” moment.
RadioNursery.com – How important is music in your household?
Candice Night – Incredibly important. It is part of our daily routine. We wake up to it, sing throughout the day, and go to sleep to it at night. Our lives are like a musical where we just break into song, it’s quite funny. But we also have family music time where my husband will play guitar, Rory’s on drums, I’m on recorder and my daughter will sing. Those are such special moments. We have quite a variety of music that we listen to in the house, from traditional Czech folk music, to renaissance music to classic rock to modern day songs. Plus, when we go on tour, our children always come with us, often taking the stage during a song or two. It’s a great family adventure.
RadioNursery.com – You are the Princess of Magiquest which is featured in all the Great Wolf Lodges (across the US and in Ontario, Canada), how do children react when they see you in person?
Candice Night – At this point they don’t really react at all, funnily enough. They’ve seen me on TV or in magazines or at the Magiquest locations on screen, they’re just like “Oh, there’s Mommy again” and they get on with the journey.
Candice’s album STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT, inspired by the birth of her children, Autumn, age 5 and Rory, age 3, and her love for the children of the world, is filled with enchanting music that will lull children (and you) to a night of peaceful sleep and help them to awaken to a day full of promise. You can listen to music from STARLIGHT, STARBRIGHT on RadioNursery.com