Anne Marie Bush
International singer-songwriter Anne Marie Bush has been topping the charts from her home in Copenhagen, Denmark to Los Angeles, CA. Her latest single and video for HiTech Chick is hot, hot, hot. I can’t sit still when I listen to that song!
Fans love a good back story, so I asked Anne Marie to tell me more about HiTech Chick: “I was listening to some tracks in my home studio here in Copenhagen, and I had the feeling that I was turning into a geek. I’m always on my gear, recording and playing my instruments. I wanted to write about it. Then, the hook HiTech Chick came up and I built a story around it.”
One of my favorite Anne Marie Bush tracks is her funky hit Supasexual. It’s an amazing dance tune and the song has a fun back story too: “I wrote that song when I was living in LA. I was hanging out with my friends Bill Champlin, lead singer from the band Chicago, and his wife Tamara at their house along with Michael Caruso. We started to play. Bill picked up the guitar and started playing a riff. Then, we came up with the hook Suprasexual. The song evolved from there. We wrote it in a few hours. We did a demo and then decided to record it for real in the studio with producer Peter Roberts. We released it on my own record label and it became a Top 10.”
Anne Marie Bush has been performing her entire life, since before age 12. As Anne Marie told me, “I’ve always been writing songs. When I was 12, I begged my mom to buy me a piano. I had some really great internships while I was in elementary school and high school with bands here in Denmark: Lars Lilholt Band, Gnags, Kræn Bysted’s, Halgrim and Baldur. Then, I got into the Academy of Music, where we learned improvisation and dancing, especially the Afro-American dances, which I really love. I danced for many years. We were also taught to write music and to play all the different instruments, because we were expected to teach. Those were some very intense years.”
Who can we credit as Ann Marie Bush’s major music influences? “I’ve always had a crush on American music, from Ray Charles to Mariah Carey to Whitney Houston to Aretha Franklin, Prince and Michael Jackson. Carol King’s Tapestry was a huge, huge eye opener for me. Everything changed when I heard that album. I really wanted to become a singer-songwriter. I started rehearsing the piano more. The songs are legendary. I listen every time I want to be inspired, they’re so well crafted.”
Anne Marie Bush wants to write music that is authentic and impacts her audience: “I want the audience to feel that nerve, to connect and feel the emotion. I’m just happy that I can be a part of the big ocean of music. I want to pull into it, every time I write, record and perform. I want to connect with the audience in an authentic way and know they feel it too.”
What does Anne Marie Bush look for when she collaborates with other artists? “I look for talent, something unique, musicality, something extraordinary and authentic. I look for music that moves me, move us. I want to create something that becomes way bigger than us. I want that feeling that we are creating something together that wants to be created, that we are just the instrument.”
Anne Marie Bush understands the power of social media, and she constantly strives to find the right balance: “I try to be on social media at least once a day, so fans can see that I’m still alive and doing something creative or acting crazy. I’m trying not to be online too much, because that takes away from my time in the studio. I’m finishing up my album and editing my own videos and producing new stuff and teaching, so I don’t want to be overwhelmed. On the other hand, I really need to be online, so my fans know that I’m staying in tune with them, in synch with them, and that I care. I know that they like to see what I’m doing. When I’m on social media, I try to be authentic and real.” Excellent strategy: carve out a little time every day and connect with your fans.
What advice does Anne Marie Bush have for other artists who are trying to make it both in Europe and the United States? “I can’t stress enough the importance of being you. Be real. Be authentic. Nurture your craft. There are lots of great artists out there. You really have to make an effort every day to walk that extra mile and to be professional in everything you do. So, if you have a demo that’s not quite there, don’t send it out. Work on it until everything is there, and it really expresses the best you can be, because you cannot go back.”
What’s up next for Anne Marie Bush? “I’m releasing my next single U Belong To Me on May 27. It’s finished, and I’m just editing the video. I have a radio campaign in the United States for it. I’m hoping that the US and the rest of the world will like the song, because this song is a bold move. It’s more honest and a little softer. I’m hoping the fans will connect with the song and see that I am more than a club act and that I have some R&B on the plate.”
I can’t wait to hear U Belong To Me and to hear those singer-songwriter chops. I wish Anne Marie Bush all the best.
The Amused Now Featured Artist Series
Anne Marie Bush
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Cynthia Kahn, Founder of Amused Now
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