Candace Coker Hits The Bullseye With Her Latest Single “Arrow”

Photo by: Yan Timo

Candace Coker is a Trinidad-born singer-songwriter who brings an evocative blend of poetry, faith, and whimsy to the world of alternative folk. Her sound carries a jazzy softness and a neo-soul grit. She attributes this to her love for old-school jazz and her Afro-Caribbean roots. Candace Coker began to write her songs at the young age of 10, but it was in 2017 where she began her professional adventure.

Releasing her latest single "Arrow," on October 29th, this record is the first single from her album, releasing in Spring 2022. "Arrow" is riddled with Candace Coker's deeply resonant melodies. These melodies help to create a space of wonder, a deep connection to her healing sound, and an invitation to be courageous in the face of love's wild adventure. A beautifully crafted song, "Arrow," gives the listener a sensation of unbound exploration. It is lending itself as a conduit to love's vast landscape. Her angelic voice carries itself as a therapeutic healer, all the while speaking to both the listener's heart and soul.

The coherence between the instrumental and Candace Coker's vocals is prominently displayed in its nearly chakra-aligning vibe. The sounds seemingly traverse the body as they enter the ear. Giving off grounded energy, "Arrow" enables the listeners to fly along with its soundwaves. Her remarkable songwriting ability raises every hair on the body as you follow her story of love and self-discovery. Having the ability to make it to your favorite playlist, "Arrow" is a song that makes us want to indulge in its repetition factor and turn the volume up.

Candace Coker's fan base grows with each new release, making her a household name in the music industry. Seeing as this is but a taste of the energy she has put in her upcoming album, we are thrilled at the prospect of her story being told on such a grand scale. With momentum like this, we look forward to seeing where Candace Coker's career takes her.

Welcome to BuzzMusic, Candace Coker. We are so thrilled to have you here chatting with us about your latest release. What can you tell us about the moment or story that inspired "Arrow?"

So for most of my life, I've carried this sense of nostalgia in my chest. It's strange and hard to explain. But it felt like something was lost that I once had. There were all these longings inside of me: the longing to be loved, known, healed, whole, the longing to belong, and even the longing to create. Throughout my life, I've come to see my longings as clues to what I was made for and who I was made for. I know that believing in a creator God isn't super popular these days. But honestly, for me, my heart just never let me rest. It compelled me to keep asking over and over, "But what if there is a God? What if God really does love and see me? What if all these things I long for are found when I connect?" My heart has kept being this Arrow pointing to something or someone bigger than myself. This song Arrow is an exploration of all that. It's my heart on paper and my journey of engaging my longings to find a deeper connection

Why is it so important to you to make music that invites a deep connection to your fans? Do your live performances have the same effect?

I started writing songs when I was a kid, on the floor in my bedroom, late at night when I couldn't sleep. I would record them on my scratchy cassette tapes and then play them over me as a way to remind me of what was true. My songs were my lullabies. Over time, as I started to share them with other people, I realized that the songs had a similar effect on them, you know? It was crazy. It was the first time I realized that everyone's just hunting for peace and healing in this life and that a song could serve people. So I just kept writing songs, and I kept sharing them with friends who I thought might need them. Eventually, when I started singing professionally, I couldn't shake that desire to serve people through music. And the way I like to serve is by being honest about my experiences and sharing them. It's so strange how that works, hey? A little art and a little honesty can be a deep respite for the soul. Through my own vulnerability, somehow, other people feel deeply seen in their experience and connections to the process of healing. It's fascinating to me, and I love it! I also like the music itself to be so pretty that it connects to the delight and nostalgia in my listeners in a way that reminds them that life is still beautiful in all the hard things and that they're not alone. When I sing live, it's even better because I get to look my audience in the eye and sing directly to them. With less instrumentation around my vocals, I get to offer a stripped-down experience of the music that reminds me so much of my bedroom lullabies. It's wonderful!

We're elated to hear that you have more music on the way! What can we expect from your forthcoming project?

That makes two of us! I am so excited to be launching my very first studio album next Spring. The album is called Bare and Bones, and it'll be an exploration of all the beauty and wrestling involved in being a vulnerable (Bare) human (Bones). It'll be a collection of 10 honest songs that I have written over the years, exploring themes of love, wrestling, healing, faith, courage, and acceptance. I'll be working with the amazing Lori Chaffer, a Nashville producer and a member of the folk duo Waterdeep. So far, we've released the first song on the album "Arrow," and we will be releasing a few others over time as we gear up for the big release in 2022. I'm way too excited for old and new fans to hear the music!

What message would you like to give a young fan who may be looking for that extra push to start their music career?

Honestly, I'd tell them what I told myself, "Girl pick your courage up off the floor and go for it! Has music helped you? Then it'll probably help someone else too. This life is beautiful and messy and way too short for you to be living in fear, ignoring the passions of your heart and denouncing them as trivial. I dare you to take your dreams seriously!" I'd also say, though, that dreams that are focused on ourselves only often don't get realized. Or if they do, we often don't enjoy the journey as much. Because we humans are designed to connect with other humans, so I'd also encourage them to figure out WHY they want to make music and to think about how they'd like to connect with and engage others through music. I'd say, "Latch on to a vision that transcends just you! Those types of dreams are often ones that others willingly participate in and help you realize."

What's next for you, Candace?

Well, currently, I am in the last few days of my Indiegogo campaign as we work on funding the completion of the Bare and Bones project! We're inviting any additional backers to support the project if they enjoyed what they heard in Arrow and would like to hear more. Once that is complete, my producer and I will be getting back to work on the album and the music-making. I also have some Christmas music performances to look forward to.

Photo by: Yan Timo

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