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Christian Morant’s Homecoming: Birthday Bash and Album Premiere
Published: December 1, 2024

Poet, author, and speaker Christian Morant is stepping into a new chapter of his artistic journey with the upcoming release of his ‘secretly titled’ studio series and album, set for December 2, 2024. Having left Charleston for New York in 2021, Christian has returned with not just a fresh sound but also a renewed confidence as a decorated poet, author, and speaker. 

Christian’s upcoming album release will kick off  with “Christian Morant’s Birthday Bash & Album Release!” featuring opening acts from Grandaddi Caddi, with Christian accompanied by vocalists Emily Curtis and Eliza Novella, as well as guitarist Michael Duff. The event will take place at the Charleston Pour House deck stage on Monday December 2, with doors opening at 4 PM and the show starting at 6 PM. Admission is free, with donations welcomed.

I was recently able to talk with Christian about the journey and intention behind the upcoming album, as he continues to expand and network with a ‘new sauce’ and very uniquely delivered project. 

Q&A with Poet, Author, & Speaker Christian Morant

Your album is described as stemming from a place of vulnerability and accountability. Can you share a specific experience or moment that inspired this theme in your work?

CM: Much like anybody, I believe it’s a culmination of similar lived experiences that leads to the want or need to share and hopefully break patterns which no longer serve one’s self and those around them. Personally speaking, as the listener may gather throughout, I’ve struggled with how to fully love others, primarily romantically but also with friends and family—how to properly reciprocate their needs while also communicating my own and not only building trust but maintaining it. The other half of the album is the battle with myself, how to fully and gracefully show up, accept, express, and love myself.

You collaborated with 14 musicians from Charleston and New York. How did these collaborations shape the sound and message of the album? Were there any surprising moments during these sessions?

CM: Collaborating with so many different facets of talent was certainly a learning curve, a great one at that. And while each song was built in their own unique way, I believe the feel and message is relatively consistent, especially considering the album is mostly acoustic. The most challenging part was coordinating each session, securing adequate studios, and navigating everyone’s schedules including not only the musicians but film crew too. Fortunately my lead director Jackson Bailes was patient and easy to work with from beginning to end. And the most surprising aspect overall is everyone’s willingness to see the vision through and continue to show up, which is not something I’m particularly used to within such a fluctuating career/lifestyle.

Recording live at six different studios must have been a unique experience. How did the environment of each studio influence the final product?

CM: It certainly was a unique experience and each environment played a huge part. Being that the songs were filmed and recorded live, each studio provides a different essence and mood to each song’s visual counterpart. As far as the audio component goes, I was a bit afraid of how the songs would sound as a collection, if the quality of the sound throughout would be consistent. Fortunately I worked closely with the very talented Linds Cadwell and several other sound engineers to thwart such doubts. And as a takeaway for readers, each studio has different equipment, which has now taught me to obtain their gear list before going to session—hopefully making the process smoother and end result even more satisfying on future projects.

The album takes listeners on a journey through various emotions. What do you hope listeners will take away from this emotional experience?

CM: Ultimately, I’d love the listener to feel that they too can freely express themselves in any capacity they need or see fit—happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, frustration, doubt, love, whatever.

How do you feel your artistic style has evolved since your last project, and how does this new album reflect that growth?

CM: My last project has heavily influenced this album, such being my book “GROWTH”, a collection of poems published in 2023. Throughout its creation and since its release I have really honed in on the performance element of my craft as a spoken word artist, which has propelled my abilities as a musician. It has taught me to slow down, how and where to breathe, and various forms of delivery, cadences, and structure. It has confidently allowed me to return to my love for music with more passion and grace. From a business perspective, such as marketing, promotion, and designing the book myself, it gave me a foundation for the tools I applied to developing the album—a perspective of continuous growth and learning I believe we all possess throughout all of life.

Your album release coincides with your birthday celebration. What does this dual significance mean to you? How long has this project been in the works?

CM: I started recording this project in 2023. However, the first song I started writing in 2017 was “Eclipse”. Since then a few of the songs were previously released with different sounds and techniques opposed to the live acoustic approach the album is today. And being able to celebrate its release on my birthday is my way of gifting pieces of myself back to the world while bringing those I love together in community and merriment.

You’ve already released singles like “Mermaid Green” and “The Greatest Showman.” How do these tracks fit into the overall narrative of the album, and what message do they convey?

CM: Opposed to the density of the struggles and hardships I mentioned earlier, these singles provide a much more lighthearted and loving narrative to the album. Like I shared with Charleston City Paper, the essence of “Mermaid Green” is a fairytale feeling of love in general while still navigating some of the complexities of a relationship. “The Greatest Showman”, to quote the City Paper, “shows how important music still is to a man who has found success as a spoken word artist.” It is also the album’s opening track and one that sits closest to my heart as a tribute to my late grandparents, Joey & Linda Morant.

As a poet and musician, how do you balance the two art forms in your work? Do you see one influencing the other in your creative process?

CM: Poetry and music are intertwined and certainly influence one another. Much like colors of a painting, each can exist standalone or be blended together—poetry the foundation of the lyrics to any song and music the soul and emotion. And much like how a guitar, piano, or drum solo shines light on the music, I love how poetry shines light on the spoken word. So, no matter what, poetry is throughout all of my work be it by itself or accompanied by music. But as far as balancing the two throughout my performances, historically speaking they’ve generally existed separately. However, similar to my hour-long set with Sta.La.V. and Michael Duff for the North Charleston Arts Fest, I’ve been striving more and more to marry the two, especially given longer shows.

With your poetry book “GROWTH” and upcoming performances like the one at the Pour House introducing your next release to the world-how do you envision your live artistic journey unfolding in the next few years?

CM: I envision bigger shows, more paid opportunities, more collaborations, and a healthier balanced lifestyle. Most of all, I really seek to establish a core band—or a strong duo-dynamic like Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise—who are all dedicated, passionate, encouraging, and simply excited to jam songs and breathe new life into poetry. A band who wants to see the world, shares a vision, and are in it for the long haul. While I absolutely love working with various artists, I believe having a consistent band of humans locking in each performance only helps the art and each other grow—funkadelic and renowned band The Psycodelics is an excellent example and peers I highly admire. Nonetheless give the audience the best experience possible!

Authenticity seems to be a core value in your work. What advice would you give to aspiring artists about being true to themselves in their creative expressions?

CM: Do it for yourself, not the money, the rewards, the approval, validation, or any external factors. Those may or may not ever come, and if they don’t… would you still do it? I surely do, because being true to yourself gifts you the experience of not only allowing others to love you as you are but loving yourself. Nonetheless creating and sharing art simply brings me peace and joy. And one of the most rewarding aspects art can also provide is the human connections it aligns us with 🙂 So like my signature shirt says, CREATE CREATE CREATE!

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