Columbus’ Own: Brandi Sparks uses music as a means of encouragement to audience

Chloe McGowan, Andres Ibarra
Thu, 05 Aug 2021 00:55:17 +0000
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.Sparks’ new single called “I Love You More,” written for her grandmother, is set to come out before this fall, Sparks said. Photo credit: Andres Ibarra | Lantern Reporter

Alternative folk and soul ballad singer/songwriter Brandi Sparks has been passionate about music since she was young, but didn’t write her first song until her early 20s.?

Born in Cincinnati, Sparks said she grew up in Columbus after moving when she was 10 years old. Sparks said she spent some time in Florida playing music and doing some “real growing up” before she moved back to Columbus two years ago and began playing locally.?

“I’ve always been so passionate about music and about singing,” Sparks said. “I remember in high school, singing in my room with the door closed, with my piano. Every night, that’s what I would do.”

Sparks was not someone who often played sports or hung out with friends in high school, she said. Instead, she’d spend time by herself singing and playing piano.?

Despite knowing music was something she wanted to get more heavily involved in, Sparks said she wasn’t initially sure how to, instead pursuing several other job interests, such as painting, serving at restaurants, asphalt bookkeeping and banking.?

“I pursued a lot of things,” Sparks said. “I’ve always done other things to financially support the music up until recently, when I was able to kind of support myself with it.”

Sparks’ music is inspired by her relationship with her creator, she said. Despite her imperfections and ups and downs, she said she knows she is loved and seen for who she really is and wants to share that love with the world.

“I wrote my first song when I was in my early twenties,” Sparks said. “It was a worship song. I didn’t write a whole lot after that, until my son was born. As soon as he was born, I felt this burst of creative energy, and I wrote all kinds of stuff and just couldn’t stop.”

Sparks said the majority of her songs are written as she is coming out of a low point in her life and stem from the things she wants to say to people to encourage and support them through their own troubles.?

“Beyoutiful Life,” Sparks’ first album, was released on Spotify and Apple Music July 13, 2018. She said the meaning of the album title and the songs were about rising above the storms within you to be who you were created to be.?

“That’s what the whole album was centered around,” she said. “Just the mental struggles that we have as artists, and I think everybody has highs and lows, and just showing everyone that, ‘Hey, I’m here too, and we can get through this together.’”

Sparks’ new single called “I Love You More,” written for her grandmother, is set to come out before this fall, Sparks said.

“She’s getting older and wondering what her purpose is,” she said. “People don’t need her as much as they used to, and [she’s] just kind of feeling a sense of hopelessness, and I wanted to write that to encourage her.”?

The song wasn’t originally written with the intention of being recorded and released, Sparks said. However, after she sent an iPhone recording of the song to her producer, Chad Warren, they began swapping ideas, bringing the song to life.?

Warren, who’s produced music in Columbus for the past 10 years, said it’s important to show that artists can bring a song from the grassroots up to the highest level, if they have heart and passion.

“One of my goals as being Brandi’s producer is to be kind of like Robin to her Batman,” Warren said. “A lot of times you need someone to have your back that really knows the music, knows the vision and knows where the person wants to go. One of my goals is just to elevate that in her, and I believe in her.”

Sparks and Warren said “I Love You More” took 45 plus hours to produce and has a total of 94 vocal layers. Sparks said the layered vocals in the background are a staple in her music.

Sparks said she’s been playing at weddings, restaurants and other venues around Columbus, such as The Barrel and Boar and Tin Pin Alley, for the past two years in order to build momentum as a local artist.?

Although a present goal of hers is to put on listening rooms and songwriter festivals so that she can continue to talk to others about her songs, Sparks said the pandemic gave her time for personal growth.

“I tried to stay present on social media,” Sparks said. “I did a lot of porch concerts and called it ‘Porch Sessions.’ Whenever I go out and perform, I always meet people that really enjoy the music, and it just keeps me going.”

“I Love You More” is the first single on Sparks’ upcoming album and will be released before fall. According to her website, Sparks is performing at Barrel and Boar Canal Winchester Friday from 6-9 p.m.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated the artist will release an album in the fall. That was incorrect. She will release a single, and the article was updated to reflect the change.