women indie music

Philadelphia native, Christian R&B singer/songwriter Christa Deana describes her music as a journey through her spiritual walk. Her “running music for the Christian walk” has every note, lyric, and genre of her music blended together expressing how she has learned to love, trust, create and live.

Christa dedicated herself to music as a child, most notably winning the Young Artist Competition for Allentown, Pennsylvania. A gifted writer and vocalist from a young age, she performed her first original song at age 11 for her church  and consequently secured lead oratorios from classics such as Handel’s Messiah and lead songs in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

Her musical journey would take her on tour with several choirs across the U.S., England, France, Turkey, Spain and Romania and while on this tour Christa would discover a love for conducting. She has excelled as a director for several choirs and also worked as a soloist, writer and conductor with The Lesser Light Collective.

Christa obtained a music education degree from the University of Valley Forge and is currently a music educator and worship leader at several churches and facilities.

“If God Doesn’t Want It” was released in February 2018 and she is currently working on a self-titled album of all original music. In addition, two new singles will be released in April and June, respectively.

I recently interviewed Christa about her new single, her new album, what decades inspire her music, and much more.

Congratulations on your new single, “If God Doesn’t Want It”. What is the message behind it? Is this a preview of your forthcoming album?

Thank you! I’m really excited about it! The message behind this song is based on personal experience. As an innate perfectionist, I’ve planned and expected many things to happen in life only to be disappointed realizing that making decisions on my own often filled me with regret. After coming to grips that God not only knows best but wants the best for me, I confidently recorded “If God doesn’t want it, then I don’t want it. I refuse to complain about what He hasn’t given me”. This single is definitely a preview of the upcoming album. The entire album is filled with songs written solely from my experiences with God and what I’ve learned during my relationship with Him.

Your forthcoming, self-titled album will be released in Fall 2018. Can you tell us what the theme will be? How did you come up with it?

With this self-titled album, I chose very carefully which songs I felt encompassed not only who I am, but what I stand for. I consider this an introduction album. Nothing I do matters if I don’t convey that having a relationship with God is worth it. The album will take you through a journey of an average Christian including the lessons, the pain, and the victories. You’ll hear heart expressed through poems, tears, and intentional musicality.

Congratulations on winning the Kindred R&B/Soul Award in 2017. Can you tell us what the award is and how you felt when you won?

Thank you! The Kindred Awards is an awards show held on the East Coast for various Christian artists in every genre you could think of. I was blessed enough to have the opportunity to win the vote for the R&B/Soul category. When I won, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness. It was a crucial time in my music career and God used that award to confirm that I was going in the right direction. I didn’t expect it at all because I didn’t even tell people about it. That’s when I realized that there were fans who loved my music and that all my work truly wasn’t in vain.

What do you want your audience to experience/feel when you are performing?

Through my music, I want people to feel the presence of God and be inspired to get to know Him better, no matter where they are in life.

You have said you are inspired by various genres and decades of music. Can you tell us specifically what they are? How they inspire you?

Oh boy! I’ll start with decades. The 70’s to now is where I receive most of my musical influence. That includes rock, pop, jazz, soul, classical, gospel, worship music, country, the list goes on. I’m not as much of a genre/artist as I am into the music itself.

Depending on what I want to say, I have to think very carefully about the chords, the key, the instruments, etc. and I have a lot to express so I’m grateful that there’s a plethora of inspiration available in the music industry.

You have toured with several choirs that took you all over the US and to other countries. Can you tell us about your experience?

Those trips were some of my favorite memories. I really enjoy getting to know other cultures and learn of the power of music. They didn’t always know what they were saying, but they didn’t have to. The music alone spoke for itself.

On some trips, we even had the chance to go into people’s homes. I fell in love with families that were so different than me. Love crossed the language barrier and that’s not a lesson that can be taught, it’s experienced.

It was during your touring that you discovered a love for conducting and excelled as a choir director. What do you love about conducting and directing?

I absolutely adore the art of manipulating sounds with my body language. It’s more than keeping time. Your body translates to them what you hear in your head and how to execute just that. I think it’s the closest thing to magic you can get.

Tell us more about The Lesser Light Collective. How was your experience working there as a soloist, writer, and director?

The Lesser Light Collective was a band of various artist that came together and wrote music about the Bible. We did 2 extensive albums and toured the country sharing our musical take on complicated verses in scripture. I’m very grateful for my time with The Lesser Light Collective. They gave me a lot of experience and I couldn’t have asked for a greater group of people to work with. We were all so different, but our passion kept us together. Every time we got on stage you could see exactly that. Lots of good memories with good people.

Tell us about your experience being a lead oratorio in Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and lead songs in The Pirates of Penzance.

Every time I was asked or got the part I wanted, I was ecstatic to get the chance to express myself and extend my creativity in a way that I am unable to when singing in a choir. I loved giving my take on the work of music. I always saw it as my chance to take my listeners into my world.

You performed your first original song at age 11. Can you tell us where your performance was? Tell us about that experience.

My first performance was at church and everyone was very supportive. I’d wrote a couple songs and performed often by then, so performing an original seemed like the next logical step. It’s funny because some of my friends came up to me and said: “Don’t forget us when you’re famous”. LOL, I laughed at them then, but to be honest, I think that moment felt a little too natural as if that’s what I was created for. Apparently, the audience saw that, too.

After writing your first song, you would go on to write 50 more. What happened to them? Did you record or perform any of them?

So I have 5 journals worth of songs. They’re all in my bedroom in my box. I definitely did not record all of them, although I had recorded a few. Some of the old ones are hilarious to listen to. My voice has grown so much!

You developed your vocal ability at a young age. Where did you get your vocal training?

My mom was my first vocal instructor. After that, I went on to have different voice teachers in high school and in college.

You won first place in the Young Artist Competiton for the city of Allentown, PA when you were a child. Did that affect your path to becoming an artist? Why or why not?

I definitely believe it affected my path. I loved the stage so much. I think ever since then I’ve been chasing that exact feeling.

Tell us about your ChristaCourt Productions.

ChristaCourt Productions is a company that my father and I started. My father’s name is Courtney Dean. My mom came up with the name putting our first names together. ChristaCourt Productions produced my album. My husband and I are the producers and my dad takes care of all the fine print and details. Then we have various people on the team that assist with mastering, album artwork, consulting, marketing, and other things like that. In addition to developing an artist, we help people that need help developing their songwriting skills. Some clients come to us with just a melody or just words, and they know what they want, but don’t know how to get there. That’s where ChristaCourt comes in.

How do you think women artists in the indie music industry can be supported more?

To be honest, I still think the industry as a whole is still having trouble with sexualizing woman. We’re getting better, but we’re not quite there yet. It’s especially difficult if you don’t have the tools or resources, it’s hard to be noticed and being “sexy” seems like the main way to gain attention or some sort of following on social media. That’s why I’m really grateful to be interviewed by you because there are plenty of extremely talented indie artists that don’t fit into the conventional box nor are predictable and that’s a good thing.

What advice do you have for women who are pursuing or thinking of pursuing a music career?

First of all, don’t jump in with one foot in and one foot out. A music career is one of those things that you have to obsessed about and cannot look back. If you’re not sure, others will be able to tell. You will automatically be trampled over by those who are certain that this is what they’re going to do regardless of the response they get.

 How are you different? Why are you worth my time? People want to know that and you have to tell them before they get the chance to ask or else it could be a missed opportunity. Passion and skill go hand in hand. None is more important than the other while always striving to increase both.

Do you have any projects planned for 2018 besides your album?

There will be a single release in April and another one in June! Stay tuned because there’s more to come!

Do you have any tour/show plans for 2018?

Yes! Most of my tours are based on the East Coast right now. Outside of that, you can find me in Canada.

Thank you, Christa, for the opportunity to interview you.

For updates and news, go to Christa’s website.

Follow Christa on Social Media:

Instagram: @christadeana

Facebook: christadeana 

Twitter: @christadeana  

Check out Christa’s YouTube Channel 

Find Christa on Spotify.