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You can’t dictate how fast a flower blooms.
That’s the mantra Virginia Beach’s Bree New Moon, 24, has embraced when it comes to reconciling her past and present, her formative teenage years to the chaos of her early 20s.
To astrologists and those hip to the cosmic practice, the New Moon lunar phase she shares her last name with is when the first visible crescent of the moon can be seen. It’s referred to by believers as a time to reach new goals and reflect on previous ones.
On her debut EP, fittingly titled “A Flower Blooms,” New Moon puts her mantra to work, while at the same time proving her first official collection of work is, like the lunar phase, the dawning of an artist still coming to grips with life itself against a sonically beautiful background of warming synths and nuanced production.
From start to finish, New Moon divulges her struggles with failed relationships, the touchstone mistakes of adolescence and reckoning with coming into your adulthood unguided. A flower in progress that, over the course of 18 minutes, blooms beautifully into self-realization and contentment.
Her EP isn’t just a willing soundtrack for others struggling with life after their teens, but anyone trying to figure out who they are and what comes next.
It almost didn’t happen, though. It took some prodding from a former employer, Gary McCollum (who is now New Moon’s manager) to help New Moon realize her priorities.
New Moon talked to The Pilot about that, causes that mean the most to her, why Tracy Chapman is a prolific songwriter, helping people who have been impacted by the pandemic and why, at some point, 24 felt “too old” to debut her first project.
You wrote, produced and performed all of the songs on the EP. When did you start working on the project?
“Young & Reckless,” the single — I started writing that probably about seven years ago. I was still in high school when that song started to come to fruition. ... Some of the songs are pretty new. I kind of finalized it over the summer, and got through the mixing and everything over the last couple of months and was able to drive it home.
What was it about this year that motivated you to get the project out?
It’s kind of a funny story. Right out of college I was writing books. I was doing this business where I was helping people get their stories together. … That’s always where my expertise was because writing is something that has always come so naturally to me. The person I was writing for at the time was Gary McCollum and he noticed that while I was doing it – he was happy with the work, but he knew that my heart wasn’t really there. There was something else that was calling me, so he asked what that was. I told him, so he said “Why don’t you let me manage you.” I’m still so grateful that he was willing to do that. It felt like a divine appointment. Having the support and the team I needed to push everything forward professionally was what was missing for me.
You’ve said on social media you remember listening to pop albums when you were younger and thinking how crazy it’d be if you could make music yourself. Do you remember what some of those albums were?
Oh, gosh, yes. I remember in fourth grade riding the bus to school every day, I used to listen to Mariah Carey’s “The Emancipation of Mimi.” “We Belong Together” was my favorite song in the whole world. It’d be the first song I’d listen to first thing in the morning. Even to this day, I can sing you the instrumentation. Beat for beat, note for note. She’s probably one of the biggest inspirations I have that made me want to do music in the first place. Even younger than that, I was listening to NSYNC’s “No Strings Attached,” a lot of Britney Spears. Bubblegum pop stuff. I’m really attracted to anything that’s able to make you feel a way without having to make you think about it, if that makes sense.
On the EP, there’s a lot of talk about growing up, moving on, reconciling with your life and being unprepared. What experiences helped shape the material?
Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting to feel the way I was feeling out of college. In American culture, our lives are pretty set up for us up until our 20s. It’s like, you go to school, you have these expectations. A lot of us go to college, but then if you’re not in a career path or still going to school or there’s some other thing you have to do, you’re just put out into the world and released with no guardrails like you’ve been used to your whole life. I just was not prepared for that feeling at all, as much as I thought I was. … The project’s name, it kind of feels now that this is my blooming season, where I’ve at least started to figure out and pave my own path and where I really want to be. With a flower, it’s the same way. You can’t dictate how fast a flower blooms or which flower will bloom before another. It’s the way that it’s supposed to happen, the natural flow of it. It feels like I’m in my flow state now.
When “Young & Reckless” dropped you had an event with Norfolk State University’s BLAZIN’ Hot 91.1 and you talked a lot about gratitude. It’s a theme that shows up quite a bit on the EP.
Gratitude is probably the biggest thing for me overall. I’m a huge believer in the flow of the universe and you have to put out what you want to get back. There are so many people that think it’s all about them and the thing that I’ve learned is “this involves me but it’s not really about me.” It’s really about trying to do for others and be in service of other people. I think we really have to pay homage to the people who help us become who we are, that help us do what we want to do and that help us to push our own narratives and make the world a better place. I hate how corny that sounds, but that’s really what it’s all about. Being the change that you want to see. We have to acknowledge each other in doing that.
It’s a timely message for the year we’ve had.
Yes. This year has been such a reflective period for so many people, me included. It gave me to opportunity to get really in tune with myself and figure out who I am and what I have to offer the world. I have three causes that really mean a lot to me. Environment, education and equality. I think we’ve seen a lot of change start to happen with equality this year with the Black Lives Matter movement. I think we try to put each other into these boxes and separate each other by so many things. Race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, even sexuality. All these different things when they really make the world better. We need all these different things to paint the picture. What if every picture in the world was the same color, the same medium? The environment — my dad is African American and my mom is Native American. The environment has always been very important to me because of my Native American side. We honor the Earth. It’s the one thing we all have in common. We’re all residents of this planet and we have to take care of it so it will be healthy and here for future generations. … And education, I think the root of the world’s worst problems is because people don’t know any better. When you know better, you do better. That’s from a Maya Angelou quote.
You’ve officially covered “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted.” On Instagram, you made a video of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” Any plans to make it official?
I would put that song on the playlist of my life. It’s one that I always seem to come back to. It’s just such a beautiful story that she tells and she does it in such a unique and concise way. Songs like that that are able to tell this movie-like story, where it’s going throughout the lifespan of someone or a relationship – it’s so clever to me. You have to be really smart and talented to be able to do that. I love that song and I think that it’s had a huge cultural impact.
Weekend Scoop
You also wrote on there that 24 is “too old” to release a first project. What’s up with that?
(Laughs heartily) We live in an age where everybody is so visible. We see all of these people. Like Charlie D’Amelio (who is 16) on TikTok and Billie Eilish swept the Grammys at however old she was, either 17 or 18. In this industry, people start really young. Zendaya just won the Emmy (for best actress in a drama series). She was the youngest person to win that category. It’s crazy to see people like that in front of you and not compare yourself. That goes back to the concept of “A Flower Blooms.” I had to get very comfortable with the idea that everybody has their own time to flourish.
After the EP releases, what’s next?
I recently got the opportunity to do a theme song for a podcast by a local entrepreneur, Angela Reddix. She is doing this podcast with her daughter called “She Got it from her Mama.” That was really exciting for me to stretch my creative muscle in a new way and I’m looking forward to being able to do that some more. I’ve also been in talks with the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. We’re trying to figure out how I can help bring some awareness and attention to getting people fed, especially this holiday season. With COVID and everything, people are struggling in a way we’ve never seen before. They were able to give 14 million meals last year, but the numbers this year are so much bigger than that. People who never thought they’d be in a position where they don’t know where their next meal is coming from are there and it’s a really scary time for a lot of people. I really want to try to see what we can do to have all hands on deck and try to make sure people are getting fed this season.
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“A Flower Blooms” is available to stream on all major streaming platforms. Follow Bree on Instagram (@breenewmoon), TikTok (@breenewmoon) and Facebook at facebook.com/BreeNewMoon and online at breenewmoon.com.
Amy Poulter, 757.446.2705, amy.poulter@pilotnline.com