From the Chair is a 4 song EP about Amanda Cunningham’s journey of self-healing and therapy to come to terms with her postpartum depression, being a young mother, her struggles with mental health, and how to move forward. The EP was written with fellow songwriters over virtual songwriting sessions during the 2020 pandemic. Vocals were recorded in Cunningham’s home studio, and production was completed virtually with Chris Clarke in London. The extremely personal songs give voice to many young women who struggle with similar mental health issues, are trying to make sense of their life choices, and are working to heal their emotional trauma.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Amanda about the new music, adapting during a lockdown, and much more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?

I’m from a mix of Carroll County, MD (country) and Baltimore County, MD (more urban) but right now I’m living outside of Washington DC. My style is still being shaped as I figure out more who I want to be as an artist but it’s a blend of pop country with flavors of R&B. 

How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?

I’d always had little dreams about wanting to be like Britney Spears but I didn’t do anything with it. It wasn’t until I had my daughter at 20, rushed through college and got a coveted desk job that I realized this wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life and I randomly started thinking about singing again. Now I know it’s much more than just singing and looking nice. It takes a lot of work and dedication and honestly my favorite part now is the songwriting and creation part because thats the most expressive for me. 

How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?

This EP is my debut EP and really it’s to set the stage and more tell myself and the world that I’m taking this seriously and there’s only more to come. This EP “Behind the Chair” is really themed based on what I dealt with in my own mental health battles these last years of my life battling postpartum depression, unhealthy emotional attachments, and general traumas. It’s about sharing what I’ve struggled with and healed from with the help of time, self healing, Lexapro, and therapy, hence the title of the song 🙂 It’s only the start of my artist catalog and I’m excited to have it out in the world but I’m also looking forward to create new songs in 2022 as well 🙂 

Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?

Was dealing with childcare for my 9 year old daughter. I became the defacto teacher and I’m honestly not a patient person, I know this about myself, but the pandemic didn’t care obviously and it was extremely stressful trying to balance being a good mom, teacher, working my 9-5 before I quit, being a wife, and going after my goals in music. I adapted by quitting my job and deciding to focus fully on music since that was the plan anyways with us saving us money for me to do so, COVID just accelerated that plan since I couldn’t handle everything at once. 

What was the last song you listened to?

Honestly the last song I listened to my own song “Once Upon a Time” because I’m practicing for my EP concert on October 17th and have never played any of these songs live with a band before and I’m a little nervous because live and in studio are very different so I need to make sure I have the timing right because there is no comping allowed on stage lol

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?

Streaming. I know it’s not great for artists to get paid but it’s honestly so great to have so many songs at my fingertips, creating workout playlists, playlists for band rehearsal and streaming is here to stay, until something better comes along I’m sure. 

Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?

The best place is on my website here by signing up for my weekly update https://www.amandacunningham.com/vip-community I’m also on instagram a lot https://www.instagram.com/iamamandacunningham/

I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?

Just thank you for your time and I hope my songs connect with one of your readers and it’s not just a song that people click skip on 5 seconds in. Give new artists a chance.