Andrea Wittgens' just-released album, Big Dreams Little Earthlings, is the result of embracing total freedom. Lavished with moody synths and soaring hooks, it is a love letter to the pomp and passion of the 1980s pop of her youth expressed by a woman who survived the decades that followed. Harnessing feminine rage, grief, addiction, hope, and acceptance, it embodies the full spectrum of her creativity. Antigonish, Nova Scotia-born singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, educator, and visual artist jumps to the next level in her artistic career with this latest release.
Leaving behind traditional piano-based songwriting and moving into the richly textured soundscape universe of multi-tracking in her DAW home studio, in this project the artist has allowed herself to explore new territories, resulting in a darkly reflective album. “I didn’t want to hide behind poetry and bury my emotions in word gymnastics. On this record, I am the most honest I've ever been,” she tells us when we ask her about the creative process in which she has explored all the paradoxical states of being human with the intent of fostering an honest connection with listeners.
Twenty years into a critically acclaimed career, Wittgens is finally giving herself permission to embrace artistic autonomy on Big Dreams Little Earthlings, which was co-produced with Joshua Tree, California-based producer Ainjel Emme alongside Anthony Lopez, who played drums, provided additional production, and mixed the album. The record opens with the haunting piano ballad, All Your Sadness Bathed In Sunshine; addresses a painful friendship breakup in All The Golden Girls Are Dead; and concludes with the ethereal title track, which Wittgens describes as a poetic time-lapse through human evolution.