This is a fun one. GUESS WHAT? In our 10th year as a company, I decided it was time to start a record label. You heard that right- after 10 years of working with independent artists where we help them put records out while calling it management, we are finally calling it what it is. Say hello to Olivia Records.
We have already signed a handful of artists I am really very excited to tell you about, but today, let’s talk about CJ Temple and her dark, spectacular album Smoke. I met CJ via the beautiful and strange world that is TikTok. She kept showing up in my feed, entertaining me, making me laugh, and moving me to tears.
I reached out and asked if she had ever thought about making a record and from that moment forward everything just fell into place. She had a bunch of songs written and ready to go. I immediately loved them and sent them to one of my favorite producers, Josh Kaler (he’ll show up a few times on this list). He loved it too.
When CJ came to Nashville to record with Kaler, it was pre-vaccine but post-quarantine. We wore masks in the studio, and I was worried it would make the experience weird, but nothing could tamp down the vibe in the room.
They tracked for a week in Nashville, where I was a fly on the wall listening to the magic, and then the Czech Studio Orchestra played strings on a handful of songs. An ORCHESTRA! In the Czech Republic! After the music was done, I connected CJ with video director Ives Salbert (https://elevatorvisuals.com/) to make this fantastic music video for the title track, “Smoke”. We shot the video half a mile from the studio where the album was recorded in East Nashville. My sweet interns were PAs for the day.
One of the most fun things about putting this project together was getting to introduce CJ to all of my favorite people to work with and seeing it all come together on our first Olivia Records release: photographers, producers, players, directors, publicists. I am so proud that our first release as a label has been with someone so talented, kind, fun, and deserving. So many press outlets have had so many great things to say about CJ- here’s one of my favorites:
“The album’s evening mood is all moonlight, last vestiges of sunset purples and oranges giving way to a smoky grey sky, stars sprinkled above silent trees. It’s the magic-hour soundtrack to peeling off your social façade after being who you are in the world and becoming effortlessly alone in your skin.” - Cat Woods. https://www.audiofemme.com/album-premiere-cj-temple-smoke/
You can listen to the whole record, out now, here: ffm.to/cjtemplesmokealbum
