Stereo Six: Cereus Bright Calls Out Some of His Favourite Records

He is certainly not a know-it-all and doesn’t profess to be, but if there’s one thing that Cereus Bright is, it’s inquisitive. He likes to learn, ask questions, and make his assessments based on his life experiences. That’s perhaps the core purpose of his brand-new album Anything. The twelve-song effort was released on July 19th via Nettwerk Music Group, a collection of songs focused on big ideas. Bright is typically known for more personal and intimate songwriting. He wanted to change his process for this record, focusing on larger core themes. To accomplish this, he explored more mythological and otherworldly ideas. Anything is like a pursuit of meaning or truth, an attempt to learn something.

Cereus Bright is the performance moniker for musician Tyler Anthony. The writing and recording of Anything was very much influenced by Anthony’s own recent personal pursuits. He left his day job in Knoxville, Tennessee and moved to Mexico City to pursue his musical dream. He set up a recording studio, as well as an exhibition space and community center along with a group of local Mexican artists. As may be expected, this has been a challenging but exciting time for Anthony. He has said he’s the most difficult but most gratifying thing he has ever done.

Joining us today for a Stereo Six is Anthony, who lays out six records crucial to his development as a songwriter.

“In the midst of writing and recording Anything, my third full-length album, I found myself wanting to challenge my own status quo. When I was younger and trying to understand the music-making process, it was easy to put everything in a box. ‘This is the right way to write a song. This is the best way to record a guitar.’

“The more music I’ve made, the more I’ve realized that music-making is wide open. All of these artists and records have not only made songs I adore, but they’ve also inspired me in how they made them.”

1. Midlake – The Trials of Van Occupanther (2006, Bella Union)

“There are some albums that work their way into the very core of you, and for me, Midlake’s The Trials of Van Occupanther is there. It’s a foundational record for me, both in its sonic landscape, its lyrical imagination, and, mostly, in the permission it gave me – permission to be more exploratory, more mythological, and more singular. My previous records have centered around personal storytelling. But I knew for this album, I wanted to explore more abstract imagery and sensibilities.

“Van Occupanther has remained a beacon of some far-off, otherworld that I’ve always wanted to try and find my own version of. I won’t pretend my record is half as good, but I’d be remiss not to emphasize Van Occupanther and how influential it has been for me, especially for this album.”

2. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2007, Jagjaguwar, 4AD)

“Some artists and albums get so big that their influence becomes a little assumed. Bon Iver is probably in this category. But it wouldn’t make sense to chart the DNA of this album without pointing back to Justin Vernon’s work, especially For Emma, Forever Ago.

“Though he’d go on to be even more exploratory, the sounds of that album still inspire me. The interplay between raw, lo-fi heartfelt melodies and lyrics against an ambient, lush sonic backdrop was unlike anything I’d heard and unquestionably made its way into the songs I make, especially on this album.”

Artwork for the albums Cereus Bright lists in this Stereo Six

3. Blake Mills – Blake Mills (2010, Record Collection)

“Everything Blake Mills makes is gold. His production work, his guitar playing, his songwriting – he’s through and through one of my musical idols and heroes.

“Legend has it that his debut solo record, Blake Mills, was simply a way for him to try and get work in LA – mainly showing off his guitar playing. Instead what we got was a fixture of Americana and, for me, a guiding light in what recording can be.

“Mills’ often reaches for sounds and recording methods that defy the ‘seriousness’ one would attribute to ‘professional recordings.’ Demonstrating a ‘if it sounds cool, do it’ posture.

“Feeling the ‘permission’ to follow our instincts (fun) was a crucial part of this record and a lesson that has freed me to enjoy the recording process more than I ever expected to.”

4. Paul McCartney – Ram (1971, Apple)

“Another advocate for ‘do whatever you want’ is none other than Sir Paul McCartney.

“Obviously The Beatles and even Wings are part of our collective musical heritage, but I love imaging Ram as a cathartic release from all of that. Ram finds McCarntney at the top of his game – free, fun, melodic. And in it, I find another invitation: write about whatever you want.

“I love the songs on this album, but just as much, I love the spirit of it. It’s so easy to overanalyze art. To try and make everything as ‘optimal’ as possible. The result can often be flat. Ram always reminds me that the making of music can (and should) be above all, fun.”

Cereus Bright ‘Anything’ album artwork

5. Rufus Wainwright – Want One (2003, DreamWorks)

“Rufus Wainwright is in a class of his own. His songs are all at once, personal and otherworldly, folky and operatic. Funny, sad, simple, complex.

“It’s hard to choose an album from his catalogue that means the most, but I’ll highlight Want One. I love how Wainwright nests personal almost folk songs in lush, sweeping production. He’ll take something benign (like singing about Britney Spears) and give it a drama and a treatment that dislodges it from reality.

“Like good fiction or sci-fi does when the familiar is made unfamiliar we look at it again. We examine it more closely with fresh perspective.”

6. Dijon – Absolutely (2021, Warner Records)

“Genre is a cage. So many iconic artists spent their whole careers pushing and pulling against their own sound, constantly defying expectations their audience (or the industry) had for ‘what kind of music they made.’

“These days it seems there are more and more artists able to exist outside of and create from a place of genreless-ness. Like when flavours from different parts of the world come together in fresh ways, few things inspire like hearing artists pull in influence and sonic choices from across the spectrum.

“Dijon’s Absolutely does this wonderfully and inspires me endlessly. It’s low and high, it’s R&B and folk. It’s quiet and robust. Even as I tiptoe outside of my own folky bubble, it’s albums like this that encourage me to keep going.”