SOUL PROPRIETOR
Singer Renee Dion builds fan base through heavy touring
Renee Dion is all about daily vibes.
These signal the direction she will travel in her life in music.
“I’m all about vibe,” she says of her writing process. “I need low lights, candles and tea. Depending on the production, it can be a very fast process or it may take a couple days. But typically, if I’m feeling the music, it’s a quick session.”
Dion is making a name for herself in the music industry in grass-roots style.
This means a lot of touring. The singer will perform four shows in New Mexico, in Las Cruces, Corrales, Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
She’s touring in support of her latest album, “Haven,” her fourth release.
“Touring is tough. But what keeps me grounded mentally is my prayer life,” she says. “We pray in the mornings before we hit the road to the next city. We pray before we hit the stage, and I constantly pray through out the day.”
The album also comes after a short music hiatus.
Dion says what emerged from the break is “Haven,” which found her passing on using an outside producer and producing the album herself.
She had some assistance on a few tracks from Jonathan Baker.
She also created a safe space of honest music creating a home within her lyrics and detailing patience through some of life’s harsh and gorgeous transitions as God’s child, a woman and an artist.
“I’m an open book,” she says of her writing for “Haven.” “I feel like if my experiences can help someone, I don’t mind sharing.”
Dion has always been around music.
She grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where her father was a jazz DJ and her mother a schoolteacher.
She began to write poems, which later became songs.
“Jazz, gospel, hip-hop and R&B inspired my sound growing up,” she says. “My No. 1 influence growing up was and still is Sade.”
Dion says the album’s production went smoothly.
“I can’t really say I’ve experienced any obstacles when it comes to creating the music,” she says. “Technology has made it very easy for anyone to create anything. So I guess I avoid obstacles by just creating whatever it is I need. I don’t wait.”