Out singer Eric Himan returns with a new album

Eric Himan

After several years of musical soul-searching, out singer/songwriter Eric Himan returns to San Diego with his newest CD, Supposed Unknown, and also with a new friend, trans singer Namoli Brennet.

Supposed Unknown is Eric’s tenth album. His first self-titled solo CD was released in 2000, and starting in 2002, Himan was releasing at least one album a year. Yet his fans have not heard any new material since 2008.

“I knew it was about time after not having a solo CD three years prior,” Himan told the San Diego LGBT Weekly. “I needed to really think about what I was going to put out.”

Before Himan started to scribe the lyrics and accompanying melodies onSupposed Unknown, he spent time reflecting on his career, where he has been, and where he wants to go as a musician. That personal deliberation can be heard in the music he created.

“A common element on the CD is not waiting for someone else – like I have for so many years – for someone else to deem me creditable. As much as I have been an independent musician … I still was holding out this hope for things to happen,” he said. “After a while of waiting and waiting, I got a little bit more bitter, a little more discouraged. After three years between albums, I really thought about why I am doing this. Am I still happy doing this? Am I still getting across what I want to? What is my impact?”

Like every artist, Himan was hoping to play that one concert, in that one venue, for that one person – to get noticed by somebody to catapult his career to a new level of stardom.

“Instead of waiting for somebody, I was going to make a CD as if somebody had already come to me in those terms. I am going to work with someone that I respect and feel like I have already hit a point in my career where I can relax,” he admitted. “That’s what sounds so different about this CD, even to myself. I just sound so relaxed.”

Namoli Brennet

To help him relax, Himan sought out the assistance of Namoli Brennet. He had seen her perform, heard her music and became a loyal fan. As he puts it, he is usually obsessed with just one girl at a time, and Brennet happened to be the one.

“She’s just this awesome singer songwriter. She just knows how to write a really good song, and still have the diversity to fill a CD so that it doesn’t feel like it has all the same songs,” he said.

In addition to her talents, Himan was also drawn to Brennet’s recording style. Instead of work in a studio, she recorded in her home, which gives her music a unique “atmosphere.”

What kind of atmosphere? “I don’t know how to describe it,” Eric said. “It just feels like a little world unto itself inside a song.”

Through the recording process, Brennet ended up becoming both a friend and a coach for his songs.

“I would be, ‘Great, it’s done.’ Then she would go, ‘Are you sure it’s done?’ Her saying something like that just made me go back to the drawing board. I would go back to the guest bedroom and work on the song some more,” Himan said.

Himan fans can hear the results at a CD-release concert, May 11, 7 p.m. at The Center (3909 Centre Street). As a bonus, Himan is performing with Brennet in a dual release show, as she introduces her latest album, Black Crow. The show features Himan and Brennet performing their own sets accompanying each other on select songs.

“It was such a privilege to get the chance to produce my newest disc with Namoli and now a bonus to be able to tour with her, too,” Eric said.

Tickets to the show are $10, with half the proceeds benefiting The Center.

For more information, log on to erichiman.com or namolibrennet.com.