Alma (American singer)

Early life

Growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, Cook claims to have become a musician gradually and "more or less by accident." As a child she experimented with poetry, drawing inspiration from the fictional character Anne of Green Gables. When she entered junior high, Cook began setting her poems to music and viewed songwriting as a coping mechanism amidst the challenges of adolescence.

Columbia College and Tactics

After high school, Cook moved to Chicago to study vocal performance at Columbia College. She played in various bars and cafes across the city and twice performed alongside contemporary gospel musician Jonathan McReynolds at the local Artistsphere showcase.

Drawing upon the music production experience of her peers, Cook released an EP entitled Pass It On in September 2012. One song from the release, "Homecoming," was licensed for use in the Magisto video creation application. Cook later released the single "For a Poet," which became the No. 2 most requested song on Radio Nova Portugal in December 2014.

While attending Columbia, Cook met bassist Chris Thigpen, whose father Cornell Thigpen worked as an instrumentalist alongside Mary J. Blige, Chaka Kahn, Stevie Nicks, and Patti LaBelle. Chris went on to produce Cook's first full-length album Tactics, recruiting his father to play on the song "Hotshot."

The songs on Tactics carry ideologies that have become distinctive of Cook's style. When asked about the album's themes in an interview with VENTS magazine, Alma said that writings by the author C.S. Lewis prompted her to become "hyperaware" of the tendencies of human nature.

An honest depiction of human nature is definitely the theme of Tactics. When friends saw the initial track list, one of them asked me if I had a "seven deadly sins" theme going on—and I mean, no, but kind of. When you’re really honest with yourself about your character, you start to see that any one of us has the potential to commit any amount of evil, even if we think we’re above it.

In the same interview, Cook commented that the album's songs were written over the span of several years, describing her writing pace as "incredibly unpredictable."

An album review by The Phantom Tollbooth magazine said of Cook's performance on Tactics, "Alma has the vocal innocence of Amber Rubarth combined with vocal qualities rivaling Denise Donatelli."

Touring

In the fall of 2013, Cook toured with then-Philadelphia-based folk artist Kwesi K as an opening act and backing vocalist. A blogger who reviewed one of their shows at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia described Cook's vocal stylings as "Mariah Carey meets Ingrid Michaelson."

Cook's background vocals are also featured in a Daytrotter session with Kwesi recorded in Rock Island, Illinois. The pair performed three original songs by Kwesi and a cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car."

Collaborations

In 2014, Cook was recruited by Terrence Howard to provide supplemental vocals for his original song "What The DJ Spins" for the 2015 TV series Empire. The song was produced and arranged by Howard and Carlos Villalobos at 2424 Studios in Chicago.

Cook collaborated with Madison graphics artist John Weeden for two animated lyric videos, one for Cook's song "Chicago (Beacons)" and the other for her spoken word piece "Hypocrite." The "Chicago" video was acclaimed in 2014 by the Madison chapter of Media Communication Association-International, winning a WAVE award (Web Audio and Visual Excellence) and a Judge's Choice award. "Hypocrite" also won a WAVE award in 2015.

Discography