Shade of Indigo
a new album + behind the title...
sometimes I think—well, if the economy implodes or civilization as we know it collapses, I don’t have many useful skills. and then I think—well, yeah, but I do have this guitar and I know a lot of songs… and I can write corridos for what will inevitably be a system of regional warlords who will probably have access to enough resources for me to feed my family by becoming a court poet or something… and then I wonder if the electrical grid will be down, and I wonder—if there’s no electricity, then musicians will be in great demand, only… I hope the warlord isn’t a big Swiftie, cause I don’t know any of her songs…
and then I realize that civilization, while unwell, is not in a state of collapse, and that I can get on with my day. and here I sit, writing to you on the eve of the release of my newest collection of songs, Shade of Indigo. is it just another work of dystopian apocalypse? no—not at all. it’ll be everywhere by the time this reaches you.
give it a listen. (SPOTIFY / ELSEWHERE)
I’m so pleased to finally get to share this album with you.
I began working on the album at the same time I was writing Snowmelt to Roots, in the fall of 2022. winter turned spring, and I started recording these songs and arranging the poetry book. and last November both were ready, but it seemed right to let the book have its day.
for better or worse, I trickle released some songs from the album as singles. always a challenge as I myself prefer albums. but I wanted to give some of the songs a special shove into the world, stepping into the light to let them be seen, rather than getting buried in the album in the busyness of the modern ear…
naming was difficult as the album and book were something like fraternal twins in my mind, but I eventually landed on the name Shade of Indigo. the title was sourced from “Sombra del Añil”, the 10th song on the album.
I’ll be back here for the next few Wednesdays to dive into a little more depth on the individual songs (I’ve posted some already: Strawberry Morning, People Are Tender (aka “Pat”), Joanna, Early Morning / Late Evening, and Nobody Wants to Be Poor).
I hope you can find some rest in the shade of this album…
send me your thoughts and questions.
thanks for being here. I write weekly sharing poetry, songs, musings, thoughts on creative life, and hopefully some encouragement… send me suggestions. the poems I share are from my first collection of poetry, Snowmelt to Roots, which you can pick up at my shop, (or on Amazon US, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, PL, SE, JP, CA & AU).
peace,
Z