The past couple of months have been all about no-pressure writing. Letting go of my 2014 album deadline was a huge weight off of my shoulders. It’s great to have goals, but I wasn’t at the place I needed to be in the creative process to start thinking about deadlines. The music must be written, vetted, and loved first. So that’s where my focus is right now. And I still have a goal for an album–just not this month.

With 3 new songs pretty well formed and a few others part way there, I am started to develop my sound. And not surprisingly, it’s a little bluesy/jazzy. I want to have some fantastic combination of the things I love from Nora Jones’ first album and Rita Coolidge and Joy Williams. Soft, powerful, and passionate. I’m still experimenting with different instrumentation and would love to bring in violin and other strings down the line, but I’m really digging the raw sound I get from the piano and acoustic guitar. It’s like coming home for my songwriting and I wish I was better at it!

I recently met Dutch Landino, a cool hip hop/R&B artist in the DC area developing his sound and artistic vision. We talked a little about the difference between being a recording artist and leaking singles as they are completed. The major difference is that a recording artist creates each album in a related context or concept. I’d love to focus on being a recording artist instead of worrying whether I’m creating enough content for people to stay interested on social media. And that conversation reinforced my desire to write and share music for the right reasons–because I love it and because I want it to mean something to others. Thanks for being patient with me, and asking me when I’m releasing more music, and caring about my songs even if I’m not posting regularly. I promise to keep writing more and to share when the time is right. XO.