Barbara Kessler - What You Keep (BK Music)
My new album, What You Keep, emerged after taking a serious break from my touring career to raise my family and re-discover my passion for music. A few years ago, my husband Phil completed the work on our 1850s barn to turn it into a family room/recording studio, and I got to work. In the years since I’d been home with my kids – after a long stretch of silence – these songs slowly started to appear, until they formed into this scrapbook from my life. The title is inspired by the proverb ‘what you give away, you keep.’ These are simple love songs, inspired by the simplest things in life.
I have released 5 albums to date and have had the good fortune to be included on numerous compilation recordings over the years (Rounder's Big Times in a Small Town and Putamayo's Women's Work among them). I toured extensively for years, sharing the stage with some of my all-time favorite artists and musicians - Indigo Girls, Shawn Colvin, Richie Havens, David Wilcox, Tony Levin and Jerry Marotta, among so many others. Even while it was on the back-burner, I did keep one hand stirring the pot of my music career, and over the years several cool opportunities presented themselves: writing and producing music for TV, creating music for several films, and collaborating on the ending theme for a video game (“Dreaming My Way Home,” for Playstation's Rogue Galaxy).
Even though this album was 100% recorded and produced at home, I was lucky enough to have the help of some stellar musician friends: right-hand man Fran Flannery (who's recorded artists as diverse as Bill Morrissey, Living Colour, G Love and Aerosmith) co-produced and adds guitar to the album; long-time sidemen Phil Antoniades (yes - 'husband Phil!'), Jeff St. Pierre and Bob Malone provide the foundation; Sean Staples (Todd Thibaud, Session Americana) adds mandolin and assorted string flavors. “Wishing Me Well” is a mournful duet featuring outstanding Boston Philharmonic cellist Rafael Popper-Keizer.
I was going for a 'homespun' sound, and I was really committed to trying my hand at producing myself, so it made sense to invite everybody over to the barn, over a period of months, to try out the arrangements and record in a very relaxed way. Over a period of time the recordings evolved in much the same way as the songs themselves did, very organically and with much love. I am so happy with the way it feels. Thanks for listening. Barbara Kessler, January 2012
www.BarbaraKessler.com