Journal

The songs for Cusp came together gradually, during a period of loss, change and searching. I found myself in a landscape of endings with no sign yet of beginnings. It was a strange territory of grief, longing, love and a little hope. After losing loved ones and futures I had imagined, the world took on a heightened quality. Time itself seemed to slow down and there was sense of fragility but also an unexpected luminosity. The natural world in particular was transformed into a surreal, magical and almost unbearably beautiful place. Everything and everyone around me seemed fleeting, precious and rich with meaning.

About making Cusp

Creating this album has been an act of quiet devotion – a gathering of fragments of myself and finding something cohesive in them. An honouring of the passing of people I’ve loved, of time itself, of outworn and unfulfilled parts of myself- it’s also been a re-membering. Sometimes a piece of work is something we lay at the altar of ourselves so that we can pay respect to what we’ve endured. After the ceremony, we come back to life newly, differently.
Through writing and recording these songs (in Cornwall, the Lake District and in Nashville), I found a place to lay down longing, tenderness, sorrow and wonder. Experiences that sometimes felt isolating were crafted into offerings. More questions came than answers: How do we keep going in the face of loss? How do we keep our hearts open? And how do we continue to believe in beauty when life asks so much of us?

Loss weathers us like the ancient rocks here in West Cornwall, where I live. They very gradually change shape, slowly over time and lichen and moss creep across and into them. They are visited by crows and gulls, choughs and us! They are the watchers of the vast waves below. Some of them were once castles, fortresses. In allowing themselves to be altered by time, and because they endure, they become more and more resonant in their beauty.

More than anything, this album represents a journey towards acceptance, resilience and hope. It’s reminded me that even in periods of uncertainty, something meaningful can still be quietly taking shape beneath the surface.

Cusp has helped me to understand how loss can alter our consciousness, but also how it brings gifts – most importantly how it can make you suddenly and profoundly aware of the preciousness of being alive.

Now that I’ve made three albums I can see that I have my own creative process- which might be comforting in the future! I’ll try and remember this. Like looking at land in the distance – catching glimpses of it as I set sail on the next project.

I can’t help but think of Hansel and Gretl. Following breadcrumbs through a dark forest. Except the breadcrumbs are within and they feel golden and I have to keep walking until the next one lights up. In this case the breadcrumbs are songs. Songs that want to be born. I know when I’ve found one because of how it makes me feel. There is a kernel which the whole song comes from and which I keep returning to – even if it takes weeks, months, a year or more- and that kernel is a potent seed of deep emotion. That is what I keep returning to, tuning into, that is what guides me. The song knows what it wants to be, I just feel into the emotional signal, protect it and let myself be in service to it.

It was great to be able to work with artist and producer Alex Wong again. He produced my second album, the Loveliness. Both times, I sent songs over to him and we spent a few weeks together in Nashville, talking about the landscape of the records, the instrumentation before laying down my guitar parts, his drums; and then other musicians would come and add their parts. We recorded my vocals in London (last time) and in Cornwall this time. I like having the space after putting together the main architecture of the record to work on my vocal interpretation and performance without any other distractions.

Alex brings so much to a project. Because he is an artist himself, he has the understanding, and sensitivity needed to nurture the tender shoots of an album, and the patience and multiple technical and musical skills needed to bring it to fruition. He is rare and very special. Also, we seem to understand one another on an intuitive level – I will be thinking of an instrument or a musical reference and he will say exactly what I was thinking!

All the musicians who contributed are so talented and I feel deeply grateful for their contributions. Here is the full credit list:

Cusp

Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee USA and in Cornwall, UK
All songs by Rebecca Promitzer
Produced/engineered/mixed by Alex Wong
Additional engineering by John Estes and Gabe Klein
Mastered by Katie Tavini at Weird Jungle

I WANT TO LIE WITH YOU

Alex Wong – drums, piano, keyboards, string arrangements
Josh Kaler – pedal steel
John Estes – bass
Gideon Klein – cello, violin, viola
Josee Weigand – violin, viola
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, BG vocals

EVERYTHING’S A LOSING

Alex Wong – drums, keyboards, string arrangements
Gideon Klein – cello, violin, viola, double bass
Josee Weigand – violin, viola
Josh Kaler – electric guitar
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, BG vocals

SILENT WILD

John Pahmer – piano
Rebecca Promitzer – lead vocals

FARAWAY WINDOW

Alex Wong – drums, harmonium, keyboards, piano, bottle
Gideon Klein – violin
Liana Alpino – Harp
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, BG vocals

THE SWEETNESS OF MISSING YOU

Gideon Klein – cello, violin, viola
Josee Weigand – violin, viola
Josh Kaler – electric guitar
John Estes – bass
Alex Wong – drums, keyboards, string arrangements
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, BG vocals

LEADING LADY

John Pahmer – piano
Alex Wong – string arrangements
Gideon Klein – cello, violin, viola
Josee Weigand – violin, viola
Rebecca Promitzer – lead vocals

I COULDN’T STOP THE SUN

Josh Kaler – electric guitar
John Estes – bass
Alex Wong – drums, horn arrangements, bg vocals
John Pahmer – piano
Jonathan Salcedo – trombone
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals

FLOWERING FIELDS

Emily Bowland – bass clarinet
Alex Wong – percussion, harmonium, keyboards
Gideon Klein – cello, violin, viola, double bass
Josee Weigand – violin, viola
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, BG vocals

SILVER DREAMER

Alex Wong – drums, mellotron
Josh Kaler – pedal steel
John Estes – bass
John Pahmer – piano
Rebecca Promitzer – lead vocals

BLACK JAGUAR

Dave Eggar – cello
Alex Wong – drums
Josh Kaler – electric guitar
John Estes – bass
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, BG vocals

BRUSH OF YOUR HAND

Alex Wong – BG vocals, piano, synth
Rebecca Promitzer – acoustic guitar, lead vocals

THIS LULLABY

Josh Kaler – electric guitar
John Estes – upright bass, accordion
Alex Wong – drums, keyboards, bg vocals
Rebecca Promitzer – ukulele, lead vocals, BG vocals

Photos of Rebecca by Conor Masterson
Vinyl and CD Art Work/Design by Pete Lewis
Album Cover painting by Rebecca Promitzer

I would like to thank, with all my heart:
Alex for all his incredible skills, knowledge, musicianship, talent, creativity; and for enabling me to feel safe enough and therefore expansive enough to express the vision of these songs.
All the other hugely talented musicians who contributed to this record.

Thanks also to:
Wendy Parr
Piers Bearne (for always being here – for everything you do and are)
Leah and Auggie

This record is dedicated to Lulu,
And to Angela Annesley, Mandy Adams and other bright ones who left this plane too early and to the ones who didn’t arrive at all.