In 2019, Blue Lobelia’s Rachel Bruch was enjoying an artist residency at White Rabbit at Red Clay Art Farm in Upper Economy, Nova Scotia. She used that time to compose a songbook, while taking in the sight and sounds of the forest, experiencing motherhood for the first time, and connecting with nature.
Part of what emerged from her time of interconnectedness was the other side of that double-edged sword: a realization that, inevitably, “Holding on Must Always Lead to Letting Go,” her latest single.
“It was a tender time for me as a human being and an artist,” explains Bruch. “The week I spent at the farm with my husband and our 6-month old daughter was nurturing beyond anything I have known in my adult life.”
Bruch says that she approached the residency as an opportunity to explore her voice, particularly by breaking away from the restrictions of her classical training, and “citing all the worst parts of this upbringing in my application.”
“The week-long experience shifted my perspective entirely,” says Bruch. “I left with an understanding that the classical training I have is an invaluable gift and that the rigidity belonged to my internal judgments, my personal approach to discipline and my fear of embracing myself wholly.”
It was also an opportunity to revisit her music through the lens of motherhood. It’s a return to heartfelt simplicity that she had gently skirted on her album 2019 album Beneath all Bloom. “Holding on Must Always Lead to Letting Go” is just Bruch a violin, and a simple repeated message: “Every creature has a name.”
“Whenever I write a song, there is a certain inspiration and meaning behind the lyrics. Just as all relationships change over time and experience, my relationship to the words and music I write are ever-unfolding,” explains Bruch.
“The song started as a reflection on my own ignorance to the creatures around me and my desire to reconnect to the natural world. Two years later, it has all expanded, but I won’t share exactly what it means to me now. Like tarot or horoscopes, I think music is an opportunity to use symbolism and emotion to guide yourself towards the internal questions lingering in that moment.
“I hope that this song will be meaningful for others.”
Whatever that connection is, let’s hope the rest of us have used the last two years to find a little more of it for ourselves.