Standing Steady is now available! Like many albums made by many musicians, this one took years to create. It was a slow, deliberate process that I'm proud to have chosen. From ideas to retreats to focus solely on creating to recording and mixing in my home studio, it all came together as it was meant to.
I appreciate all of the kind feedback on the songs from family, friends, and supporters. This is a particularly kind review from Americana UK!
I look forward to sharing these songs in person moving forward and am already in the beginning stages of the next project.
Multiple experiences inspired me to create Standing Steady (and the adjoining chapbook!). A dare from a stranger, a collaboration for a songwriting book club (Bushwick Bookclub Seattle), but the main influence seems to be from much further back in my history. Growing up surrounded by creative, inspiring, supportive family members. A couple of which are featured in this project.
A bit more about the project…
Standing Steady is a stunning tribute to the power of stillness and simplicity. Written with inspiration from - and collaboration with - poems and poets, the record blooms from the nexus of two deeply human forms of self-expression.
Preisinger, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, has written, produced, and released three other albums: Moving On, Moving Forward (2006), Be Heard (2012), and Jade (2016). Following the release of Jade, she found herself consumed by family. Though she still performed regionally on occasion, creative work seemed an indulgence.
Then, as they are wont to do, The Muses stepped in to meddle in the lives of mortals. While busking at the SeaTac Airport, a gentleman approached and passed her a note. “He was careful to be clear that he wasn't coming on to me” Preisinger tells. “He simply wanted to express his appreciation of the music. At the end of the letter, he included one of his poems… with the dare for me to put it to music one day.”
It was a touching gesture from a kind man, and eventually Preisinger took him up on the dare. Not too long after, she was able to share the song with Steven Bond, the fellow from the airport. The final nudge came in the form of a collaborative Bushwick Bookclub Seattle performance with poet Kamari Bright. They wrote and performed the song “Split”, two versions of which are featured on Standing Steady.
So, Preisinger gathered all of her poetry books (as well as a fair number of her mother’s), and a collection of poems and prose written by her grandfather while stationed in Hawaii during World War II and headed to a cabin near Mt. Baker. From there the potential poems were organically narrowed down, and she began to come up with melody and chord ideas.
Inspired by words from the past, Preisinger turned to those crafting contemporary work to flesh out the rest of the record. “The approach has been different for each song,” she explains. “Sometimes it’s a direct collaboration, taking the words straight from the poem and creating a melody, sometimes I cobble together my own words inspired by a particular poem.”
The journey of creating Standing Steady proved a balm for Preisinger’s mental health, anxieties, and depression – though she’s the first to admit that it’s a process with no end. “Songs inspired by poetry became the project that allowed me to feel comfortable and free in creating once again,” she says. It’s fitting then, that an artist interested in using her work to be heard has created a record that allows others to feel heard. And really, at the end of the day, that’s the most comforting thing there is.
