Greta Ruth has a new album coming out – Isle of Ferns. It is rich and light at once, just what the doctor ordered in these dark days. You can come hear and see for yourself at the album releases on October 11 at the Aster Cafe.
It has been two years since the last time we connected. At that time Holy Omen was just coming out and now we’re celebrating the upcoming Isle of Ferns. Can you catch us up on your life?
It’s funny how that feels both like yesterday and a lifetime ago! Since then, we’ve had a second son who is now one year old, and our other son turned three. While I was pregnant with our one-year-old, my husband and I recorded my voice and guitar for Isle of Ferns. Then after he was born, every once in a while on a Friday night my husband would stay up adding all of the arrangements that you hear on the record. By the start of this past summer, he was ready to move onto mixing it, and then my friend Jonathan Waldo, who performs under the artist name Neon Menhirs and who used to co-run the local label, Corrector Records, mastered it. So looking back, the past two years have mostly consisted of making this album and growing our little family. Both of those things are incredibly fulfilling and like most worthwhile things, they also take a lot of time and energy.
There is a lightness to the new album that wasn’t always present in the past. I have to admit, the lightness was just what I needed today – a gift. What brings you the lightness in this dark time?
I am so happy to hear that the album felt like a gift to you, that is my deepest desire as an artist these days. I want my music to bring people joy, lightness, and depth. There is a lot of darkness in the world, and it can seem like it’s getting darker and darker. Strangely, for me personally, outside of any world events, I’m actually at the happiest time of my life thus far. A lot of the songs on my previous recordings came from a time when I felt very lost and was really in a lot of internal as well as interpersonal turmoil.
Since meeting my husband and having our two sweet boys, I’ve found a love that I didn’t even know was possible. It’s changed my heart in so many ways and even brought me back into a more daily and intimate relationship with God. If I can share any of that beauty, love, and light back with my listeners, especially if they’re feeling the darkness of the world around them, that would make me feel like I’ve done my job as an artist.
Is that a child’s voice I hear in “The Quickening?” Aside from having a ready-made backup vocalist, how has motherhood impacted your music and your creative flow?
Yes! That’s our three-year-old, but back when he was a baby. I wrote that song while pregnant with him, so it felt right to include him in the final arrangement. He’s quite the little musician already!
Motherhood has impacted my music incredibly. While there is the surface level fact that I’m really not as able to do things like tour, stay out late regularly, or play guitar uninterrupted for hours at a time — and believe me, sometimes I miss those things — but what I’ve seen on a deeper level is that lightness that you also mentioned before. Motherhood has transformed me and my heart and from there my music, leading to songs that are full of love and joy rather than heartbreak and tension. I think that the trade of time and ability to be more competitive in the industry in exchange for a more content soul has, without a doubt, been worth it.
I was really drawn to “A Tree and Its Fruit.” It has such a definitive sound. In a funny way, the instrumental song makes your voice pop all the more in other songs, when listening to the whole album. Can you tell me about the song?
That’s really cool that that one stood out to you. I am always curious to hear what songs stick with people or make a particular impact on them.
I’ve only released two songs in the past that were completely instrumental: “Amor Fati” and “For a Moment the Lie Became Truth.” When my first son was a baby I was working on several new instrumental compositions but it was only “A Tree and Its Fruit” that made it onto this album. I wanted to have a counterpoint to the lusher arrangements and also the fact that the last song on this album has no guitar at all which is very unusual for me.
The name comes from The Sermon on the Mount. I was captivated by the idea of fruit and fruitfulness while working on this project and that phrase felt like it connected the piece thematically with all of the things I’ve been contemplating these past few years and in these songs.
Please tell us about the upcoming album release.
The full album will be out this fall on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms on October 10th. To celebrate the release I will be performing the album in its entirety at Aster Cafe in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 11th. Tickets for that are available now for anyone who would like to attend. Neon Menhirs will open the night with an atmospheric set at 8:30. I’ll also be debuting a brand new unreleased song, and to be honest, it probably won’t be released for a while because I’m going to need a little longer between records this time around. Hopefully that’s a reason to come out, connect in person, and hear Isle of Ferns in a way you won’t be able to hear it online — like I mentioned, the record features lush arrangements, but I’m going to perform it completely acoustically. I’ll have some very special handmade and limited edition merch available as well. I hope to see you there!
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