Norwegian-American singer/songwriter Signe Marie Rustad was born and raised on a farm in central Norway, where the forest, river and fields have filled her with a deep calmness and never-ending restlessness. As a result, many of her songs carry within them a search for a balance between these elements.
After catching the attention of the growing americana-loving audience in Norway with 2012 debut Golden Town – the title a reference to her mother's hometown Golden, Colorado – Rustad secured her first Spellemann (Norwegian Grammy) nomination with critically acclaimed second album Hearing Colors Seeing Noises (2016).
On upcoming third album, When Words Flew Freely, Rustad returns with the powerful, elastic voice and poetic lyrical style that has earned her a loyal fan base in Norway. The album's nine tracks revolve around traumatic life events, and the feeling of emotional stagnation, with a severe writer’s block as a result:
“Slowly moving on from personal struggles, trying to restore my emotional range and get into writing music again, I started opening up old boxes. Not just ‘boxes’ within myself, but actual boxes, of CDs, cassettes and vinyl that I listened to during my formative years. Just trying to recall how all this music would resonate within me and how it would make me feel, trying to open up to those kind of feelings again,” Rustad says of writing and recording When Words Flew Freely.
Together with producer Kenneth Ishak (of Norwegian cult-band Beezewax), and with backing from new label Die With Your Boots On Records, Rustad looks to build on the success of her previous albums, with a new excursion into free-flowing, folksy, cosmic music.
When Words Flew Freely is scheduled for worldwide release on November 1st, with single “Die With Your Boots On” out May 31st, and second single “Something Easier” out on September 27th.
When Words Flew Freely will be released on Die With Your Boots On Records November 1st 2019.
Tracklisting:
Side A:
A1 When Words Flew Freely (prelude)
A2 Red Light Calling
A3 Not Without My Pen
A4 We Belong Somewhere
A5 Something Easier
Side B:
B1 Hands Across Her Back
B2 Die With Your Boots On
B3 A Thousand Lights
B4 When Words Flew Freely