Soaring: A Conversation with Hayley Sabella
For years now I have been moved by the pure power in the stillness of Hayley Sabella’s voice. In our conversation she brings up a softness that many may conceive from listening to her sing. It is that tenderness inherent in her singing style that makes words of sorrow, or difficulty or light and praise ring so much more transparent in your ears. Unhindered by strain, plaintive at times, but honesty and sincerity punctuate each beautiful note that rings from her voice, and from her heart.
The mark of a brilliant songwriter is often delineated by an ability to allow listeners to impart themselves into a song’s narrative. Appreciate the character’s hardships or conquests. Put themselves in those shoes and Sabella sits atop a large heap of artists and songwriters. Songwriters who are trying their best to claw their way to the top, but she isn’t budging from that rightful seat. Words that make you a fly on the wall of their stories. Visual and emotive. Songs that read like poetry and sonically envelope you in their energy. Conversations that you are getting a small glance into. That is something extremely special and difficult to portray, but Sabella does it without flinching.
Her latest release capitalizes on the songwriter’s greatest strengths in writing and that voice that, even when described as ‘soft and silken”, commands the brute strength to knock your knees weak and drive home each and every word of her songs.
She celebrates the release of ‘Forgive the Birds’ on June 8th at Club Passim ending a run of shows all around the US and Canada. Get out and see her live…and read on below for our conversation.
RLR: Farm Fingers and King Solomon kind of came back to back, one year to another year, but its been 4 years since that last LP. What were the reasons behind this wait for a new record?
HS: This record is the result of the desire to define my voice as a writer. I wanted my choices, regarding everything from song form to production and mixing style to be more deliberate. A big part of that process was listening carefully to other artists, and marrying my creativity to a more particular genre. “Forgive the Birds” is decidedly more folk than my previous records. I chose that because my true love is storytelling, and everything folk from the venues to the listeners is more interested in story. Plus there was a lot of personal growth, and so releasing this record was like waiting for a harvest to ripen. Some things just take time.
RLR: That being said, I truly feel like you have always been very good at communicating very personal introspective matters in song. Ever since Farm Fingers, it was very evident that what you are singing about is something that you hold close to the heart. This record, for some reason, feels that way but even stronger. Where were you at when you were writing these songs and where did your inspiration for the record stem from?
HS: Because these songs have come over a relatively long stretch of time, no single experience inspired multiple songs. But most often, a personal experience can be easily tied to my mainstay themes, re: seasons & nature. “Turn Around,” for example, is about wanting winter to turn to spring. But it has a verse that goes:
“Hammering right through the bricks of walls erected in good faith / Careful hands, unneeded wounds set each rock into its place / But I wanted you to know that I know better / But it’s my turn to turn around”
Even though the overarching theme is about longing for spring, this line was inspired by a difficult conversation I had with my mother. In my family, we’re all passionate, intense conversationalist and rarely do we stick to safe topics. We were having a discussion, most likely involving politics or religion, or some combination of the two, and I pressed too hard. In that moment, making my point was more important to me than considering my mother or her feelings, and I made her cry. I felt terrible! I love my mother. We’re really tight. Sometimes when you’re tight with people, you make each other cry, I guess. But when that happened, I knew I needed to turn around and look inward. There was certainly room for me to improve in that instance.
RLR: Its funny you mention that you and your family are all conversationalist, because another thing that really struck me in listening to the album over and over again is how conversational a lot of the lyrics feel. Be it a conversation to a lover, to a parent, to an object. This record is one of those rare cases where I feel I would be just as content reading your lyrics in a poetry collection as I am listening to them in audio format. Honestly, I can count the number of artists I feel that way about on one hand. Do you find that is a purposeful way in which you write or perhaps it has simply always been the way that you pen songs?
HS: Aw man, thank you Brian! It’s good to hear that the lyrics stand alone for you. I was an English major in college, and the written word is one of my favorite parts of being a person. I’m glad the respect I have for language comes through, because to me, the magic of song is that you get to combine two separate but equally powerful mediums to convey what’s inside your heart.
RLR: Sonically there is a lot to eat up here and I think that the very tail end of the title track and first song sets the stage particularly well for that. That slow entrance of an overdriven note ringing. It kind of sets us up to think the record may be “voice and guitar” and then a glimmer of “hey there may be some rock and indie feel to this”. Which, I think, the record kind of does. You’ve played in a band, with other folks and solo over the years. Was there initially a conscious decision for arrangements before you went into the studio?
HS: With “Forgive the Birds,” I wanted to take advantage of the varied pallete studio recordings offer, while still maintaining the ability to convey songs well in a live setting when I play solo. Because of that, songs like ‘Forgive the Birds’, ‘Cape Cod’ and ‘Love is a Chisel’ are intentionally stripped back. But I had joy of working with Daniel Radin from The Novel Ideas, who has a great mind when it comes to production. We had the luxury of being able to demo each song carefully before hitting the studio. It gave us the ability to allow the songs to try on different outfits, if you will, before dressing them up for the stage. That’s also the beauty of taking one’s time. But I also adore playing with a band. Someday, when I grow up, I’ll have a band.
RLR: I feel like an asshole saying this, but I vaguely remember reading a quote about one of your earlier records where a review said something like “there is a child-like innocence to her voice”. I looked back and am like 98% sure it wasn’t me but for a minute I felt angry at myself for thinking of it, then thinking I may have written it. I feel like something like that dampens and takes away from how deep your writing is and for some reason that quote upset me.
Regardless, with this record that pull quote came to me because I said to myself while listening “there is no way that someone could say that about this album”. I have always been a fan of your songs, but feel like you have really matured from record to record and Forgive the Birds is a true culmination of so much work and soul searching, both as a human and a writer. How are you feeling about this record in terms of your own story as an artist and is there any release for you getting it into the world? Is there any truth to that?
HS: Absolutely true! Your observations are on point. To me, “Forgive the Birds” is a debut in a lot of ways, which is why I wanted to bring it out into the world with as much care and attention as went into it. Now that it’s out in the world, I’m jonesing to get back in the studio. As I’m sure you relate to, I need an outlet.
I don’t take childlike as an insult in and of itself, really. I feel childlike in the curiosity I have about the world and the people who live in it. My voice is soft, but I’ve tried to embrace the duality of saying hard things with a soft voice.
RLR: Give me a little bit about your songwriting process. How does a song typically come to be in your experience over the years?
HS: I’m honestly not very consistent. I like to be alone in a place where no one can hear me, I like to have good acoustics. And then, I like to be in a mindset where my senses are interested in what I’m doing. Somedays sounds sound better than other days. It’s rare for all 3 of those things to happen all at once, so I like to at least have two out of three. If I had to pick, I’d be either a lyrics first person, or a lyrics & melody at the same time person. The other nice factor is having multiple instruments – trying things out on new guitars or pianos helps.
RLR: If there is a particular song form this record that you hope someone out there is listening to in 100 years, what tune would that be?
HS: Wow that’s a good question! My instinct is to say “Cape Cod,” although “If I Reach” seems to have made the biggest splash. 100 years isn’t about splashes, though. So… “Cape Cod,” final answer. It talks about aging, which seems appropriate.
RLR: What do you hope the listeners get from this album when they listen?
HS: I hope listeners feel understood and connected. I’m very interested in the human heart, and in my experience, the best way to connect to others is by sharing your own.
RLR: Anything else you want to push/plug?
HS: Club Passim, June 8th with Her Crooked Heart! Finishing off a tour starting on 5/20.
