This past Saturday, Bethlehem released The Return to Innocence, Pt. 1 to a sold out audience. The show was much like the album – intimate, moving, powerful, blending nostalgia with modern curiosity and whimsy.
We began the album in 2019, when Bethlehem explained her vision to me – adapting well known songs from her childhood. On the surface, that sounds like something that’s been done many times over. But after working out the first arrangement that she had in mind, I knew this would be special. Each song is meant to set the scene to the days of our childhood innocence, and gradually each song develops and lures the listener into Bethlehem’s world of intricate harmony and rhythm. Truly, many of the songs on this album are more dense from a track count perspective than many full ensemble projects I record.
It was a true joy to collaborate with Bethlehem on this project. She is an artist who completely immerses herself in the music, and performs in the studio just as you would see her on stage. And her ideas would seemingly flow faster than the hard drive could record! She is an artist with sheer ebullience and grace, while also being open for feedback and brainstorming ideas. She boldly named this project “Pt. 1” because a “Pt. 2” is already cooking in her mind. Time to put on a pot of coffee.