Yet, Chapman’s personal life has taken a toll on her career, almost to a point where it was halted in mid-flight. Her husband died from cancer in 1994, around the release of SAND AND WATER, and in the past few years she has beaten both breast cancer and a benign brain tumour. But with all this behind her, Chapman has soldiered on and prepared her first pop album in six years, one that’s due for release in the UK this month. BACK TO LOVE was written mostly when she was recovering from the biopsy to remove the tumour, this is possibly Chapman’s most personal album, and one that could never have happened if circumstances went awry.

“Recording the album just happened organically,” says Chapman from home in Nashville. “The challenges turned out to be that the lyrics were difficult to finish for a few songs, as it turned out that I unknowingly had a brain tumor. But in April of ‘09 it was successfully removed and following the surgery, all the lyrics flowed with no problem and the record got finished. And without a doubt, love is the theme. The songs arose from the ether and I just tried to capture them as purely as they come. Occasionally I’m still writing them when recording them, or certainly changing them in the process of putting them down.”

As with Chapman’s previous work, recording BACK TO LOVE was an unfussy experience, one in which Chapman and her band revelled in, knowing the songs would come in due time, as long as they let them breathe properly.

“I really don’t have the experience of trying to prove anything when I’m making music,” reveals Chapman. “It’s just a natural process of unearthing emotions, stories, ways of seeing things that creativity offers. I strive to be present and to be open to follow where my creative spirit leads. As a result, most of this record was recorded live in the studio, meaning I didn’t do a lot of messing with the basic vocals. I left some of the rough edges in because there’s just a great energy in that play between musicians. I wanted the spontaneity to remain.”

And it does, beautifully. This is a simple, Nashville-influence folk rock record, filled with buoyant vocals, clever and concise instrumentation and near-perfect arrangement. There’s a manner patented in Nashville that stresses clean, contemporary production, and Back To Love brims with it. In that sense, it is flawless, buttressed by Chapman’s concise, almost systematic songwriting technique and style.

“I write the melody first almost every time,” adds Chapman. “I sling nonsense syllables across the melody and record the whole time. I then take another run at it, again shaping sounds with my mouth without regard for the meaning. Then something interesting usually pops out in the midst of the gibberish. I cling to that like a lyrical buoy. From there I may start to follow a thread of emotion or thought and follow it blindly along with no idea what it’s about. Always returning to the melody for the clues. Essentially, the vowels are in place before all of the consonants. It’s magic. And the song always knows how to crack its own shell. I’ve learned to stand back and keep my ‘critic’ locked in the trunk of the car with duct tape on it’s mouth until we’ve gotten at least halfway to our destination.”

One aspect of Chapman’s life that innately influences her songwriting and the set presented on BACK TO LOVE is her family’s relationship with cancer. It first took her husband and then sidelined her in 2000, prompting Chapman to radically alter her life, including embracing holistic medicine and a different approach to her craft. “

Cancer has touched my life,” continues Chapman. “I would definitely say it has had a great impact on my writing, not cancer so much as the richness of life that I’ve experienced in the wake of great loss and in the wake of recovering from catastrophic illness. Both experiences are very different, but they provide some deep insights into what touches us most deeply in life. Being able to feel that has made me a better songwriter.”

To celebrate the release, Chapman is hitting the UK twice. What should audiences expect from shows in Glasgow and London? “

Songs, stories, laughter, some tears, amazing side musicians and a room full of great listeners.”

Brian Campbell, Ed

https://bethnielsenchapman.com/