Tightrope Walker (album)

Development

For the second time, since the creation of Chesapeake in 2011, Yamagata utilized the fan-funded music platform PledgeMusic to fund the album Tightrope Walker. The album production ideas were spontaneous, experimental. Per her interview with AXS, she stated "I just completely let whatever road we felt like taking. Whoever musicians were in the room, whatever instruments were in the room, we tried everything. It was a lot of experimentation. [...] All of the production ideas were just very in-the-moment, spontaneous and fun to try. That led to us having a collection of arrangements I hadn't done before. We have mandolin on some tracks, of course I love strings and electric guitar, I write a lot on piano. Because we recorded in my house, we had the leisure of time, a very relaxed feel in the middle of the woods, with some great musicians up in Woodstock. I think a lot of the sounds came because we had fun with it. I was trying to trace the lyric, see what the storyline is, and then match the soundscape to what I'm trying to get across with the idea. That often takes me to strange, and unusual places." The album name was influenced by an interview with Philippe Petit, the tightrope walker who crossed between the twin towers in New York City in 1974. Yamagata was affected by his response to an interview question that asked why he did what he did, and he responded "Why - There is no why." Yamagata's concept for the album started with a vision she had at her home in Woodstock, when she envisioned several strangers sitting in a tent, along with scenes from each of their past. This communal gathering showed there was a connection between the strangers. This allowed the album to focus on several themes, from hardships in careers, family issues, perseverance, relentlessness, owning your own power, while showing an optimism about life.

Track listing

All tracks written by Rachael Yamagata.