Nefesh Mountain will return with a new album titled Beacons next year. Beacons will be a unique release for the band in that it will be a double album. Half of the release will be made up of acoustic bluegrass songs and the other half will feature Americana songs. Later this week, they’ll release two singles—one from each disc. Today, American Songwriter is proud to premiere the lead Americana single “Race to Run.” Watch the official video below.
Nefesh Mountain drew inspiration from the Allman Brothers Band’s blend of country and rock and roll to build the sound of “Race to Run.” The lyrics, however, came from a more modern place. Ahead of the release of the single Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff—the husband and wife duo at the heart of the band—sat down with American Songwriter to discuss the song and the new album.
[RELATED: Nefesh Mountain Honors Their Cultural Past With Strikingly Modern Bluegrass]
Nefesh Mountain on the Origins of Beacons
“We didn’t set out to do two albums at once,” Eric Lindberg explained. “It was one of those things, we were going into the studio, and Doni I had a whole bunch of electric tunes and a whole bunch of bluegrass songs. I was hoping they would all fit on one disc and we would do what we do live which is some bluegrass stuff and some electric stuff,” he added. However, as the studio sessions went on, Lindberg penned four new songs, bringing the total count to 18 tracks.
“Pretty soon, we were like ‘Well, we really have a concept here for each one’ and they both fit into the concept of beacons, with all of these songs being like beacons of light for weird times in the world and these divided days that we live in and inspirational songs for ourselves. ‘Race to Run’ is one of those beacon songs,” he said.
Eric and Doni Discuss the Meaning of “Race to Run”
“Race to Run” is a perfect introduction to the Americana side of Beacons. It sets the mood for the collection. More importantly, Doni Zasloff explained, it encapsulates the spirit of the entire album. “The spirit of ‘Race to Run’ and the whole album is that we’re not trying to compete with the world and we’re trying to do things our own way,” she said. “For us, we love the Americana electric thing but we’ve stuck to acoustic songs. But Eric was missing the electric. So, it was like let’s just do that and we’ll do the bluegrass. There’s no rules. Let’s just be ourselves. We don’t need to be like anybody else or compete with anybody else. We just want to be authentic and run our own race. That’s kind of what the whole album and this song is,” she added.
“A lot of the song is about social media and feeling the competition and telling yourself that you don’t have to compete,” Eric Lindberg added. “There’s also something that happens for anyone who is following politics and the state of the world and the wars going on. It’s like we’re not meant, as human beings, to see this information at once. And there’s a pressure to do something about it. So, you have to take on these burdens of the leaders of the world warring with each other and thousands of people are dying,” he said.
“At some point, it has to be okay that we can get through the day and pick up our kid from school and go play a show and that’s our race. That’s our job. It’s a reminder that we don’t have to wear the burdens of the world. We can care about them and have empathy for all the lives lost. But we have our own lives, too. Not to turn a blind eye but it’s okay to be happy and love our families,” Lindberg added.
Featured Image by Rafael Roy/Kelin Verrette
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