Album Notes

Kathy Haggerty's award-winning music has been compared to many artists including Enya, Vangelis, Bjork and Kate Bush. But there is something dynamic, passionate, provocative, and unusually beautiful to her sound that makes it completely identifiable and her own. Haggerty's melodies are lavish, with many instrumental grace notes that create the perfect backdrop to her world-class voice.

"I produce my music using many layers of vocal tracks, much like Enya," explains Haggerty. "I love to blend the organic with the inorganic; changing the tonality and character of my voice along with other instrumentation. I love to play and experiment with sound and beats. I sang a low, growling, Tuvan Throat Singing style base line which underscores the melody in 'Once Upon A Spell'. It created the nebulous vocal texture I was looking for... I'm inspired by many different genres of music, but I tend to gravitate towards soundscapey, classical and eastern musical stylings. I enjoy deconstructing my own work as I'm laying down tracks - molding and sculpting and tweaking the eq's until I hear something that just grabs me and captivates my ears. The audio mixing and effects processing process is becoming my ultimate instrument."

The inspiration for each song varies, and Haggerty is always looking for the sonic 'sweet spots' within the individual tracks and accentuates them in the mix. "I keep some framework of a story in my head when composing, and although there is a bit of crafting that goes into it -the songs do seem to come to life by their own volition. I recorded the album in a three month span of time. And since I was doing everything by myself, there was this special luxury of having a complete sense of freedom -of not having to keep track of the time or feel the constrictions of self-consciousness that the presence of others can invoke. My composing self was unfettered by outside distractions, and I was able to 'zone' and channel-sing melodies, thoughts and feelings which may have otherwise not been tapped. I was actually, very surprised and pleased with the musical landscape the solitude seemed to have painted."

" As I was traveling in between recording the album, the experience of being in different countries filtered into my writing process. 'Veil of Rain' was inspired by Shirin Ebadi, a remarkable woman who's courage and work for women's rights in Iran garnered her the Nobel Peace Prize. That song led to the writing of 'Pacem', which means 'Peace' in Latin. All the songs just seemed to flow very naturally. I think it's important to allow your creative self to explore and accept when something unusual happens; it keeps you fresh and spontaneous - and that's where the 'magic' lives."

All songs on this CD were written, performed, produced, engineered and mixed by Kathy Haggerty. In addition to vocals, she performed the keyboards, cello, guitar, tambourine and chimes. Electric guitar by Jim Curtis; mastering by Trevor Sadler; whales by Chris Stone; musical opining by Ken Melville of Indie Film Composers.

She attributes much of her creative musing to her longtime friend and widely hailed textilian artifact, Richard Greene - who performs vocals on "Ephemera" and "Corinthia". Listen closely, and you may hear the hidden message that he sings...