You will probably recognize Natasha Borzilova from the Grammy-nominated group, Bering Strait. She was the lead singer and acoustic guitarist of this group of incredibly talented, classically trained musicians from Russia who hit the country scene a few years ago releasing 2 albums with Universal South Records. Since the group parted ways in 2006, Natasha has been pursuing music as a solo artist in Nashville.
Her new project ‘Balancing Act‘ exudes simplicity by going for an acoustic, stripped down feel interwoven with Natasha‘s intricate guitar skills and beautiful vocals at the very forefront. It’s timeless, soothing and just plain good music.
I recently had the chance to discuss Natasha‘s new album with her.
Name of new cd?
“Balancing Act”
When was it released and where can you buy it?
“It was released on Sep 21, 2010. you can get it through Amazon, cdBaby or iTunes.”
Tell me a little about your newest project? How’s it different from previous albums?
“Balancing Act evolved from an idea of a Russian folk album. I always wanted to record my favorite Russian folk songs, to put my own spin on the familiar, and with my label’s blessing I began collecting material. To my disappointment I realized that the majority of what I thought of as “folklore” actually had songwriters, and that wasn’t something I wanted to record — I had plenty of my own unused material. So I turned to my old catalog and found 10 songs that were written in the past 12 or so years. Some of them, I felt, needed extensive re-writing which made this project feel curiously fresh to me, even though the songs were not brand new. The eleventh song was one of those few genuinely folk tunes, a breathtakingly beautiful and sad Russian ballad.
Once I had all the material and started to think about the arrangements, I quickly realized that I wanted this project to be very stripped down, open and airy and I new just the guys who could help me with that.
Billy Panda who played some of the acoustic guitars on Cheap Escape, brought with him an array of string instruments — from mandocello and baritone guitar to high-string and electric — which gave us an incredible textural variety, complimented by Byron House on upright and arco bass and my buddy Alex Arzamastsev on cajon and percussion. I played acoustic guitar and sang everything, and my husband John recorded us. We made this album in three days. It was delightful — to be in the studio with my friends creating something totally different, not always knowing what the next song is gonna sound like.”
Is there a theme with this cd?
“The theme of the album is finding balance. several songs deal with integration, finding balance within yourself, some with finding balance in a relationship. But it’s not a conceptual piece, I didn’t set out to write an album around the theme, it just kinda happened.”
Favorite songs on this project?
“My favorites on the record are “Water and Wood” and “Rechka”, the Russian folk song i included at the end.”
Who was the album produced by?
“I produce all my music.”
How would you describe your music?
“My style is evolving, I’m trying new things and it’s hard to describe what it is. Right now it’s indy folk, next year it might be something else :)”
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