Natalie D-Napoleon
You Wanted To Be The Shore But Instead You Were The Sea
An Album of Strength, Insight, and Beauty – A Record of Its Time That Is Timeless To Be Released April 22nd on First Blood Recordings. Exclusive Radio Sampler Impacts April 4th
“[D-Napoleon’s] new album is both revealing and revelatory, a catharsis of sorts that frees her from the despair & disappointment that had been bottled up inside her… the music she makes becomes liberating in a very real way” – Goldmine
“You Wanted to Be the Shore but Instead You Were the Sea’ is audacious, assured, disarming, and even vulnerable” – Pop Matters
“…This album showcases an artist who set herself a task and then went and exceeded all of her own expectations” – Around the Sound
Having spent 25 years playing music and a decade living & performing in California, Natalie D-Napoleon decided to return to her native Western Australia. She had just been awarded her country’s prestigious Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize and was subsequently offered a scholarship to undertake a PhD in Poetry. But before she said goodbye to her American band, she decided to record her latest collection of songs.
The result is the 12-song album – You Wanted To Be The Shore But Instead You Were The Sea – captured live in a century old wooden chapel nestled in the hills behind Santa Barbara with a single microphone. The aim of this recording session was to capture the beauty and spontaneity of each song’s performance when it was fresh and new, and the sonic beauty and joy of her rustically orchestrated four-piece band playing music together.
Speaking of the session, D-Napoleon says, “I went into the room with Dan Phillips, Jim Connolly, and Doug Pettibone, some faith and trust in each other and, damn, the music gods delivered.”
You Wanted To Be The Shore But Instead You Were The Sea is Natalie D-Napoleon’s surrender to music – a place where it’s okay to be vulnerable and courageous, fierce, and kind, and to stand your ground yet still be forgiving all at the same time.