Like the culturally rich Mississippi Delta that has anchored her life from childhood, the music of Dusky Waters embraces a multitude of influences…a remarkably entertaining album.
Today, contemporary Americana artist Dusky Waters shares her new album, Pass It On. The seven new songs presented on this record speak across time and place to express a modern woman’s experience of the deep South, a manifestation of the magic and mourning of the Bayou state, and a hopeful ode to the power of self-actualization.
Pass It On was written over the three years from 2019 to 2022 by the New Orleans-based songwriter/musician Jennifer Jeffers. She uses the name Dusky Waters as a nom de plume as well as an expression of her affinity for the magic of twilight hours and the presence of the Mississippi River that has anchored her life from her childhood on the banks of its tributary Arkansas River in Little Rock, to her early twenties in the delta of northern Louisiana, to her current crescent city home on the gulf coast. Absorbing and exploring the sounds she uncovered along the way, her songs ultimately uncover what it is to be a black, southern, millennial woman, negotiating the 2020s. Or, as Dusky succinctly puts it, “it’s about living, loving, and losing in Louisiana during the pandemic years.”
Below, you can hear the album and read Jeffers’ track-by-track guide. One of the things I love most about this album is how each song evolves. Your own musical reference points are constantly changing, and throughout this album, she throws in twists and playful turns within songs, bringing us moments of theatre, reflection and joy. Like the Mississippi River, you go with the flow as she embraces a multitude of influences from gospel, folk, and soul, framing them within contemporary pop melodies and arrangements. The press for the album suggests that many of the songs were born in the music halls of New Orleans, where a newly-arrived Dusky plied her trade as a solo artist backed only with a loop pedal. Many of the best performers learnt their trade singing from the floor…Jeffers has worked hard to reach this point, and she has a great presence to show for it, as well as a live band she has shaped to her vision…Pass It On is a remarkably entertaining album.
Pass It On is available on CD and Vinyl here.
The album release is being celebrated with a special New Orleans show on June 16th at Zony Mash with support from local friends Joy Clark and Gal Holiday & The Honky Tonk Revue. Tickets and further info here.
- Pass it On: I wrote Pass it On while reflecting on some of my family’s legacies-both the good and the bad. In this song, I explore how hurt and harm can echo through generations unless we make a conscious decision to end negative patterns ourselves.
- How will we know?: This song came to me during a time in my life when I struggled to make a monumental decision to end a long-term relationship. On its surface, the song traces a harrowing hiking journey I took through the Smoky Mountains that culminated in a near-catastrophic rain storm. A layer beneath, it explores one of life’s most present and challenging emotions-uncertainty. Along this journey, like in any relationship, there were moments of beauty as well. The “june bugs” were the fireflies in the Smoky Mountains that I saw during their synchronous mating dance. The ending of the song has a really beautiful piano solo by Tommy Henson that I think perfectly captures the idea that we can experience joy and presence in the midst of difficulty.
- Southeasterly Wind feat. Kasey Ball: Southeasterly Wind is an allegory for troubled times. Drawing on the traditions of many of my musical heroes, I wanted to write a protest song, but one that had an element of fantasy to it. This is the track on the record that reminds me most of the influence living in New Orleans has had on my music and features a trad jazz section by horn player Kasey Ball.
- Jaula de Algodón: This song was co-written by myself and Analiese De Saw, who plays viola, percussion, bells, and sings on the record. Analiese wrote the beautiful guitar part many years ago and shared it with me one day in a songwriting session. With Analiese’s music, I wrote a love letter and lullaby in my second language to my god-sister as she embarked on a new journey in life.
- Dusk: There’s a moment in time when you know in your body and spirit that you have fallen in love with someone…and I wanted to capture that moment through this song. To me, dusk is the most magical time of day. As the lyrics describe, it was also the time my long-distance partner and I would reach each other after driving the distance between our cities.
- Mae: An eponymous celebration of my paternal grandmother, Mae is a representation of our blend of Americana, calling on gospel, bluegrass, folk, country, and New Orleans blues traditions in a romping celebration of a life well lived. I wrote Mae while I was sitting in a church pew at my grandmother’s funeral. It was the first song I ever wrote or performed as Dusky Waters. As I listened to folks come forward to speak about her life and all the ways she supported people, I thought about how wonderful she was and how little I truly knew her. Mae is a bittersweet reflection on a beautiful life and feeling like a stranger in the company of one’s own family.
- Footnote: One of my greatest fears is repeating mistakes of the past. Footnote began as a meditation and mantra I would say to myself during the times I struggled with this fear. It’s a statement of belief in myself that I have everything I need already to grow into who I am meant to become.
Pass It On is available on CD and Vinyl here.
Website: https://www.duskywaters.com/