Pittsburgh native Angela Autumn heads to Nashville, will release new album in June
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“I woke up today, I was different. Something changed,” Angela Autumn sings on “Old Time Lovers,” the opening song of her forthcoming album, “Frontiers Woman.”
Things, indeed, have changed for the 25-year-old Western Pennsylvania native, who grew up Angela Mignanelli in Zelienople before finding her songwriting voice and relocating to Nashville in 2019.
“I was 20 when I found bluegrass,” she said. “Traditional music ended up being the thing that means the most to me. I think it has the best community.”
After jamming with bluegrass players at the well-known concert series at American Legion Post 82 in Nashville, Autumn asked a few new friends if they’d be interested in helping lay down tracks for what will be her debut album and her third release, not including a 2020 single, “Captain.”
“I was kind of overseeing that process, and we tracked four songs in the winter of 2020,” Autumn said. “As the pandemic progressed, I decided to get back into the studio and track three more.”
Autumn handled the production for “Frontiers Woman,” something she said is common for young singer-songwriters living and working in “Music City.”
Part of the recording for the new album included friends from back home in Pittsburgh. Butler native Sam Stuckey plays mandolin on “God’s Green Earth,” the album’s third track.
“I helped her move to Nashville, and we’ve kept in touch since her move,” said Stuckey, who is planning his own move to Nashville this month. “She asked if I’d play some mandolin, so I set up some mics at home and sent all the (recordings) back to the engineer. And when I heard the song come out, I was thrilled.”
Stuckey said he and Autumn made an immediate musical connection when they met at one of the honky-tonk concerts hosted at the Allegheny Elks Lodge on Pittsburgh’s North Side, prior to the pandemic.
“She talked about influences like Joni Mitchell and other classic women singer-songwriters of that era,” he said. “On top of that, with her English degree, she’s also a wordsmith. She likes to play with words.”
The Joni Mitchell influence is clear in the wordplay as well as the dreamy atmospherics that characterize the sound-scapes of “Frontiers Woman.” Engineer and drummer Kate Haldrup provides percussion that nudges the mostly-traditional instrumentation toward a more modern feel, something Autumn had in mind from the outset.
“Nashville has a lot of people with diverse backgrounds,” she said. “Some are rock’n’rollers, some are bluegrass players, and you can kind of just do whatever, and that’s how I created the record.”
Autumn said producing her own record came with a large learning curve.
“I almost wanted to be there with the engineer, watching and learning because I knew that it would help me,” she said. “I’ve wanted to combine indie music with bluegrass instruments for a long time, and everyone I was working with was totally open to that. I was very much in creative control.”
Stuckey said he was drawn to Autumn’s music just from hearing her play solo tunes, which to him is the mark of a good songwriter.
“Even though you can create this whole atmospheric thing with a band, when you put them onstage just by themselves, their ability to let the words and the guitar achieve that same effect is important,” he said. “If you can do that really well, you can create something that really transcends a recording on a CD.”
The emotional connection can be seen in the lyrics for songs like “Shooter,” which digs into Autumn’s struggle with depression, or “Fine Blue Sky,” which delves into guilt over a love affair.
Autumn said she didn’t shy away from tough topics in her songwriting.
“It’s about finding the truth for yourself,” she said.
“Frontiers Woman” will be released June 4. For more, see AngelaAutumn.com.