After decades in the belly of the music business in New York City, lund’s gone south for her debut album, Right This Time. The album was recorded with producer Tyler “The Falcon” Greenwell (Tedeschi Trucks Band) at Echo Mountain Studios and Sedgwick Studios in her adoptive hometown of Asheville, NC.
Written in collaboration with native Ashevillian Brandon Townsend — and additional contributions from guitarist Paul Olsen (Scrapomatic, Susan Tedeschi, Kristina Train) — lund’s soulful brand of Americana runs the gamut from punchy blues to plaintive weepers. Her band is a reflection of her eclectic tastes: Dave Yoke on guitar (Dr. John, Susan Tedeschi), Brandon Boone on bass (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Col. Bruce Hampton), and New Orleanian Isaac Eady (Tedeschi Trucks Band, Rhiannon Giddens) on drums.
Her musical journey actually started with a Music Industries Studies degree — with a concentration in vocal performance — from Appalachian State University. Suffice to say, she “knows her shit.” “My voice professor was an opera singer,” says lund with a grin. “I sang every spiritual I could to avoid opera.” Her passion and training are evident on the Nina Simone-derived psych-soul of “Don’t You Leave Me,” the grungy swirl of “Paper Tiger,” and her subtle self-harmonizing on the title track. On this eclectic stroll through American musical styles, lund’s clarion voice is the tie that binds.
In the summer of 2020, with the pandemic on the rise and an album’s worth of rock solid material in the tank, she realized how she could optimize her quarantine. The tricky dance of socially distanced recording was well worth it. “I always felt like a late bloomer in life,” she reflects. “But now I know it’s all about timing.”
In our interview, lund explains how she gets her songs to have that slinky, hypnotic quality we hear on her single “Paper Tiger.”
Right This Time will be released on September 9, 2022
Who are some of your musical influences?
My parents have great taste in music so my siblings and I got lucky! My Dad took me to my first Derek Trucks Band concert when I was 17 and I have to say that it catapulted me into a huge deep dive into roots and blues music after seeing them play. I wanted to know who they were inspired by and fell into an amazing rabbit hole of the greats. As a vocalist, there are many that inspired me: Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Donnie Hathway, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles…the list goes on.
Explain the title of your album.
For me, it has always felt like it hasn’t been the right timing both in music and in love. When I wrote ‘Right This Time’ I was really struggling in a relationship and yearning to find that person, I wanted the search to be over! Now it feels like it’s all about the timing, and I’m hoping everything will align.
Do you start off with the music or lyrics first? Why?
I actually write most tunes without any instrument, just vocalizations. The melody usually always comes first and then I’ll scat it out until words form. Then it kind of becomes a puzzle! Sometimes if I have a good line, I’ll start there until I get the melody.
What’s the first concert you ever attended?
What do you remember about it? My first concert was Ray Charles when I was 9 years old, it was the 4th of July and my brother was supposed to be born that night so our neighbors took me and my sister to his concert in Charlotte. We were on the lawn and I mostly remember the fireworks display (haha!) but I feel pretty special to be able to say that Ray Charles was my first show!
Is there a professional “bucket list” item you would love to check off?
Tiny Desk Concert is my DREAM. NPR, call me 🙂
Right This TIme is out this Friday, September 9.