dil·et·tante
/ˌdiləˈtänt, diləˈtäntē/, noun
a person who purposefully dabbles in many different pursuits.
Songs by Nell Balaban
Dilettante is a collection of songs I’ve written and recorded over the last 10 years or so.
I'm excited to share them and will be releasing them
in this space one at a time over the next couple of months. Welcome to week 8!
We could call it a record, an album, or a playlist.
All the tunes were produced and recorded in Canada in various locations; wherever Tim Thorney (the great!) has had his studio, Villa Sound, that’s where I’d go, from Toronto to the lovely Blue Mountains of Ontario.
Heartbreak By Design is on the turntable this week.
I don't have a lot to say about this song regarding the writing or the genesis of it. As my "guru" Alanis says, a song can be a chronicle or snapshot of a very particular moment. And so it is.
It's one of the older ones in the collection, as I probably wrote it back in 2002 or so.
About the making of this recording I will say that it's another from the very first session I had with Tim Thorney. He surprised, delighted and educated the hell out of me with his arrangement, and we had the really wonderful Brent Barkman at the piano keys again.
I remember how enjoyable it was to listen and watch him record a few different takes. I think he really shapes and accents the track in a super tasty way and I'm grateful to this day that he and Tim were so generous in the sharing of their artistry!
Here's HEARTBREAK BY DESIGN
Thorney
No relevance other than that this is a pic of a cool guitar I borrowed from my friend and great musician/songwriter, David O'Neal. Click here for more about him.