Ynana Rose captivates audiences with her unique blend of the traditions of American roots music, penning songs threaded with folk, country, blues and jazz influences, while reaching for new horizons in her writing. A versatile singer, Ynana sings of the joy and heartbreak of living in a rich, soulful voice. Ynana is releasing Under A Cathedral Sky on November 3rd, an album about facing fear and creating beauty from it. These are songs written at the crossroads of midlife: songs of assessment, of crisis, of unraveling… and also dancing, whiskey and dating. She draws inspiration from artists such as Norah Jones, Gillian Welch, Sarah Jarosz, Jason Isbell and more.
Ynana [pronounced Y’nah-nah] lives in San Luis Obispo, California. She wrote her first song at the age of 37, which opened up a world of creative passion. She says, “Songs are like puzzles of the heart that I have to solve in order to sleep well at night. I write about authenticity and the lack of it, longing, fear, love, everyday miracles and tragedies. Music invites an eternity of pursuit and I feel blessed to go chasing it down.” As a vocalist, she has enjoyed a wide background ranging from choral ensembles to folk, traditional Música Folklórica, western swing, blues and bluegrass.
Today Glide is premiering the video for “Midlife Walkin’ Blues,” (PRE-ORDER) a standout on the new album. The tune finds Ynana laying down soulful vocals over a soundtrack that seamlessly incorporates blues, soul, folk, country and bluegrass…with a healthy dose of California sunshine of course. For Ynana, this tune is a perfect way to showcase her versatility as a vocalist as she shines in between some damn fine fiddle and guitar solos. By standards of modern music she may be a late bloomer, but this aptly titled tune proves she is definitely making up for lost time.
Watch the video and read our interview with Ynana below…
What is the story behind this song? How did you come to write it? What is it about? What inspired it?
I skidded into a midlife crisis at the age of 47, unexpected and all-encompassing. It was physical: I stopped sleeping, and I knew what it was within a few days. It was like a veil had been pulled back on the life that I had created, and it suddenly all looked very different. One of the first things I figured out about a midlife crisis is: if it’s coming for you, it’s coming for you. Read all the books, do the therapy, go to yoga, meditate… they will not rescue you. The second thing I learned is that it’s a midlife assessment; the crisis kicks in when the assessment goes badly. The third thing was that old blues songs suddenly started making a lot of sense.
As I sank deeper into my pain, I got really good at deflecting well-meaning questions like, “How’s it going?” and “How are you?” as I walked around in the world. This was a personal pain. I shared it with no one; I let it guide me and slowly unwrap its truth. One day, I thought about Robert Johnson’s “Walkin’ Blues” and went, “Oohhhhh. This is what he meant.” This song poured out fast after that. The blues format, uptempo-feel and lyrics authentic to my experience were a beautiful pairing for me. I was afraid to sing it. It felt too honest, but it has become one of my most fun songs to play live, and it offers the opportunity to talk about midlife transitions and crises on the mic, which I feel we don’t do enough of.
Are you typically a lyrics-first or a music-first writer? How did this song come together?
Melody and lyrics are the easiest first step for me, so a lot of my songs start a cappella. With this song, I sang the first verse over and over to myself and then sat down to craft the chords, and the rest of the lyrics and full arrangement followed.
Are there any lyric lines that you are particularly proud of or that really speak to you? What do you feel makes them resonate?
I love the lyric – “I smile and say I’m fine, and you won’t hear me lyin’” – because it’s universal and gets to the heart of the blues. The line – “I been scratchin’ at the door but you don’t roll me like before”- expresses the frustration, desire and loneliness that I was living at the time and feels sexy to sing. “The wind’s moaning through the wood…It’s rattlin’ my bones and I’m drinkin’ alone” means a lot to me because I was raised by a single mom in a hand-built cabin in Northern California who loved the blues. She often drank alone, and the wind whistled through our thin cabin walls like you wouldn’t believe. My mom died a long time ago, but I know she would like that verse.
If listeners can take away one thing from having heard this song, what do you hope that is?
Pain tells the truth, and you’d best listen to it. Transitional crises are temporary. Also… life may be hard, but it’s still a party, so don’t forget to dance.
How does this song fit in among the others on the forthcoming album? How is it similar or different?
This song is the most bluegrass-influenced song on the album and the most rhythmically joyful. It balances out the ballads and mid-tempo songs and gets to the heart of the theme of the album,which is about facing fear and creating beauty from it.
If you could use only three words to describe your music, what would they be?
Honest. Confident. Roots.
