Grammy-nominated country singer Iris DeMent is about to start work on a new album, her first since Lifeline, a collection of traditional gospel tunes released in 2004, and her first album of original material since the very political The Way I Should, released 15 years ago.
"I'll be going to Nashville in December to begin work on it," she said. "Finally. I'm excited about it. I feel ready."
Despite the long expanse of time between albums, DeMent said not once did she doubt that she would one day release another album of her own songs.
"Never, I never thought that," she said. "I could go another 20 years without writing a song and never think that it'd be something I'd never do again, and I can't really tell you why I feel that way. But I've never had that feeling, not for five minutes. I've worried about it and I've felt anxious and I've felt sad about it, but I never doubted I'd be able to do it again someday."
That "some day" came early this year, she said. That's when she felt the remergence of what she called the "want-to," that instinct that she taps into when she creates.
"It has showed up periodically," she said. "It always does. But as far as staying there for consistent periods of time and feeling like I've been able to relax into the music again long enough to really produce much, it has only been within the last six to eight months."
DeMent released two records before Lifeline and The Way I Should: Infamous Angel in 1993, and in 1994. Both were critically acclaimed, and My Life was nominated for a Grammy. The British music magazine Q said of Angel: "Her songs ... display an emotional charge and simplicity of touch that can prove joyful and touching by turns."
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