Susan Pepper is a busy woman. Not only is she trying to survive as a performing artist and songwriter under severely limited circumstances, she is also the co-producer of the recently-released film, The Mountain Minor, whose soundtrack was just released on CD. Plus her own album, The Prettiest Bird, has only been out a few weeks.
A music video for the title track, which Susan wrote and sings, is also newly available. It finds her singing this song in a very simple arrangement, supported by Julie Chiles on fiddle and Zeb Gambill on mandolin.
Of this deeply reflective number, Pepper says…
“When a dear friend was in the last years of her life, I realized no matter how beautiful and pristine anything is, like a flower—it dies. Drawing upon imagery from the traditional song, The Blackest Crow, The Prettiest Bird is about the tension between birth and death and the beautiful, tenuous spaces in between.”
Susan is devoted to the old time Appalachian folkways, and received her Masters in Appalachian Studies living in western North Carolina. The remainder of The Prettiest Bird follows largely along these traditional mountain song styles, though all but two are her own compositions.
You can find the album wherever you stream or download music online, and on CD directly from the artist.
We’ll have more on The Mountain Minor soundtrack in the next few days.
