Mobile native So Brown is putting the finishing touches on her debut album, Point Legere, a record steeped in the landscapes, characters, and history of rural South Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
Speaking from her home in Brooklyn, where she relocated nearly four years ago, So Brown described the long journey toward completing the project. After moving to New York, she assembled a trio and began reaching out to additional musicians interested in contributing to the record. What started as a modest endeavor grew into a collaboration involving 14 musicians.
A Record Rooted in the Gulf Coast
The album takes its name from Point Legere, a peninsula along the Gulf Coast where So Brown’s maternal family has lived for four generations. She described the area as her deepest personal root and said the record is meant to capture the spirit of that rural, off-the-map corner of Alabama rather than the more commonly depicted city life and Mardi Gras celebrations of Mobile.
“I want anyone who picks up the CD and listens to it to be transported into the world of rural Alabama,” So Brown said. “The music and the art both serve that purpose.”
Musically, the album draws heavily from delta blues and old country traditions. So Brown said she wanted to make a record with an old-school feel, citing influences like Sun Records and early Neil Young. The bulk of the recording was done live to tape at Trout Recording Studio in Brooklyn, run by engineers experienced with that classic approach.
Norah Jones Connection
During the album’s development, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill brought unexpected attention to So Brown’s songwriting when Norah Jones covered her song “Dauphin Island.” The connection helped raise the profile of her work and underscored the Gulf Coast themes that run throughout the record.
So Brown spent much of the past year working on album artwork, shooting photographs in both Mobile and Brooklyn to create a visual companion to the music.
Point Legere is expected to be released in May 2013.