"A New Life" - Out Now

A NEW LIFE written by Jim James performed by Amy Stroup - OUT NOW

JIM JAMES to Rolling Stone Magazine on A New Life - “It’s about making a conscious choice to open a new door for oneself,” he says. “To step forward out of safe stagnation or fear and into beauty or peace or whatever you would like to call truth in your heart in order to begin a new life in and of love.”

One of my all time favorite songs is A New Life by Jim James, my friend Chris introduced me to his band music My Morning Jacket years ago at SXSW and then to his solo project. I’ve seen him perform solo several time including a sacred night in Nashville at the Schemerhorn symphony hall where he sang this song and I went to another planet. (Continued on next slide 🤓…)

I was talking recently to a friend who said, “During covid I wanted to completely change my life. I wanted to move to the west coast & start over. Go where no one knew me, quit everything & just teach yoga.” I get it, I am not short on days I too want the lure of ‘leaving it all’ and starting over completely fresh. My friend the brain loop starts 🤓 & It spits the spiral of “There is a mute button on ur life, why do you make those choices, ur not there yet, everyone else is killing it but you, blah blah” and want to force myself forward. I chatted over the freshness of a move with my therapist who told me, “if you move west so will all of you, esp the unresolved.” So during the last couple years, instead of striking a match and running to new geography - I decided to slow down and looked at the ache. I am pushing into the glimmer of what else might be possible - trying to shift into realm I haven’t been to in my own skin…That’s why I wanted to record Jim’s song, it’s like a siren call to try to do something different inside.

For me, it has looked like a lot of early morning walks w/ Frank, earlier nights in, therapy, clumsily feeling my feelings & taking it real slow w/ decisions. It looks like accepting reality instead of numbing out to fantasies, looks like a few good patient friends & family who were there for it all also accepting uncertainty…it looks like a work in progress of radical self kindness and 1.9 degree shifts into…A New Life w/ lots of star dust.

Recorded at @soundemporiumstudios Nashville, TN with additional tracking at Black Watch Studios in Norman, OK

Produced & Mixed by @chadcopelin

Mastering Joe Causey @voyagermastering

Vocals: Amy Stroup

Background Vocals: Ryan Lindsey of @bronchoworldwide

Guitar: @thekyleryan, Kris Donegan, Chad Copelin

Bass: @karmadeefa_design, Chad Copelin

Drums & Programming: James McAlister @900x

Synthesizers: Chad Copelin

Strings: @eleonoredenig

Cello: @caraannfox

Design: @milkglassme @mlkgss