Ani DiFranco Says Album Was Bettered by Baby
 Bill Haber/AP |
Although Ani DiFranco is used to making records in “a couple of minutes,” the 39-year-old songstress took her time with Red Letter Year, her first studio album since welcoming daughter Petah Lucia, 2 ½.
“The sound of the new record has the baby to thank for its scope,” she says with a laugh. “It took me two years to finish this record because the baby was literally born in the middle of it.”
Ani explains that she started doing demo work while Petah was still in utero, something which “protracted the process…much to the benefit of the record.” She adds,
“It took this kid to realize the common wisdom of taking your time in the studio.”
Not everything has changed, however, and Ani’s love of touring leads the list. “I’m still out here road warrior-ing, dragging the baby everywhere I go, and that seems to work out pretty good,” she notes. “But [the hard part] is the creation of new material.”
Petah has been the recipient of so much of Ani’s “mental space and creative energy,” she admits that not as much is left over for music. “It’s definitely harder to find the time and energy to write while raising a kid,” she says. “But I figure I’ve written plenty of songs in my day and I’ll get back to it again.”
Petah is Ani’s child with husband Mike Napolitano.
Source: Kelowna.com
– Missy
