Seven years ago, as I was about to embark on a plane to go to my friend Maria’s wedding in the jungle of Costa Rica, I found out I was pregnant.

In this lush, vibrant forest full of life, I spent a week meditating on one of the toughest decisions a woman sometimes has to make.

I was 33, and my body was ready, but I wasn’t. I was living in a small apartment in Brooklyn, hustling gigs here and there, my touring schedule was getting more and more intense, and my career at that point was my priority.

My sisters who have gone through this, know how much of a traumatizing experience it can be. One of those heart versus mind versus body struggles.

Out of this pain poured the song, “Inside and Out.” A song that would much later become a track on my album, à fleur de peau.

It was at this time I met producer Jake Sherman. I went to his studio (aka his living room), and we recorded the song. He really liked it and encouraged me to show him more so we could work together. I gave some song drafts a chance, sat in the closet, where the mic was set up, and we recorded a few other songs including “Back to You”, “Here”, and more. I would not be here if it wasn’t for Jake and his believing in my songwriting.

Then life happened, and in hopes of mending a tough heartbreak, I moved down to New Orleans seeking fresh inspiration and a new life. I put the project with Jake on hold because I was no longer in NY, but mostly because I was extremely self conscious about my own songs. I fell head over heels for New Orleans and the community embraced me instantly.

The way people down here play and live their music reminds me of the gypsies I grew up with in France, mixed (like me) with the Caribbean culture I grew up in as a child in the Dominican Republic. It’s about communing, sharing, celebrating, having fun!

To balance this exciting, exuberant city life with deep, quiet stillness, I had been going to Maria’s house in the jungle every winter since her wedding and staying longer each time. Being in this thriving jungle brought me back to being a human beyond my identity as an artist. It always takes a few days for the noise of the hustle and bustle to die down and for the silence to settle in.

I realized how inspired I felt when I was there, spending full days composing on a rock with my ukulele, catching the songs that the river would sing to me. A couple months before the pandemic hit I had bought the plot of land next to Maria’s so that I could build a little cabin and have my own guests come and visit. I wanted my musician friends to experience the magic of this land and share the music it had to offer. So when everything shut down in New Orleans, I decided to go back to the jungle and start building.

I drew lines and curves on grid pages in a notebook and gave the drawings to my carpenter José who, with his three sons, turned them into reality. As the pandemic kept going and going, my vision kept growing and growing. I became obsessed with designing (I had no idea I had the talent). And, because we were not performing, this house became my creative outlet during the entire span of the pandemic.

The house, baptized ‘La Tucanera’, went from a little cabin, to a three-story treehouse palace with a music studio inside. José and I worked as a team on the house for two full years. During this time I was living in a tent and, between sketching and measuring and mixing mud and straw, I was writing.

As the pandemic came to an end, I went back to NY with a bunch of new songs and gave Jake a call : “let’s finish what we started.” By that time Jake had upgraded to a real studio in Brooklyn called Keyboard Heaven.

We spent full days in that tiny windowless room, just the two of us. We took naps under the piano, I recorded myself biting down a seeded cracker and shaking a water bottle (which became beat one of “Beautiful Way”) and we invited guests to appear on the album (Abe Rounds, Jamison Ross, Wayne Tucker, Michael Valeanu...).

Jake is relentless in getting the best out of the artist he is working with. He’ll spend hours looking for the perfect sound for one particular transition in a song. Mixing the album with Jake and Chris Connors (the mixing engineer) was also a huge learning curve for me. Jake is a perfectionist and it took a lot of back and forth which I realize is so worth it.

As I finished my record, I was also finishing my house.

March 8th, 2024. Album release date. These songs, which came from the deepest part of my soul, and which were in big part inspired by my love for nature, were ready to see the light of day, and I was ready to be born as a songwriter. I felt very vulnerable and excited all at once. Something hit me. The lyrics of the song written seven years ago that gave birth to the project, the song about my loss, “Inside and Out”:

“We’ll meet again.

I will build a house so steady for you to come back to.

I just need a little time...”

It has such a hopeful tone to it. This was years before I knew I was going to buy land in a jungle in Costa Rica, let alone design and build my own house there...and let me tell you it is steady!

What this taught me is the songs we create are like little spells. They tell our stories, they guide the path. We simply have to be curious and listen before we judge and compare.

Inspiration might strike you with a song that doesn’t seem to have much meaning to you now, but with patience and trust, the meaning will reveal itself to you. It might not even be for you, but for someone else. Every song has its purpose, a mission, we are just the messengers, open vessels through which they can weave their magic, connect with people’s hearts and start the healing process.

I realized these songs, my creations, as well as this house, were my babies. But this is not where the story ends.

As some of you may have noticed, I recently had to abruptly cancel all my tours. I was so moved to receive all your messages of encouragement and so grateful for your understanding and I owe you an explanation.

I’ve been on the road for roughly 20 years. After the pandemic, although traveling seemed to take a bigger toll on my physical and mental health, I kept going.

I had invested so much in this new album that I was not about to slow down. I was going full steam singing my songs to audiences all over the world.

I learned a lot about myself, but in the last couple of months, I reached a state of physical exhaustion and emotional breakdown.

Last Mardi Gras in New Orleans I met a man and we fell madly in love. We dove head first into a beautiful romance (which is the only way I know how) and were talking about one day having a family within a few months of dating.

This honeymoon phase lasted six months. It turned out he was not happy with a lot of things, including the way I placed emphasis on my artistic life, and he suddenly became very demanding.

I spent a whole month in total confusion trying to understand how I could change to please him, while at the same time traveling to a different country to perform every day.

Finally my body gave in. I had a severe panic attack at the Denver Airport, and went home to a forced rest. Feeling more centered I realized that this man’s dissatisfaction had never been about me.

In the midst of all this drama I learned I was pregnant. It was difficult to rejoice at first but little by little as the clouds started to part and the sun came through, I saw the blessing. What was it the song said ?

“We’ll meet again”. I am ready now.

I have been getting ready for this moment my whole life.

I built a house, a Worldwide career, various communities, planted trees and worked really hard so that I could handle what life threw my way, and I feel abundant. I feel excited to be a single mom. There are a million ways to do this!

That’s what this whole album is about. Feminine creative power manifesting through LOVE. “Yo soy Diosa” sings Maria from the jungle!

I feel so much support from you all and I feel honored to continue with you on this crazy adventure that life is, with its sharp turns and surprises, its ups, its downs, its gifts and beauty hidden in the mud.

I am today in my 2nd trimester and this GRAMMY Nomination couldn’t have come at a more auspicious time in my life.

This feels like a confirmation. To always choose love, to be open to the signs, to follow your intuition and always be true to yourself. To let fear be only the arrow pointing to where growth awaits.

Thank you so much for your unconditional love, for being open to my explorations and trusting our connection through music and words. I believe family goes beyond blood and like they say, it takes a village!

Thank you for letting me be “à fleur de peau”.

Love, Cyrille