Citizen Vinyl: There’s a quote on your website from a Mountain Xpress writer that says, “Sally Anne Morgan makes old-time music for modern minds.” What does that mean to you?
Sally Anne Morgan: I’ve always been inspired by traditional “old-time” music, and used to be deeply immersed in learning all the Appalachian fiddle tunes and ballads I could. But my perspective has changed and I’m not interested in any sort of historical re-enactment. I’m much more drawn to following my own inclinations with complete freedom. I still end up inspired by traditional music but don’t adhere to any sort of rules about it.
All my albums took about two years from the start of recording, to the actual release. So my first album, Thread, was recorded pre-pandemic, three of us playing live in a farmhouse studio. My second one Cups was mostly recorded in September 2020, at an artist residency, where I was the most isolated I’ve probably ever been in my life. I did it all alone and got as uninhibited and freaky in my cabin in the woods as possible, and I think it shows! Carrying was mostly recorded February 2021, the same three musicians as Thread in the same farmhouse studio, though this time we were wearing masks. So it’s all a reflection of the times in a way, just a bit delayed.
Your solo work and your music with House and Land is very organic and inspired by the landscape. Is sense of place important to your music? Or does the spirit and vibe of Appalachia extend beyond geography?
Sense of place and connection to the landscape are definitely inherent in my music, and in who I am. I actually studied geology in college, though rarely use it and joke I’ve forgotten most of it. However, some sense of the geologic time scale has penetrated my mind, because when I think of the Appalachian mountains, I don’t see it as a distinct geographic place — we were once connected to the Atlas Mountains in Northern Africa, for example, and again and again before that we were connected to other lands in giant supercontinents. Just like Appalachian music is all interconnected to other traditions, other styles of music. I try to intentionally have the most expansive and living view of what Appalachian means.
You also work as a visual artist. Do different art forms, including your music, inform each other?
My visual art and music are connected deep down, though I don’t always know how. They both come from a similar part of me, and there is a similarity in the process sometimes, turning off my thinking mind as much as possible and getting out of my own way. But in some ways songwriting and printmaking seem pretty distinct and like they are fulfilling different parts of me. This might be a lifelong question for me!
