With her latest release Believe, Neshama Carlebach examines personal and universal problems to transform darkness into light. The 12-song album approaches life’s challenges with grace, beauty and uplifting music.
Carlebach has been performing – often alongside her father the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach – since she was a girl, but with Believe her own voice is amplified with a collection of original songs.
Carlebach took time out to share details into her songwriting process – and the influence of the #MeToo Movement – as well as her joy of life, faith and family.
Laurie Fanelli: Congratulations on Believe! What have you most enjoyed – whether it be fan reactions or performing live – experiencing since the album was released in March?
Neshama Carlebach: Thanks so much! I appreciate that! Believe is a bit of a departure for me. Until now I mainly performed my father’s music (he wrote over 5,000 songs, so there was always LOTS to choose from!) I have so appreciated that people have connected to my new songs in the same way they have connected to the music I have always performed. It is all new, yet it is still sweetly familiar. I have found a new way to express myself that does not take me far from the artistry I am so proud of.
LF: Tell me a little bit about the making of Believe. What producers and musicians did you work with?
NC: This project was born from a place of deep love and hope. Our producer Beth Styles, who is an extraordinary songwriter, connected me with her close friend, Jackie Tepper, who is now my beloved business partner. The three of us began the creative process together. It was literally months of the three of us in a room, breathing and transforming life and longings into lyrics and melodies. Then my band and members of my choir, who I love more than I can express, poured their magic into it. The music was created with a lot of emotion that I hope inspires our listeners to access that same space inside themselves.
LF: In the wake of the #MeToo movement, you’ve spoken about your own personal experiences as well as allegations made against your father. Has the #MeToo movement changed the way you approach making music?
NC: That is a very deep and complicated question for me, and I appreciate that you asked it. I am currently writing a book, and there is just so much to say… I think that this time of saying #MeToo is a great gift. It is the beginning of a new era, and it’s been rough around the edges, but it is absolutely a gift.
When I was 9 years old I was molested and even though I knew that it was wrong, I never spoke about it. Our children deserve a world where this never happens!! No human being deserves to be hurt or violated, period. We all need to develop new language as well as a new awareness of our own and strength and determination – women, men, all of us. And, as we begin to wake up and see this issue and our lives more clearly, there will be incredible pain and collateral damage.
I wish constantly that my father was still alive, for many reasons. To sit with all sides of this story and not have the opportunity to ask him my questions has been one of the most personally painful pieces. I have loved my father so fiercely, both during his life and since his passing. His music has really become my own.
In this moment it became clear to me that a new musical – and personal – shift was imperative. It was time, in a sense, that I grew up. And while it hurt and still hurts to have journeyed through this past year and a half, I am profoundly grateful that I had no choice but to move forward and discover a new part of my artistry and voice. Believe was created from this place of shift, from the awakening, the sorrow and the joy of finding myself and a new voice. So, yes, absolutely everything is new.
LF: The album is very uplifting. Where do you find your hope and inspiration?
NC: Thank you. Absolutely everything in the world inspires me, that is my truth. Quiet moments with my sons, long walks with my husband, the morning air. Several months ago, I started to wake up super-early in the morning to find real space to exercise and breathe. The space I do yoga in is a room of windows. The light pours in as the sun comes up, singing its own heavenly song. Making that time has literally changed my life.
LF: I love how you weave personal storytelling with Hebrew prayers in messages of goodness. How big of a role does your faith play into your songwriting?
NC: Earlier in my life, when I was an Orthodox Jew, I would have answered that faith in God was everything. I used to only search for God’s will and for signs that I was not alone. As my life has continued to unfold, my faith has changed as well.
These days I investigate my own heart first. I look to breathe deeply, and work inside myself to transcend life’s challenges. And, when I am blessed to find that space of strength, I see more vividly the God I love. Now that I am a more active participant in my faith and not just a passenger, my relationships with God – and really with everything and everyone are stronger than they have ever been.
I feel the musical intention I carry within me is the same. My career began because my father passed away. My music was rooted in my own broken heart. Through this process I have found joy and feel more grounded. My music and my voice feel different to me, and I hope that transformation comes through. And most deeply, I pray that my journey inspired others not only to look to God, but also to feel their own hearts, to not run away from the complicated moments of life. I’ve learned that we break so that we can rise again, become stronger and feel more alive.
LF: You’ve performed all over the world. What are some of your favorite venues?
NC: I have been blessed to perform for many, many thousands of people around the world. Each space and each experience are sacred to me. In 2013, I sang for nearly 30,000 people at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan. It was just glorious. Had you asked me then, this stunning place would have been the venue I held most precious.
In 2017, in one of the most deep and transformative experiences of my life, I was blessed to sing for the family of Phyllis Binik-Thomas, an incredible, light-filled human being, only days before she left the world. The first time I sang “Thank You” (on Believe) was in her presence, on that holy day. That song is eternally theirs. Phyllis, of blessed memory, and her family changed my life, the way I see the world, the way I sing. I only met her that one time, and I feel her energy always. So, that little living room in Ohio might be my most favorite venue.
LF: What’s next? Do you have plans to tour in support of Believe?
NC: Yes! We are booking shows as we speak, starting in the Fall. My team and I are thrilled and can’t wait to share this music!
LF: Is there anything else you’d like to share with Eponymous Review Readers?
NC: Just a huge hello and major gratitude to all of you! I’ve been doing this work for many years and mostly within my own niche genre, my own little world. This is a new moment in my career, on all levels. I feel so blessed to see, repeatedly, that our music and message resonates with so many different kinds of people all over the world.
Thank you for the warm welcome you have given us and thank you for your open hearts! It feels clear to me that we need each other more than ever. Our world is more separated and more contentious in many ways, but the good people of the world are also searching for meaning and unity and for each other. I feel humbled and overwhelmed that my music can be part of that great revolution of one-ness. Thank you, thank you!
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More information about Carlebach’s music and message can be found at NeshamaCarlebach.com. Stay up-to-date with her latest news on Facebook.