The story behind “I Am The River” begins nearly fourteen years ago in Bar Harbor, Maine.
I was living in Maine while attending College of the Atlantic. I had fallen in love, but I was still uncertain about how that relationship would play out in the future.
I was confused by this uncertainty and began to reflect on it. I ended up coming to a conclusion about myself; a deeper awareness of who – and how – I am.
When you engage in such deep introspection about your own nature, it tends to pull at other strings.
I have always felt a deep connection with the land where I was born and raised. I grew up in rural Southwest Wisconsin, on 55 acres of forest and farmland. The house was tucked into a valley, with a spring-fed creek and river running along the base. My siblings and I had an amazing childhood in this setting.
I reflected on my connection to this place. I realized that I don’t see myself in the deep-rooted forests, nor in the permanency of the valley. Rather, I am the river. Because I keep changing, moving, traveling to distant lands.
Fast forward fourteen years, and José Luis and I were in the Driftless Area with the Art We There Yet project.
I felt it was finally time to put “I Am The River” into its final recorded form. And we both felt it would be deeply meaningful to film it right there in the valley. Right there – among the same trees, the same creek, the same river that formed such a lasting part of my childhood.
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