Julianna Raye - Hush (2025)

New York-born Julianna Raye had a brief flirtation with fame in the early ’90s when producers Jeff Lynne (ELO) and Lenny Waronker (Maria Muldaur, Ry Cooder and many more) were minded to sign her for a major label (Reprise) after hearing her backing vocals; she released the very poppy “Something Peculiar” in 1993. Sadly, it was not a commercial success despite critical acclaim, and when Waronker left the label, Raye was left without a contract; thus, it was 9 years before she released her second album, “Restless Night“, produced by the equally legendary Ethan Johns—a more rock-pop recording. She has played with and supported artists like Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, and Rufus Wainwright, and has played on many artists’ albums. Her songwriting has featured not only on her own albums, but on movie and TV soundtracks, all of which speaks to a wide-ranging talent. Testimonials abound of her talent. A long EP “Dominoes” appeared in 2008 (nominated for an Independent Music Award and selected by Peter Gabriel for his B&W Society of Sound Music Club), by which time Raye had evolved into something of a chanteuse of late-night piano jazz.

In the meantime, she joined forces with other practitioners to create Unified Mindfulness, which develops wellness programmes and techniques to combat stress, mental health and other challenges. She teaches coping mechanisms largely through meditation. As a result of this studying, Raye can make the relatable connection between music and mood, which is very apparent on her new album “Hush”.

So, Latin America by way of Nashville! The album was produced in Nashville by a well-known producer in the americana space (Joe Pisapia), but it can come across a bit more Bebel Gilberto without the Latin accent, a bit more kd Lang in a Latin mood, rather than specifically americana singer-songwriters like Courtney Marie Andrews. And yet Raye’s voice is so warm and emotive, and the production so good, that the blurring of the genre lines is no impediment to enjoyment of the result.

With its intriguing juxtaposition of Nashville production and Latin rhythms, “Hush” has been a labour of love, almost entirely written during the time, a while back, that Raye was caring for her mother, who, at the time, was fighting cancer (a battle she sadly ultimately lost after two and a half years). The songs not only explore her feelings of grief around her mother’s declining health but also offer a chimaera of romantic longings, which form a distraction from the pain she was going through at the time. It has taken some time to release – “I made a silent promise to my mum that I would only release this music in the right spirit, and that time has come”. The songs range from the slow to medium-paced with universally lovely tunes. The trauma of caring for her dying mother and the grief that attends that is explored in the title track, about her mother’s illness “Hush now / There’s no easy way out of here / But don’t let your days / Be guided by fear”, and ‘Hummingbirds and Harbour Lights’, which addresses her death “Oh, how quickly darkness hides / Sunset from our eyes / In one breath light has gone”.

As noted, it’s a beautifully produced album, courtesy of Pisapia, who plays a multitude of instruments, in particular acoustic guitar, that lends the album both its Latin vibe and its americana sensitivities. Between Raye and her producer, the americana feel is enhanced by some wonderful touches (a brilliantly introduced banjo in ‘Storyteller’, a sweet lap steel on ‘Jacaranda Trees’, and a funky guitar break in ‘A Love So True’, which marries a Johnny Cash-like rhythm to some wonderful strings that swirl around the electric guitar). Pisapia also delivers some brilliant bass lines throughout, and floating keyboards that waft in the background, while Marco Giovino (Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, Norah Jones, Patty Griffin) lays down the percussive beat that helps create the Latin feel. Chris Carmichael’s string arrangements give a couple of the tracks a ‘lounge’ sound (‘Storyteller‘ and ‘Hummingbirds and Harbor Lights‘) and Ben Simonetti delivers a couple of spellbindingly cool-jazz trumpet solos (on one of the album’s highlight’s ‘Stay’, a bass-driven hypnotic 5-minute lilting Latin ballad, or on the simply gorgeous ‘Before We Part’, which may be reflections on a real romance – or maybe wishful thinking, but either way is very sensual/ sensuous with its rhythm and shimmering Argentinian-like strings).

Most of the tracks focus on themes of love in its varying forms as a diversion from her grieving (romantic love, as in ‘Jacaranda Trees‘ or ‘Storyteller‘) or romantic love as a metaphor for spiritual love, where that love is manifested in and aligned with her meditation. (‘A Love so True’ or ‘Jungle Rain’ – “when you pull me close, life becomes a mystery, all the elements seem to move in harmony”). Besides the instrumentation, Raye and Pisapia create some quite wonderful backing vocals, none better than the wordless voices behind ‘Always Here‘ (another highlight), where some stunning harp-like guitar effects adorn the song.

According to Raye, her mum always told her to go and create art for art’s sake, and that is what she has done with this album. As a veteran in the music business, she has added her sweet voice to many artists over many years and cooperated with many artists in the writing process. Whilst you may argue that this album treads very lightly on the americana genre, there is no denying that it is an album that should be listened to with a very open mind. There is so much to enjoy.