“That all feelings are ok, valid, worthy of being shared,” says Santa Fe-based singer-songwriter Stephanie Hatfield, when asked what she was trying to say on her powerfully beautiful new record ‘Out This Fell’. Co-produced by Hatfield and her husband/guitarist Bill Palmer, it’s her fourth record of new songs in 10 years and easily her most sonically ambitious offering to date. “The songs were born from a primal need to connect, express and truly soak in my personal experiences.” 

The record is bold, colorful, loud, exuberant and painful, sprinkled with dashes of reverence and romance. “All of it is in there,” Hatfield says. As a follow-up to 2015’s ‘Traces’, which was loaded with cinematic southwestern themes and Latin rhythms, ‘Out This Fell’ continues the exploratory journey of wide-open vistas, sophisticated rhythms and haunting earthiness. Hatfield explores powerful rock sonance with songs like ‘Day or Decades’, which features psychedelic & melodic electric guitars and a tandem of heart-wrenching vocals provided by Hatfield and Santa Fe’s Eliza Lutz. “Eliza is a phenomenal vocalist and fantastic creative.” Hatfield says of her guest counterpart. The record features guests throughout. “I love sharing the creative process with other people,” she says. “It’s one of the most magnificent parts of being a musician, and a huge honor to have people whom I admire so greatly join me on this album.” 

The song ‘In Those Woods’ was a creative high point, as Hatfield points out, in that it introduced a completely new dimension to her already intense theatrical tendencies. Joined by Dust City Opera’s Paul Hunton on guest vocals, it’s a spooky song, which features the sounds of coyotes that Hatfield recorded on her phone in the mountains of New Mexico. The lead single “Gone Gone Gone”, inspired by the Neapolitan series of books by Elena Ferrante, is a loosely satisfying nod to Italian composer Ennio Morricone, with an operatic bridge that will give you shivers. It features Memphis’ own art-blues songstress Grace Askew on guest vocals. Of Askew, Hatfield says, “Grace inspires me with her complete dedication to her craft, not to mention her uniquely gorgeous voice.” On the slinky offering ‘Not Her’, which Hatfield wrote about her mother growing up in Detroit, soulful Nicaraguan siren Nohelia Sosa provides spot on guest vocals. 

As on 2015’s ‘Traces’, the new record is sprinkled with guest appearances by Santa Fe’s Mariachi Sonidos Del Monte, who provided trumpets, violins and guitars throughout. “I can’t imagine making a record without them,” Hatfield says with assurance. Legendary pedal steel guitarist Jon Graboff made an appearance one snowy winter day to join the band on a live-in-the-studio rendition of The Milk Carton Kids’ ‘Michigan’. “A highlight of the studio process for me,” Hatfield says, “was recording ‘Michigan’ in the living room with a fire crackling in the fireplace behind where I was standing. If you listen closely, you can hear it. Finding unexpected little gems like that on recordings is one of my favorite things.” 

 The record was engineered and mixed by Bill Palmer at Torreón Studio in Santa Fe, NM, which is essentially their home these days, and was mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road in London. But Hatfield had a steady hand as producer. “I loved taking on the producer role, exercising this new and exciting muscle in the creative process. And no one more capable to be my copilot than the supremely experienced, artistic and competent Bill Palmer.” She adds, “I am so thankful for the talent and creative input of my band, Noah Baumeister and Matthew Tobias. They are like family to me which allows us the trust and freedom to create in an authentic/intimate way together.”

 When asked what she does in her free time, she says she loves travel, languages, hiking, camping, photography, yoga, cooking, knitting and “anything outdoors really.” Her musical inspirations? Brandi Carlile, Dry The River, Neko Case, Otis Redding, Nina Simone, Van Morrison and Ben Howard to name a few. Whatever she gets into, it seems to be working in her favor. “I care deeply about social justice issues. I’m very passionate about human rights, clean food, animal welfare, environmental concerns and our own individual ability to influence change with our dollars.” What does the future hold for Stephanie Hatfield? “Tour, tour, tour. Anywhere that I can go to play my music, I’m game. UK and Europe are currently on the horizon. And of course, I’ll write and record more music, publish and repeat.” Just like that.