"It was as though I had discovered this mysterious other world that I never even knew existed," remembers Holly Cole in her online Night Journal. "Everything was motionless and quiet and there were so many shadows that I hardly recognized my own neighbourhood."
Cole was about three or four at the time, and had been woken from her sleep with a swollen throat and loud cough — the croup. Her mother fed her mashed peaches laced with aspirin and sent her out with her father into the humid night, to help relieve her symptoms.
"I sat there on my Dad's shoulders, listening to the sound of his footsteps, looking at my neighbourhood under the light of the moon and breathing the cool, salty Halifax night air. When we got home, my cough was gone, and when I crawled into bed I felt as though I had the most precious secret imaginable."
You've Got a Secret"You've Got a Secret" from Night (Rumpus Room Records, 2012) by Holly Cole.
With the release of her latest album, Night, just days away, CBC Music asked Cole about her fascination with the dark side of the Earth, and about that night it all began.
Why is this such a strong memory for you?
This was the time when I first discovered the night — its mystery and its power in a simple and most profound way. At the same time it healed me.
Does night still feel like a secret?
The night still feels like a precious secret to me because most often I experience it alone — especially the middle of the night. And that is when I do my best work.
So, are you more of a night person then? What about the bright, sunshiny days?
Without a doubt I am a night person. I believe that this is one of the reasons why I also truly cherish sunshiny days.
Why the title Night for this new album?
The night is the time when I create. It's when I arrange, write and when I have my strongest and most free ideas. This was never more pointed than it is on this recording.
What do you see when you look at the night?
The night sky rarely moves. It is this beautiful still that the night permits, that I most dearly love.
Night is set for release on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. (Photo: Andrew MacNaughtan/Alert Music)
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