Christianity Today

The last time we talked to Sixpence None the Richer in late 2008, they had just released a promising EP, My Dear Machine, and were gearing up for their first Christmas album, The Dawn of Grace. They—Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum—were making the most of their reunion after about four years apart, in which they both pursued solo projects and focused on family matters. But in late '08, they were very much excited about being Sixpence again, writing songs together again, and putting together a new album.

Matt Slocum and Leigh Nash

That conversation ended with Nash answering a question about the ETA on that new project. She replied, "I would say next summer at the earliest. We'll see."

Well, the summer of 2009 came and went—and no new Sixpence album. So did the fall, and the winter, and all of 2010, all of 2011, and more than half of 2012. But now, at last, after more glitches and holdups with a record label, the new Sixpence album, Lost in Transition, is finally available. And it's a dandy. (Lost in Transition.)

We caught up with Nash recently to talk about the holdups (and frustrations) as the project faced delay after delay, going indie, songwriting with Slocum and with her husband, and why she thinks this is the best Sixpence album ever.

It is good to hear a new Sixpence album. It's been too long!

I know, it really has been. It's ridiculous. But I'm excited.

In 2008, you and Matt did an EP and a Christmas record, and said that your new album was coming out in 2009. What happened to cause more than a 3-year delay?

It was really the same old story that we've unfortunately talked about so many times before. We got ourselves into a record label situation that was one thing when it started and then turned into something else by the time we got the record done. It's not what we set out to have happen, but we're hoping that we're in a better place now.

Can you elaborate on that a bit?

We signed with EMI and we had a record that we were extremely proud of. But by the time we finished, they were not the same company anymore. There's been so many things internally happening with all these labels; the things they thought they would have in place to put the record out and support it just no longer existed. So that changed things. They suddenly just weren't equipped to deal with us, and that wasn't going to work for either party. It took us awhile to extricate ourselves from that deal. It really never got ugly between EMI and Sixpence; we definitely remain on good terms. We were able to walk away with our record and able to put it out. So we're really thankful.

Many artists are ditching labels anyway and going independent. And now here you are, with an indie release.

Yes. And it's funny because in the very beginning, back in the early '90s, that's what Matt wanted. But it didn't ever happen that way because we always had labels talking to us, which was great. But now in 2012, we're finally doing the independent thing. So we've kind of come full circle.

With all your record label woes, there must have been times over the years where you and Matt were pretty upset. How has your faith sustained you?

It's kept me going. But I've learned to protect myself on some level by sort of not caring about new records anymore, even though deep down it means the world to you. It's hard when it's something you put that much blood, sweat, and tears into. But if I gave myself to that passion to get records out, I would be really tortured. So I just sort of let go. And I have plenty to distract myself with, with my son and living life. I'm not a millionaire by any means or even a thousandaire. So I've got plenty of stuff to concern myself with.

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