'Slow Down And Be There': Lizz Wright On Singing To The Present

Soul singer Lizz Wright is starting over. Her new album, Freedom & Surrender, comes after a tough few years, during which she left behind a failed marriage and her own expectations about starting a family. And yet, she found a creative spark in that loss, along with a new kind of voice.

When she spoke with NPR's Rachel Martin, Wright said the key to great songwriting is knowing just how much personal experience to share.

"There's a beautiful, kind of seductive trap in being autobiographical in our writing of songs: We just get stuck in our own syrup, and it's so personal that it almost can be embarrassing to the listener," she says. "Sometimes I'll listen to artists that I love, and I'll be like, 'Oh my gosh. Can I just not be locked in your bedroom with you?' So it's a beautiful challenge to try and personal, and find that universal undercurrent where we are really talking about what it means to be human, where it doesn't smell like my sweat."