Natalie Bergman on Finding Her Place on New Album ‘My Home Is Not in This World’

The first song Natalie Bergman wrote off her latest solo album, My Home Is Not in This World (out today via Third Man Records), came from a loss of identity. Bergman, formerly one half of the brother/sister duo Wild Belle, gave birth to her first child and found herself untethered from who she was as an artist.  

Bergman has been steadily creating music since she was 16 years-old with her older brother Elliot Bergman through the bands Nomo and Wild Belle, which went on make three albums about love and heartache inspired by the soul roots of their hometown of Chicago. In 2021, she struck out on her own creating a deeply personal gospel album Mercy that tackled the grief of losing her father and stepmother in an accident in 2019.  

For her latest solo album produced alongside her brother, Bergman wasn’t struck with inspiration until months after her son Arthur was born and she started writing the first song that would appear on My Home Is Not in This World.  “Song For Arthur,” the penultimate track on the album, is a lullaby inspired ode to the inspiration he brought back to her life. Bergman sings, “I couldn’t sing one note/How my aching heart had lost all its hope/until you give me a reason.” 

“You go through a period after you give birth – at least I did – where I was having trouble with my identity. I was wondering who I was, because, of course, I knew I was a mother and that was a whole beautiful beginning for me,” Bergman tells Billboard. “Then you also are confronted with the fact that, “ok, am I still an artist if I’m devoting myself to my child? How can I also have the balance of being an artist?” 

The answer, for Bergman, is simply, “I am an artist because I’m a mother. It’s a beautiful partnership.” 

Motherhood has been a grounding experience for Bergman whose last album focused heavily on loss and death. For My Home Is Not in This World, Bergman melds her love of soul and gospel with her pop music sensibilities to create an album that celebrates saying goodbye to the past and welcomes new life and birth.  

What prompted you to start writing this album? 

This was after a period of time when I felt like I was in the doldrums. I felt like a sail. I had no wind in my sail. Then about six months after Arthur was born, I had this bout of energy. I got my wind back and I was able to write some of these songs. So, some of them are inspired by birth and life – the gift of life and thankfulness for being alive. I’ve also visited a lot of old relationships on the record and looked back at some darker times in my life. It’s all a celebration. I’m celebrating not being with some of the people I used to chase around and celebrating finding my husband.   

There are several upbeat songs on the album, including “Gunslinger,” “Dance” and “I’ll Be Your Number One.” But your voice lends itself especially well to sadder songs. Are you drawn to a more melancholy sound when you write music? 

I am generally attracted to songs that are sad and that come from a place of darkness maybe. That’s the kind of stuff I listen to and that I’ve been listening to my whole life. Naturally, the trajectory of being a songwriter is an extension of your influences and your inspirations. 

I was having a meeting with somebody and she said, “This is a very light-hearted album.” and I was like, “Did you listen to the f–king album?” There are some heavy songs on this one. “Dance” is a place of respite during a time of darkness in the world. I wanted to have some moments on the record that did feel like taking a break from the sadness in the world. As a musician, we have that responsibility to usher people through their hard times and life and their sadness and their darkness. I hope I can be that musical usher for people. 

The title of this album is My Home Is Not in This World, which is interesting because, on it, you seem very grounded in nature, in the world around you. 

When I decided to call my record that, I had never felt more connected to a concept or a title in my life. I was like, “This is what I have to call the record.” And my brother and my husband were both like, “Well, is that actually what the album means?” I was basically like, “Well, as an artist, you can do whatever the hell you want. Is that not the case?” I won the argument.  

The whole record is about finding your home here on this earth. What does that look like? A lot of musicians feel like outsiders or outliers. That’s why they form bands. We’re trying to find our place here. We’re trying to find our gang.  

I guess I’ve spent my whole life trying to find a place where I belong. That’s not a new concept for me. But that song “My Home Is Not in This World” is an uplifting, hopeful song because it is saying that I know someday I will find my place. Whether it is your home over yonder or your band that you find refuge in, there’s a lot of different ways you can look at finding your home. 

You and your brother co-produced this record partially in your hometown of Chicago? 

He just built an incredible studio out in the woods outside of Chicago and its the most beautiful studio. It’s surrounded by wildlife and old oak trees – 300-year-old oak trees – and lots of bird life. Some of the record was recorded there in both winter and springtime, so there is this seasonal effect. It’s important to witness the seasons. 

He’s known for playing the saxophone, but he plays other instruments on this album too.  

There’s lots of flutes on the record. I had my brother actually play flutes on the album. He was like, “I literally haven’t played flute since I was in third grade jazz band.” [Laughs.] He would get so frustrated when I asked him to play. I’d be like, “Dude, this needs flute on it,” and he would be like, “I’m not doing it, Natalie! I’m not!” I pulled a few songs out of him. 

This is your second album on Third Man Records – Jack White’s independent record label. Have they been supportive of your changing creative directions? 

I was fortunate to be on a few different labels that were super supportive of me, including Columbia Records. I loved being on a larger label also. That had its pros. The indie label allows the artist to have a little bit more… I don’t want to say control. They really just look to me to come up with all of the art, which is what you should do with an artist.  

Third Man is like a club. I feel like I’ve never actually belonged in a club or fit in and it’s the first time where a label sort of took me on. I was like, “OK, I’m in the cool kid club.” They’re super wonderful and understanding. They get what you do and they’re trying to be a road to assist you to the place you want to go.