Sanctuary is a direct result of not only the personal evolution that Anick and Yeager have undergone over the last several years, but of the times in which it was created. The project was interrupted by the pandemic, providing time for the co-creators to further develop the music they’d prepared for their cancelled April 2020 recording date. At the same time, headlines around the globe have been filled with stories of refugee crises and immigration battles, bringing home the profound importance of the core idea.

We had two goals at the outset of this album,” Anick explains. “First, we wanted to develop a cohesive music from our shared voices by composing together. Second, we really wanted to reflect the things that were going on in the world around us. The central theme coalesced around sanctuary, because at the end of the day it’s what we’re all trying to find.”

Time and memory both play important roles in the narrative that unfolds over the course of the album. Opener “Futures Past” muses on the way that the future we imagine for ourselves can change in a moment as the result of present events. “When something catastrophic happens,” Yeager explains, “you’re not only losing your present circumstance but you’re potentially losing the dreams, hopes and fantasies you had for the future. The tune wrestles with the loss of the futures that now only exist as memories.”