Since Tristen first began etching out the Americana-rooted swoonings of her songwriting project over a decade ago, the goal has always been singular— independence, both financially and artistically, to pursue a streamlined sense of creative freedom.

Over the course of five studio albums, she’s found exactly that, in part through her partnership with producer, long-time collaborator, and husband Buddy Hughen and in part through sheer, musical self-determination. As wispy and ephemeral as Tristen’s tracks can sometimes seem, they are rooted in an unshakeable sense of identity: in a centralized idea of what an independent artist can be and yearn for in the modern state of the industry.