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Lindi Ortega and Nashville producer Skylar Wilson developed the concept for the Piano Songbook with mul-instrumentalist Robbie Crowell (Kesha, Midland, Deer Tick), who had played with Ortega previously, recording the solo arrangements at Creave Workshops in Nashville. The fresh takes on these songs transform them, moving away from the spaghetti-Western producton while maintaining a cinematic tone that musically complements the lyrical themes of Liberty. “I created Liberty for people going through a struggle,” says Ortega, who wrote the songs out of her own vulnerabilities, including self-image issues. “I wanted to extend that with the Piano Songbook, and I hope it adds an extra soothing element.” While Ortega does play piano, having another musician record Liberty: Piano Songbook allowed her the critical distance to enjoy her songs as a listener, free of the self-critical ear artists typically bring to their own work. “Even though I always tried to have a silver lining, whether it's by making my songs tongue-in-cheek, or writing some dark lyrics to happy music, there's always been an element of balancing light and dark on my previous albums,” Ortega explains. “But this is a full story, and I wanted everybody to be able to take something away from it at the end of the day.”