After going through a painful breakup, Cate Le Bon was wary of making a heartbreak album. The subject has fueled countless songs and records, and she wasn’t sure she had anything new to add.

But by avoiding writing about it, she realized she was also sidestepping her own emotions.

“So I decided to roll my sleeves up and look it in the eye and use the record as a way to examine and experience and put it down,” she says.

One of the inspirations that helped her set the mood for the album was a work by multimedia artist Colette Lumiere, an installation depicting a woman sleeping in a lush, dreamlike room.

“A woman being able to put something down is important,” Le Bon says. “I feel like we carry so much and hold so much up for other people to enjoy their days.”

Today, Le Bon talks about confronting heartache, avoiding cliché and drawing on visual art for inspiration on her new album, Michelangelo Dying. Known for her work as a producer for artists including Wilco, Kurt Vile and Dry Cleaning, she also discusses collaborating with one of her heroes, John Cale, plus Le Bon performs songs from the new record live.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Miguel Perez. Our senior producer is Kimberly Junod and our engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.

Black Opry Revue: “Heavy” (World Cafe Session)