Sebestyén regularly travelled the world music festival circuit in the 80s and 90s. There she met musicians for whom "the credibility and the human side of music were equally important." Gabriel was among the people she got to know, and he invited her to the studio, where he brought together musicians from all over the world.
"I was a little scared, because what the hell was I going to sing? I didn't even know who would be there," Sebestyén said.
Without any preliminary fuss, five musicians joined here - "All I remember is that the bass guitarist was Jamaican" - and said she " had the carpet". She started to sing.
"It's interesting that the first thing that came to my mind was the Moldavian Csángó song that starts 'The water flows from the Tisza into the Danube'."
The musicians started to improvise, and Sebestyén played the flute in between the verses. The number lasted about eight minutes.
"It was as if we knew that it was the end, and we all finished at the same time. Afterward, the silence lasted for minutes, then Peter Gabriel said, 'An angel crossed the room.' He said the number's title would be Rivers, and I asked hem how he knew I was actually singing about rivers: 'The water flows from the Tisza into the Danube, well my sweet little angel, why do you cry...'. Feelings expressed through music are so easy to understand, that you don't have to spell them out."
