I first saw
Annabelle perform in 2007 at the Ilfracombe Folk Festival, she was quite simply
the best act I saw all weekend. A standout song for me was The Sioux (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJL5DnlhnD0&feature=related ), which on one level is a reportage song of a
train journey she undertook in her native Canada, it describes her journey to
the Sioux Lookout and the conversation she had with a young girl she met on the
train. On another level it is an eloquent testimony of the impact of European colonisation
on the indigenous people of the land we call Canada. Quite simply the song blew
me away and after see finished her set I went to the record stall and bought
all of her cds. (Here is her website http://www.annabelle.org/shows)
As you may have gathered Annabelle is amazing live, a multi-instrumentalist and a fine singer, I have
never seen her give a poor performance and I have seen her on every tour of the
UK since 2007.
As I drove away
from Ilfracombe I listened to her cds and found many other songs as good as The Sioux. Another favourite of mine is A Piece of You, a simple love song that
I never grow tired of listening to, it is a delight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMBQ1ml4k1U ). I have wanted to write a post on Annabelle
for some time and this series, which I have decided to call Tuesday’s Talent,
seems the perfect place to do so.
Annabelle first
fell in love with performing aged seven when she debuted with the Canadian
Opera Company. Since then she has been involved with many types of music, as well
as composing music for Drastic Action Dance (2008), she has toured Europe with
her new media performance piece The
Automated Prayer Machine, a collaboration with Anna Friz. She was also a
member of The Wailing Jenny’s writing their most popular song The Devil’s
Paintbrush Road, which she had recorded previously
on an ep Burned My Ass. As a solo
performer Annabelle has recorded five cds and you can buy them here (http://www.annabelle.org/disco).
At the moment
Annabelle is working on her new album, she is raising the funds for studio
time, musician’s wages and cd production from ordinary people like you and me. The
album is going to be called Rise and
mirrors the movement away from multinational corporate organisations to people
doing it for themselves at a grass roots level. This is the website, please
take the time to look at it and the incentives that Annabelle is offering if
you donate your support (http://www.annabellemusic.com/fundraiser/).
I can’t end without
mentioning a number of my favourite songs by Annabelle, Resilience is both an insanely catchy song, an amazing video and
has some beautiful lyrics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85lRD-0VzxA):
This crush in my body tastes of salt water and
blood
The one who tugs the hardest, is the hardest to
love
But that’s just it, it’s how it is
I’ll throw it if you catch it, I got lots more
to give
Her version of
Peter Tosh’s Equal Rights is excellent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr08KJ8qpJI). I’m going to stop there, I can feel that
anorak, male, list making default setting getting the better of me. Do yourself
a favour, go and listen to Annabelle and be part of the people who are
supporting her to make her new album.
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