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Anam Danu

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Euphoria release

November 5, 2024 in Flotsam and Jetsam | No comments

This news item appeared recently on the Anam Danu website:

Siobhan and Andy of Anam Danu have written, recorded, and self-released three original albums over the past five years.  Back in 2023, they decided to focus on growing their creative partnership.  They enjoy being in the studio, but like many musicians, they know that performing live is the true test of their music.

They realized that the music they create as a duo often needs more musicians to perform it live.  Over the last year and a half, they searched for other artists who could help bring their ambitious work to life.  In late 2023, they met Adrienne Dyer, whose beautiful soprano voice added a powerful element to their music.  Together they started to create fresh tracks for a new album.  

“Euphoria” explores what it means to be a mature adult in today’ s challenging times.  It includes songs about storytelling and creativity, the value of long-term friendships, teaching and learning, the search for our roots, and the important choices we make as we grow older.

Most importantly, it highlights the need for joy.

Siobhan, Adrienne and Andy are particularly grateful to Mairéad for her gorgeous and striking cover art, which encapsulates the essence of the album perfectly.

“Euphoria” will be available for streaming and download from November 22nd. 

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The long haul

October 7, 2024 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

I posted this update on progress towards the release of the new Anam Danu album – ‘Euphoria‘ – on the Anam Danu website. For completeness I thought I would reproduce it here:

 

Progress continues toward the release of the new Anam Danu album – ‘Euphoria’.

The ten chosen tracks have been polished and given final mixes and the whole sent off to our mastering studio of choice – CPS Mastering in Vancouver. Brock McFarlane (who has mastered all of the Anam Danu albums thus far) has now sent us the first mastered copies and we are in the process of listening intensely in as many environments as we can – preparatory to signing off the album and sending it to our distributors and CD manufacturer.

We also now have the cover art for the release. Those who have followed Anam Danu’s exploits will know that we like to commission local artists to create the cover for each release. In this case the wonderful artwork that can be seen on this page is by Alberta artist – Mairéad – who has, in our view, captured the intent of the album perfectly.

Of Mairéad Siobhan writes:

“Mairéad is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Alberta, Canada.  She expresses her art in paint and textiles.  As a visual artist, she creates vibrant multi-media paintings and collage.  Her love of detail, color and texture is evident in her one-of-a-kind unisex handbags, backpacks and wallets.  She is an expert knitter whose cable-knit outerwear is beautiful and expertly made.   Mairéad creates custom dog sweaters and jackets that are both stylish and playful.  She is passionate about interior design and customizes existing pieces through upholstery, refinishing and fabric furnishings”.

 

Not long to wait now! I will post the release dates for ‘Euphoria’ just as soon as they have been confirmed.

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Tech bro!

August 13, 2024 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do”.

B. F. Skinner

Before I retired from The School back in the UK I persuaded one of my chaps there to build me a new computer for my studio. For those readers unfamiliar with such things, modern digital studios are based entirely on the computer, which not only handles all of the recording and editing tasks, but which can also (by means of samples and virtual instruments and processors and so forth) generate orchestras on demand… apparently out of thin air!

As the techniques required for such feats become more complex and sophisticated over time, so the processing power required to effect them increases. At the same time, any computer that has been in use solidly for a considerable period (more than a decade in the case of my studio machine) tends to become increasingly prone to failure – the which could result in the loss of precious and irreplaceable creations.

The long and the short of all this is that the time has finally come for me to replace my studio computer.

No big deal – you might think – but there are serious implications in so doing. My machine is used primarily for the creation of music – but also for my online teaching at the College. As indicated in my last posting Anam Danu is currently in the process of finalising a new album. The fall term – one of the two in which I teach – starts at the beginning of September. There is a relatively brief window in which to get everything working correctly.

Replacing a computer is not – in this case – a simple matter of buying a new device, plugging it in and firing it up. My musical pursuits require the use of a considerable number of musical applications, virtual instruments, sample libraries, software appliances and suchlike. All of these need to be installed on the new machine and all of the musical and other data that now virtually fill my old machine must be transferred to the new beast.

These are definitely non-trivial tasks and there are many potential pitfalls along the way which might cause important functions not to work correctly. These must all be patiently trouble-shot until everything is as it was before – but considerably faster and with storage capacity for much new creation over the coming decades.

You might get a sense from this brief discourse as to why I have repeatedly put off effecting this transfer over the past couple of years. I have – however – now reached the point of no return and all must be completed and tested in the shortest of orders if disaster is not to ensue.

Fingers firmly crossed!

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Anam Danu update

July 29, 2024 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

I normally restrain myself from posting too much to this forum on the subject of my musical endeavours with Anam Danu – out of deference for those who have no interest in such matters. However, there has already been much activity this year and it felt to me that an update was probably a little overdue.

I posted this item to the news feed on our website at anamdanu.com:

 

The recent lack of activity on this news feed should not be interpreted as a sign that nothing is happening. Anam Danu have been busy behind the scenes; with results that are already becoming apparent.

A quick glance around will reveal that the website itself has undergone a considerable face-lift. We like to think that it is now fresher, cleaner and somewhat easier to navigate. Do let us know what you think.

You will also observe that we three have recently done something that we had studiously avoided doing for the past four years – to wit: participating in a photo shoot. Such things do not come naturally to any of us, but we hope that you find the results helpful in gaining a clearer picture of who we are.

In our last news update – which revealed the arrival of our new member, vocalist Adrienne Dyer – we also announced that work was well underway on our fourth album, with an intended release date later in 2024.

Well – we are still on target for that release, having written and recorded ten tracks for the album. We are currently mixing and sequencing them, following which they will be sent for mastering. Cover artwork has been commissioned and the pace is picking up.

If you would like to be notified when the new album becomes available – which for subscribers will be in advance of the general release date – subscribe to the Anam Danu newsletter by using the link below.

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Getting started

January 26, 2024 in Life as we know it | Permalink

Start by <a href="http://www.nyphotographic.com/">Nick Youngson</a> <a rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY-SA 3.0</a> <a href="http://pix4free.org/">Pix4free</a>If you have a dream, you can spend a lifetime studying, planning, and getting ready for it. What you should be doing is getting started.

Drew Houston

In these recent posts – ‘Adjusting the Sails‘, ‘One and One and One is Three‘ and ‘The World of Work‘ – I sought to bring the gentle reader gently up to date with how things had come to rest for The Girl and I at the culmination of a particularly – er – ‘eventful’ year (though aren’t they all nowadays!). What I have not yet done is to peep out from underneath the metaphorical duvet – to see if I can detect good news anywhere betwixt where we are now and the distant horizon of 2025.

So – this is what we know currently about what 2024 has in store for us…

In terms of travel 2023 was – for us – a complete shocker. Without incessantly ploughing the same furrow it is worth reminding ourselves that there was a point last year when we seriously thought that our travelling days were over. Not so – you will be happy to hear. We are already well advanced with the planning for another expedition for April/May this year.

“Which exotic part of the globe will you be visiting?” – I hear you cry. Well – I’m sure we all have our own definitions of ‘exotic’. This is one of ours.

The Girl and I have for a considerable while now felt drawn to visit the mystical realm of Scotland. Even casual viewers of these witterings will be aware of my love for – and great pride in – the home of my ancestors (the which I inherited from my father). My family travelled many times to the highlands for holidays just as soon as we were old enough. My father was a great hill walker and he and I (and sometimes my younger brother) climbed many a peak in different parts of the land. I have regularly over the years visited both Edinburgh and Glasgow for work and – with my theatrical hat on – ventured to the Edinburgh Fringe on more occasions than I can now enumerate.

The Girl has toured parts of Scotland just once before – with a good guide and great friend – but she and I have not been there together and we feel a very strong urge so to do.

Anyway – more on that trip as it unfolds…

In ‘The World of Work‘ I wrote:

“During the autumn just past The Girl reached the conclusion that her eight years at the volunteer service was enough. As it happens the service was undergoing some restructuring and she was able to do a deal whereby she would hand over the reigns to a full-time replacement, with a negotiated package that would enable her to take some time to figure out what – if anything – she wanted to do next. She is thus once again retired (for now!)“.

Following what might just be the shortest retirement ever… The Girl has just this week started an exiting new venture, about which I can currently reveal nothing at all, but concerning which I suspect a great deal will be said in the months to come. Watch – as they say – this space!

I have already dropped huge hints about creative developments in the musical department. We are firmly expecting a new album to put in an appearance at some point this year – and if we could play live somewhere to welcome it, then that would be splendid.

As ever at this time of the year there are many other exciting prospects bubbling under and – though there are also many very good reasons to feel nervous about 2024 – I like to approach the year under an umbrella of optimism. (Google assures me that – somewhat to my surprise – I am not the first to coin that particular euphemism. Oh well!).

Very best wishes to you all for 2024.

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The Journey Home

June 19, 2023 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

I mentioned last month – in the second of two postings bringing the gentle reader up to speed regarding the musical progress effected by The Chanteuse and I – that we would shortly be releasing a second single this calendar year. Well – ‘shortly’ is now here and our new single can be found on all of the usual streaming and download sites. Full information, samples and links can be found on our website – but for those who would prefer to get the necessary without further ado – read on:

The second Anam Danu single of the year (following January’s release of “Perfect“) is “The Journey Home” – which was released to streaming and download sites on June 16th.

“The Journey home” concerns three different types of journey; The first considers the emigrant returned home to the land of his or her birth – the second refers to the rediscovery of one’s culture – the third to that part of a life that follows the turn for home.

The finest wisdom that we can offer is that each of these journeys is best accompanied by a friend!

The track is a re-worked and extended version of the song that appeared on our first collection, “Winds of Change”. It features – for the first time on an Anam Danu recording – a musician other than The Chanteuse and I. In this case Victoria violinist Kate Rhodes does the honours on the fiddle.

Do please listen and (hopefully) enjoy!

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Matters musical – 2

May 12, 2023 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

Following on from my ‘Matters Musical – 1‘ posting a couple of weeks back… herewith the second and concluding part.

I mentioned in the aforesaid posting that Anam Danu had been featured on no less than three compilations of independent music made available through Tom Hilton’s ‘Aldora Britain Records‘ – in addition to being featured in an article in the associated e-Zine. The Chanteuse and I were most flattered by the attention and grateful for the coverage.

We were further offered a single release on the label during April. The advantage of this would be, of course, that our name and our music would be pushed in its own right and thus be all the more visible. We happily agreed to this proposal and offered our January single – ‘Perfect‘ – paired with a re-issue of a song from our first collection (‘Winds of Change‘) entitled ‘The Journey Home‘.

Having been written and recorded back in 2019, ‘The Journey Home‘ was one of our earlier experiments in working together. As one would expect, we have made a great deal of progress since then – both technically and artistically – so we decided that we should re-work the track, lengthening it and updating sounds and instrumentation. The original recording featured a fiddle part that I had played on a halfway decent sampled instrument, but – since part of our expansion plans for this year include starting to work with other musicians – we thought that this would be a good opportunity to experiment. We were introduced by a friend to Victoria violinist, Kate Rhodes, who agreed to play the session for us and thus became the first person other than The Chanteuse and I to appear on an Anam Danu recording.

The two tracks were duly released last month and can be found on Bandcamp here. We were most excited subsequently to find that the release had entered the Aldora Britain Independent Top 20 – the which records the tracks on the ABR Bandcamp site that receive the most plays. At the time of writing we are at number 13 on that playlist.

We will also be releasing ‘The Journey Home‘ under our own auspices to all the usual streaming and download sites during June. More on that come the time.

The Chanteuse and I have also been busy working our how we can play all of this music that we have been creating for a live audience. As mentioned above, this will inevitable entail finding other like-minded individuals who are keen to play with us. Reworking the material for live performance also requires a considerable amount of work – but we are making good progress.

Thank you for listening!

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Matters musical – 1

April 30, 2023 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

I am moved – every once in a while – to furnish the gentle readers of these digital digressions with an update on the progress that The Chanteuse and I are making on our musical odyssey. I hope that this is not too wearisome for those that have little interest in such matters.

Back at the end of January I posted herein a missive announcing the release of a new Anam Danu single – going by the soubriquet of ‘Perfect‘. The Chanteuse and I have been busy promoting this recording; with some small degree of success. The track was listed in a good number of playlists, reviewed by various digital media pundits and the release engendered the publication of several feature articles in online fanzines and the like. Should you wish to know more you can find details in the news section on our website.

Back in November we had a track from last summer’s album release – ‘Soul Making‘ – included on a compilation of independent music by a UK based e-Zine and record label – Aldora Britain Records. Tom Hilton – the Scot whose brainchild ABR is – writes thus:

“Aldora Britain Records is an independent music e-zine and record label. The e-zine produces interviews with unsigned and underground artists and reviews their music. The label produces compilations of these artists. The vision of AB Records is to create a go-to place for music lovers all over the world to discover great new stuff, an online platform for independent music. It’s much needed!”

Tom and ABR have been most generous to us, having now featured us on three different compilations – the most recent being titled ‘Street Corner Jive‘. ABR also produce an international independent music e-Zine at regular intervals and Anam Danu was honoured to be the subject of of a feature back in March of this year. Should you wish to discover more about us you can find the article here:

Now, in the interests of not overwhelming merely perfunctory perusers of this idiosyncratic anthology with a bombardment of minutiae – and finding that I have considerably more to say than first I anticipated…

…I am going to split this post into two installments.

Coming soon… part two!

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Perfect

January 27, 2023 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

In my recent ‘review of 2022‘ post I mentioned – amongst other worthy achievements – that Anam Danu (the musical vehicle created in conjunction with The Chanteuse) had had a good year – in that we released our third album, Soul Making, to general approbation and contrived to hold a rather splendid reception to celebrate the fact.

What I didn’t mention was that we shortly had a new single coming out…

Well – ‘shortly’ has morphed into ‘now’ and our newest composition – ‘Perfect‘ – hit the major streaming and download sites just today.

Reaction thus far from those who have heard the song has been exceedingly positive and I urge all music fans out there to give it a listen. If you don’t have a preferred music site please allow me to recommend Bandcamp to you. ‘Perfect‘ can be found here:

We thought we might take the opportunity to create a video to accompany the single, using nothing but freely available stock clips. Doing so proved a fascinating experience and we will certainly repeat the exercise. You can view the results here:

As ever, should you find yourself enjoying what you see and hear – please do share it…

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Looking back

January 19, 2023 in Life as we know it | Permalink

Ah! January…

‘Tis the time of year to reflect on the one that has just passed. Did it measure up to our hopes and expectations? Given the state of the world, did we have much in the way of hopes and expectation for it to live up to?

As ever, the best way to find out is to locate the equivalent postings from this time last year and to see exactly what – if anything much – we were hoping for…

…then we can see if any of it actually happened!

…and after that we can repeat the exercise for yet another year!

Hang on a sec while I have a shufti…

OK – here is our basic wish-list from last year – with progress reports in red:

  • To get to see family and friends – …yes we did… see below!
  • To be able to entertain again – …there was indeed some entertaining – and not all of it outdoors
  • To dine out – again – …hoorah! We can once again eat out (and on occasion, somewhat splendidly!)
  • To see some live theatre – …well, yes.. but not so much in Canada. See below:
  • To enjoy some live music – …once again – one event only – Barney Bentall’s Cariboo Express in November
  • To attend a live sporting event (preferably Rugby!) – …sadly not
  • To be able to travel… anywhere – …well – speaking of which…

In addition:

  • It is our fervent wish that we get to travel to the UK during the coming summer. Whether or not this happens will depend entirely on the course that the pandemic takes on both sides of the pond over the coming months. We are not holding our collective breaths.

…and this we duly did – emboldened by visits in the spring from good friends in the UK and from an old and most dear friend from New York. The expedition was most enjoyable, even though we did not get to see everyone that we would have liked to have seen. We got to the theatre in London and Bath – we dined splendidly and well – we finished our trip with a lovely sojourn in Paris. The downside? We came back with COVID. Oh well!

  • We will carry out some further domestic upgrades – air-conditioning to guard against future ‘heat domes’ – a new hot water system so that we can console ourselves with even longer baths when things don’t work out as we would wish.

…well – we did the air-conditioning – and just in time for a hot spell too. An excellent notion which works well. The hot water tank replacement is still on hold – but will get done…

  • Normalised work! The Girl would like to be able get back out into the wider world and to visit clients face to face again – not to mention paying a nostalgic visit to her office! I would like to teach students who can actually see my face as I do so.

…pretty well normalised as it turns out. The Girl is back doing (somewhat cautious) home visits and going into the office two days a week. Last spring I was teaching in an N95 respirator and a headset (for streaming purposes). Not much fun. By the autumn I was back to face to face teaching without a mask – even though I wore one when around the enclosed bits of campus.

  • More music! One positive over the last year is that I have been able to write more than enough new songs for the Chanteuse and I to put together another ‘album’. We are currently recording her vocals on these tracks and we are making good progress. Look for further pronouncements in the coming months.

…Last year was indeed a good year in musical terms. The Chanteuse and I finished our third album and at the end of August Anam Danu released ‘Soul Making‘. We were even able to have a lovely reception in our garden to celebrate the release and – for the first time – we played a few tracks from the album live to the assembled friends and supporters. The feedback we have had regarding the music has been overwhelmingly positive and we both have a very real sense of achievement.

So – in spite of all the many troubles in the wider world, 2022 was a good year for The Girl and I. What will we hope to accomplish in 2023?… Check back in a few posts’ time to find out.

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