the weird political and pagan folksongs of my upbringing, my dad's record collection, esp. the early sixties and the 1980s. the expatriate writers of a few generations including nin & miller, hemingway etc., lawrence durrell, james joyce and those guys, and the beats. guthrie, dylan, cohen, cash, waits. joni, ani, dar, tori, cyndi, rickie lee, gillian. talking heads, dire straits, peter gabriel, velvet underground. all my comrades including but not limited to rachel ries, robert blake, louis ledford, jonathan byrd, danny schmidt, matt fockler, devon sproule, michael chorney.
Sounds Like
TOUR VIDEOS
"1984" the day after the inauguration, London, Winter 09
"Lovin's for Fools" with Bon Iver, Paris, Fall 08
"Waitin for my Man" with Hamell on Trial (& Ani Difranco on vibraphone), Amsterdam, Fall 2008
"Namesake" with Michael Chorney, Cambridge, Fall 2007)
"Fearlessly emotive... Like Dylan, Cohen, and Welch, Mitchell weaves her stories into an effortlessly beautiful and cohesive tapestry with the skill of an artisan's carpenter, showing no seams." - ACOUSTIC GUITAR
"Girlishly sprite and brimming with innocence... brings to mind the hippie-throwback charm of Victoria Williams, though... people more commonly note a resemblance to '80s pop star Cyndi Lauper." - NO DEPRESSION
"the earthiness of Shawn Colvin, the child-like bite of Joanna Newsom, and the urban jumpiness of Ani DiFranco... lyrics are sprinkled with rosy similes ("you roll like the rolling waters/you rise like the bright morning stars") while they simultaneously touch on everything from politics ("Hobo's Lullaby") to literature ("Namesake," a reference to Mitchell's namesake, Anais Nin) to mythology ("Hades & Persephone")... These elements, as disparate as they might seem, come together as nicely as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg..." - ALL MUSIC GUIDE
"In Mitchell’s universe, there is no light between the personal and the political, the venerable and the radical... her canary soprano and puckish melodies can obscure the bravery of her vision. She brilliantly intertwines the mundane and the profound, singing with the same intimacy about a carefree night on the town and wandering the warring towns of Israel. Her vivid snapshots of sweetly ordinary moments spin suddenly outward to bemoan the eternal woes of poverty and militarism. Evoking weary hobos, wayward trains, and the mythic power of ancient folk songs, she views the past with wistful longing." - Scott Alarik, BOSTON GLOBE
"a songwriter of startling clarity and depth, equally skilled at turning a melody or lyrical phrase into what you didn't know you needed until you heard it." – ACOUSTIC GUITAR
"And the big horns blowed and the pianos played / And the music rose to the old man's ears / I guess those were the olden days / I guess those were the golden years..." sings Anaïs Mitchell on her new record The Brightness. Such earnest nostalgia says a lot about the kind of art this Vermont native has been creating since entering the underground folk scene in 2002. At a time when the music industry is playing the role of the slickest of defense attorneys, using flash and dazzle campaigns to distract us from the fact that their clients are terrible, Mitchell is an artist who grew up on a sheep farm. She makes small-sounding, big-thinking folk albums that play like a front-porch serenade. If she feels in a bit of a time warp, you can't blame her.
Listening to this 25-year-old singer/songwriter perform her meticulously written songs, fervently singing them in a distinctive, almost childlike voice, you'd think it was her life mission to rouse the hearts and minds of her listeners with an acoustic guitar. But Mitchell wasn't always committed to the idea - "I used to tell people I wanted to be a journalist. There is a lonely egotism and self-composure to journalists. Not unlike artists, they're always traveling, always writing, loving their loneliness, feeling somehow that they have their finger on the pulse – worshiping the truth and trying to render it legible."
Despite her journalistic leanings, Mitchell started writing songs at age 17 and eventually started performing them live during her school days, which were punctuated by a remarkable amount of traveling. In a short period of time, Anaïs made several trips to the Middle East, and also spent time in Europe and Latin America, studying languages and world politics. This stunning, troubadour-like experience seeped into her music, and she became adept at fusing her passion for literature and journalism in her lyrics.
With a clutch of quiet, ambitious songs in her arsenal, Mitchell recorded her now out-of-print debut, The Song They Sang When Rome Fell (2002), in a single afternoon in Austin. It was also in Texas where Anaïs discovered the Kerrville Folk Festival, which honored her with the prestigious New Folk Award in 2003. Soon thereafter, with the help of Michael Chorney and Chicago-based Waterbug Records, Anaïs released her second album, Hymns For The Exiled, in 2004. The stirring collection of guitar and voice cemented Mitchell's status as a folksinger to watch, and the record eventually reached the ears of Ani DiFranco, a songwriter whose fusion of personal and political themes was a formative influence on a teenaged Mitchell. After seeing a few of Anaïs' captivating concerts, DiFranco signed the artist to her label, Righteous Babe Records.
"If you knew what Ani DiFranco meant to me as a young woman and a young songwriter… well, I was simultaneously elated and in total disbelief," Mitchell told a Vermont reporter after joining the RBRrrmy. "It seemed too good to be true."
The same can be said about Mitchell's Righteous Babe debut, which hit stores February 13, 2007. During the recording process, Anaïs lived above the studio, which was built into an old Vermont gristmill. She could wake up, shake the sleep out of her eyes and record tracks in her pajamas, resulting in a decidedly intimate listening experience. Spilling over with worldly metaphors, intense emotions and unshakable reverence to the art of song, The Brightness shimmers with creative spark.
Anaïs Mitchell is currently working on plans to stage her original folk-opera, Hadestown, based on the myth of Hades and Eurydice, as she continues to tour and do what she does best: pluck heartstrings and sing.
It is a pleasure to have you as my new MySpace friend… I find your MySpace page, your talent and your enthusiasm for music pleason’ to many… I welcome you’re other MySpace friends to visit my MySpace page that I’ve dedicated to my admiration of many talented guitar playing musicians of many styles… Stop by check it out and leave a comment if you like… Thanks Ken…
you are the very reason folks shouldn't miss the opening act!! i was at the show last night at the center & you stopped me in my tracks. i bow to your awesomeness!!
I saw your show in Fresno when you were her with Ani. You are so beautiful and amazing. I am so glad you were there! Have a great week. Keep being awesome.
Hi Anais.. Thanks for taking the time to listen! Great stuff you have, just my kind of music!! I like the atmosphere in your music! I hope you have a great weekend!! Have fun, Josh