'The Journey Home'
Out now!
Anam Danu began as a collaboration between two long-standing musicians – originating from different continents but sharing a Celtic heritage – setting out to create original, unusual and innovative adult-oriented pop music on the west coast of Canada.
When vocalist/pianist Siobhan Monaghan and songwriter Andy Dawson Reid joined forces in 2019, they brought to the collaboration their many years of varied musical experience. Seeking to create something fresh and musically satisfying, they found their connection based on a love of classic pop songs and shared musical ambitions.
Anam Danu looks to create alternative adult-oriented music that is soulful, powerful and cinematic. Searching out the unpredictable elements that make great songs unique, their music and lyrics evoke subtle to powerful emotions and vivid images utilizing a musical palette that varies from sparse piano accompaniment to full orchestral soundtrack. The voice - Siobhan’s distinctive contralto - is always front and centre.
An initial release of seven original tracks, "Winds of Change", in 2019 was followed a year later by a second album, "Winter Blue and Evergreen", which was recorded remotely across the Internet during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Anam Danu have since finished their third album, "Soul Making", which was released at the end of August 2022. This collection of 10 new songs is available for streaming and for download.
In the fall of 2023 - with a view to future live performances - Anam Danu started the search for additional members. They were joined late in the year by Adrienne Dyer - whose pure soprano voice brings a new palette of tones to complement Siobhan's.
Music
The Journey Home
- "The Journey Home".
"The Journey Home" is our new single, released to streaming and download services on June 16th 2023.
'The Journey home' concerns three 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 I can offer is that each of these journeys is best accompanied by a friend!
The track is 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 Siobhan or Andy. In this case Victoria violinist Kate Rhodes does the honours on the fiddle.
Perfect
- "Perfect-extract".
'"Perfect" is a beautiful indie ballad by alternative pop musical duo Anam Danu that will speak to your soul.
Sustained synths and percussive elements with a melody developing commence the song. Then the vocals enter in and the whole force of the arrangement takes you in like a wave hitting you head-on. The vocal delivery and synth production have extreme emotional power while the arrangement and tone of the vocals and every element are top-notch. The song lyrically deals with the importance of imperfection in the essence of being human, overcoming pain, and treating oneself with love.
The lyrics speak to the struggles of feeling inadequate and not good enough, but ultimately finding the strength to embrace oneself and love who you are. The vocals are raw and honest, conveying the emotions of the lyrics with power and vulnerability. The production and use of reverb give the song a dreamy, ethereal quality that adds to the emotive power of the lyrics. Overall, “Perfect” by Anam Danu is a powerful and moving indie pop song that speaks to the universal human experience of self-doubt and self-acceptance.'
Soul Making
When considering how to follow up their second album - 2020's "Winter Blue and Evergreen" - Siobhan and Andy agreed that the new release should reflect the gratitude and positivity they both feel on overcoming the challenges of living through and making music during the pandemic.
The new album "Soul Making" is a very collaborative effort with ten new songs touching on topics such as second chances, ancient wisdom, the power of music, inspiration and creativity, the nature of gifts and the importance of giving - and love… the very essence of soul making.
With the lifting of the pandemic lockdown, Siobhan and Andy were once again able to record together. As a result Siobhan’s voice has been captured with even greater richness and immediacy than was possible before and the collection focuses in particular on her distinctive harmony work. Arrangements and sounds have been simplified and pared back, allowing the full emotional impact of the songs to shine through.
Siobhan and Andy are particularly grateful to Troy Cook for his extraordinary and beautiful cover art, which managed to capture the essence of the album perfectly.
"Soul Making" is available now.
"ANAM DANU is a meeting of worlds. A duo and collaboration between two long-standing musicians, comprising of Siobhan Monaghan and Andy Dawson Reid, they come from different continents but have a shared affinity for the enduring appeal of Celtic music. Their goal is to bring their passion to the world of contemporary adult pop music, whilst remaining true to their own individual innovative and unusual approaches as musicians and songwriters. Most recently, this vision has been realised through the studio record Soul Making, and its glorious follow-up single, ‘Perfect’. Snapshots into the quirky and wonderful universe of Anam Danu."
Tom Hilton - Aldora Britain Records
Winter Blue and Evergreen
The songs that comprise "Winter Blue and Evergreen" were written during the lockdown period of 2020 that was necessitated by the terrible COVID-19 pandemic.
Though some of the tracks duly reflect those difficult times the album also contains much optimism that our nature is to do much more than simply survive and that through our love and care the dark days could be overcome.
The album very probably could not have been made ten years earlier. Unable to record together we were forced to find a new way of working. The boon of modern technology enabled us to record live across the Internet using a data link between my studio and Siobhan’s music room. It was very strange not being able to work face to face, though somehow appropriate for the times.
Siobhan and Andy are most grateful to Martin Springett for his wonderful cover art and design.
Winds of Change
These samples are from our 2019 release - "Winds of Change" - which is available on Bandcamp.
Stories
Siobhan Monaghan - voice and piano
Siobhan is a singer and pianist who enjoyed growing up in a musical family on the prairies of Alberta. The daughter of Irish immigrants, she began singing and playing piano at an early age. Celtic music was a constant presence in her home. Her early musical exposure to her father’s traditional fiddle music and her parents singing traditional songs together nurtured her ability to improvise and play by ear. She also studied piano through the Toronto Conservatory of Music and the University of Lethbridge.
Music has always been a central part of Siobhan’s life. In her youth she enjoyed musical theatre, playing at local hall dances, singing and playing at weddings and performing with her family. Later on, she specialized in providing dance music for Irish dancing competitions (Feiseanna/Oireachtas) and performing in a Scottish Country Dance trio. She travelled to Normandy and toured as an accompanist for the Saskatchewan dance troupe 'Les Danseurs de la riviere La Vielle'. In 1996, she released her first solo piano album called "Common Ground".
For the past 15 years she has been a member of the Victoria based trio 'Trilogy' playing at farmer’s markets, private venues and parties.
Andy Dawson Reid - instrumentation
Andy’s formative years in London (UK) coincided with the musical revolution of the sixties. Hugely influenced thereby he wrote his first song at the age of sixteen and has continued the pursuit of the perfect track ever since.
Throughout the 70s and 80s Andy was the principal writer and bass player for a succession of bands in and around London. During this period he was also introduced to the world of theatre; going on to write six musicals for youth and fringe theatre companies, as well as incidental music scores for a number of plays and contemporary dance productions. He was musical director for a series of productions that toured to the Edinburgh Fringe and to the Jersey Opera House.
Working in education gave Andy the opportunity to teach drama at two of the best-known schools in England, as well as to write, direct or musically direct a further healthy portfolio of productions. On leaving the world of full-time work in 2015 Andy and his Canadian wife - Kate - relocated to her home town of Victoria.
Adrienne Dyer - voice
Adrienne has been singing almost as long as she can remember. Raised in a musical family with three equally musical siblings, she spent her childhood both in Idaho and in Northern British Columbia. When she wasn’t dressing up and belting out 1950s/60s tunes along with her siblings or performing in school plays and choirs, she could be found in her room writing romantic adventure stories or running a little wild in the woods and lake near her home.
After graduating from highschool in 1992, Adrienne moved to Vancouver Island to study literature at the University of Victoria. Here, she found her true home next to the ocean where she’d always longed to be. In 2006 after the birth of her first child, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a professional writer.
Music remains central to the life Adrienne now shares with her two teenage children, Ariel and Graham. She has been a soloist with the The Peninsula Singers since 2007, and performed in Dublin with the internationally acclaimed Irish ensemble, ANÚNA, as an International Summer School delegate in 2015 and 2017. Joining Anam Danu in 2023 brings her the opportunity to collaborate with fellow artists, who, like her, continue to explore a lifelong musical journey.
Acknowledgement
We gratefully acknowledge that we live and create on the traditional and unceded territories of the Lekwungen and WSÁNEĆ peoples.
Contact
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