Welcome to a newly discovered country on the face of the folk map! If you scroll down past the bio below you will find a chance to review the music. Enjoy!
Anjuli Dawn
Herstory
22-year-old Anjuli Dawn is an emerging musician/singer/songwriter. She comes from a strong musical background, and her experience shows in her uninhibited soprano and skilled bouzouki and guitar work. She has released three full-length recordings of her own original work and is currently touring full time in folk venues and bars across the Midwest supporting "Reason," her third release.
Anjuli was born in Royal Oak, Michigan in 1982 where she spent the first three years of her life. She was the first child of six born to her independently-thinking parents, and by the time the third arrived the family moved northward to another Detroit suburb and into a more communal type of living situation. Anjuli was surrounded by music in her early years; her mother played guitar and piano, wrote music and sang with two of her sisters in a family band called "The Childs Sisters," and her father was a drummer and self-taught pianist. Anjuli began piano lessons at age 5 and flourished in studying the Robert Pace method, which highlights ear training and rhythm studies as well as teaching students to read music. At age twelve Anjuli switched from piano to studying guitar with an accomplished jazz guitarist, and began to compose.
Anjuli Dawn's first performances were with The Childs Sisters, her mother's group, when she was 14. They toured religious communities throughout the Midwest and on the east coast, playing for audiences of hundreds of attentive listeners. Anjuli's voice training really began during this time with hours of practicing the intricate background harmonies that were a trademark of the group, but mostly she learned, by experience, of the camaraderie that is so much a part of musicians coming together.
"Everyone was a songwriter. That was how my family seemed to deal with the ups and downs of everyday life, so it was natural for me to blossom into a songwriter myself. Really I am standing on the shoulders of the generation before me and if I have a head up on anyone than I owe it to my mother, my aunts, and even folks in the generations before that. I had great aunts, uncles, and grandparents writing drinking songs and church music long before there was such a thing as a record deal..." reflects Anjuli.
Her teenage years continued with songwriting classes and coffee shop performances. She took drum lessons with nationally renowned frame and djembe drummers, Judy Piazza and Grammy award winner Glen Valez, which eased Anjuli into feeling comfortable playing odd rhythms such as 13/8, 11/8, and 5/4 along with the pop-culture staples 4/4, 3/4, and 6/8. In her junior and senior years of high school Anjuli was granted the privilege of doing independent studies in mandolin, guitar, and songwriting, which furthered her skills. Her songwriting independent study was overseen by full time singer/songwriter Heather Childs and Grammy award nominated songwriter, Karen Taylor Good. Anjuli Dawn also sang in A Cappella groups throughout this time- a great environment for her to develop her ear and voice.
On June 14th, 2000, 4 days after her high school graduation, Anjuli and other friends and family members were in a terrible car accident. Anjuli sustained leg and feet injuries, among others. She came out of this life-shaking experience with a sense of feeling blessed to be alive, and to have even had the chance to exist in the first place. This translated into a new urgency in the way she went about living and making her decisions. Before the accident she had planned to go to a college in the South to do environmental studies, another major passion for her, but Anjuli was still learning to walk again when fall semester arrived after spending the summer in a wheel chair, and now had different plans.
Anjuli wasn't quite sure where to start but knew that she had to create a life around music. She recorded her first full-length album, "While I Live," while recuperating from this accident and released it at the end of 2000. "If I Stand" came a year later and contains many memorable tracks including "Time and Space," which made it to the top 10 out of approximately 87,000 songs on garageband.com. In 2004 she has newly released "Reason," her third full-length CD.
Anjuli comments, "'Reason' is the documentation of my life journey over the past 2 years. It is a window into where I have been and the way I see the world. I am just trying to find my place and decide what is important for me to be, to do. There are so many issues, from agricultural politics to world hunger, which are begging for our attention; it can be entirely overwhelming. To truly live is to seek a balance between caring, doing what we can to help, and insanity. I want to live within my big questions, try to do some hands-on work to help with the causes I care about, and hope that the joy I experience when I play music is in some way good for the whole."
"Reason" consists of ten tracks of Anjuli's strangely beautiful original work. Anjuli's writing style has developed beautifully since her 2001 release, If I Stand; "Reason" showcases her partnership with language and instrument, inspires listeners to be truer to their own passions, and to just sit back and groove. Her guitar, bouzouki, and mandolin styles have blossomed into a full, intriguing, and rhythmic sound that are becoming part of her trademark. The album also presents double bass work by Joshua Granowski, whose style on this recording is reminiscent of virtuoso bassist Edgar Meyer. Anjuli's lyrics and vocal tone are as honest and sweet as ever, and settle richly into a listening ear.
Anjuli has spent time living in Germany, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Minnesota, and is currently based in the Detroit, MI area. Her guitar style has been compared to the acoustic work of Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Ani Difranco; her vocal style has reminded listeners of a large array of musicians including Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Joni Mitchel, and Paula Cole. Anjuli puts on a memorable show and enjoys a great response from listeners in bars and folk venues throughout the Midwest. Says Anjuli, "I play because I can feel the real stuff of life when I really open up in front of a crowd. I feel all of this energy flowing through me. Life is not easy, but if I can have that once in a while and improve someones day or help them get through a hard time than it is worth living."
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