Adri-Anne Ralph
Orange, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
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Adri-Anne Ralph
April 11, 2013 by Discover Discover
Artist: Adri-Anne Ralph
Genre: R&B
Artist Biography:
Adri-Anne Ralph is a Vocalist and Songwriter originally from Victoria, B.C. who now lives in Southern California. She writes and performs R&B – tinged Pop music with a throwback soul feel.
Adri-Anne has been involved in the arts from a young age, taking piano lessons, a local youth choir, ballet. She started writing songs at age 13, and by her mid-teens was performing at venues around her home town.
During this time, she also wrote, performed, recorded, & toured with local pop group 100% Cotton, in addition to singing in Jazz clubs & open mics, and performing in Musical Theatre productions. After high school, Adri-Anne attended and graduated from the Canadian College of Performing Arts, where she studied multiple disciplines of the performing arts, including dance, acting, and singing.
Upon graduation, she continued working on her own musical projects, and guested on works of local songwriters and with a local Gospel choir.
After a few years of this, Adri-Anne traveled to South America, where she participated in a Musician’s DTS through Youth With A Mission, touring around Venezuela and Jamaica playing concerts.
Upon arriving back in Canada, Adri-Anne set her sights on moving to Los Angeles to work with a local music organization and continue working on her singing, songwriting, and album projects. She did make the move to California, and since then, she has trained with music industry veterans, and rubbed shoulders with some of the best musicians and songwriters in the Music Industry. She has performed at events such as the Orange County Citizen of the Year Awards, and at many venues in Orange & L.A. Counties, and was also a soloist with the Orange County Gospel Ensemble.
Now, in addition to performing and recording, she brings her experience and skill to share with others through performance and teaching at VocalART Studio OC. Her first solo album is currently in pre-production at Love & Laughter Music.
http://www.adriannesoundslike.com
Status: Professional
Currently I teach voice, perform at local venues, and once my album is finished, I’ll be setting up local tours and online distribution.
What Music activities are you involved in? Recording artist, songwriter, composer, producer, engineer?
I’m a recording artist, songwriter, performing artist, and vocal coach, and I’ve most recently started doing vocal production, which is helping artists in the studio to better interpret and execute their voice recordings.
What aspect of what you do musically, do you find challenging?
The most challenging thing is trying to stay focused on doing what I love (music) because I love it, and not for the approval of anyone else. There are alot of people that try to discourage or tell you it’s not possible to make a living doing music. It is extremely hard. And there’s not a lot of money in it. And it’s very competitive. But if you love it, it’s worth it.
The most fun thing for me is creating a new song, and then recording and performing it. It’s amazing to know that a song would never have existed without you!
How would you describe your music?
If Jessie J. and Jessie Ware had a music baby who loved Motown, you’d get my style of music! I love equal parts R&B, Old School Soul and Motown, and Power Pop.
How much of what goes into your music is life experience?
About 3/4th of what I write is from my own experience. Of course, we can only imagine what something feels or looks like from someone else’s perspective, so everything I write or perform is filtered through my own perception.
I love writing about my feelings, experiences and opinions, but I also love telling a story that’s totally separate from my own experience through my songs.
What are you trying to say through your music?
Truth. I want my music to be totally honest and reflect honest human experiences and emotions. So I write songs about being mad, frustrated, free, hurt, hopeless, happy, sexy, hopeful, confused, betrayed, in love, etc. You won’t find me writing lots of songs about being rich, being famous, or wild partying because I feel like those things are what people do to escape truth. The raw and honest human experience is what I’m after and what I want to reflect and share with the world.
How important is performing to you?
I love performing. I feel like my creative process isn’t complete until I’ve shared my songs with the world! Performing is also when I feel most free to let go and sing from my gut!
What are your goals and aspirations as a musician?
I want to tour and perform my own songs. I would love to have some songs placed in movies or TV shows! I also want to continue to write songs for myself and for other singers.
I’d love to tour with John Legend or Justin Timberlake, either as a backup singer, or an opening act. I’d love to sing with the Roots.
I want to keep making music and sharing it with the world until I can’t do it anymore!
If nobody listened to your music, would it still be part of your life?
Absolutely. I started out singing at the piano when no one was home. I was so shy I wouldn’t sing until my parents and sister were all out of the house so I could sing as loud as I wanted!
Sometimes when I’m stressed or sad, I just like to sit down at the piano and sing and play until I feel happy again. Music is a part of me for good.
As a musician do you ever think you’ll quit learning your art?
I know for a fact that I’ll never stop learning! As musicians, the more we learn, the more we realized we can improve. There’s nothing more awesome than working to get better at an instrument or a skill and then all of a sudden realizing that you can do it!
As a singer/instrumentalist how important is practice?
Practice is very very very important. If your muscles and ear isn’t worked on every day, it won’t be there when you go to sing an important song or play that tricky piece. I think of it like training for a sport. You do tons of runs, drills and exercises to work out all the muscles, so that when you need them in the middle of a game, ALL those muscles are strong and ready to respond. For musicians, performing or recording is the game. We have to make sure our skills, reflexes and muscles are ready.
Do you consider music art, or a commercial product?
Music can be commercial ( a product). If music is written or produced specifically to make money, for sure it’s a product. But the best music is successful and makes money because it is GOOD art, and it makes you feel something.
Do you use social media to share your music with others?
Definitely. Social media is one of the most important tools for a musician nowadays.
What instrument or instruments do you play?
I play the piano, flute, a little guitar, and a little bass. And in high school I played the oboe for 3 months.
How long does it take you to write a song from start to finish?
Sometimes a song just flows and it’s done in 20 minutes. Other times, it takes real work, and it could take a few days. Other times, I just write a bit here and there, or write a chorus that sits for a few years until I come back to it and write the whole song around it.
Did you ever take music lessons?
Yes, and I am so glad that I did. It’s so important for anyone who wants to be a musician to understand how music works. So, learn to read music, learn how to play an instrument, maybe two. Learn the language musicians use to communicate with each other. All of this is very important.
Do you ever get burnt out working on music?
Yes! Sometimes working on music can be SO intense, because I am a perfectionist so I put tons of pressure on myself to get it how I want it. It’s also a very exhausting creative process, which takes lots of mental and emotional energy. After working on music for a few weeks straight, sometimes I need a break and need to do no music for a week to unwind and recharge.
When do you feel you’re the most creative musically?
I’m the most creative when I’ve been inspired by good art, literature, film, or other musicians performances. Also, a good night’s sleep helps.
Do you ever use mobile technology to help you record your ideas?
I use a mini mp3 recorder to record song ideas when I’m out, when I’m co-writing, or when I’m songwriting in my studio. I also sometimes use my phone if I don’t have my mp3 recorder.
My final thoughts to inspire young musicians:
Keep on making music, and remind yourself why you love making music. There are a lot of things that can leave you drained, and it helps to remember what you love about music. Keep that passion alive, and never stop growing artistically, and technically. Avoid cliches and gimmicks. Keep striving and reaching for new ways to say what you want to say to the world!
Adri-Anne Ralph,
Thank you on behalf of Listening Edge Records for taking time to share with us your thoughts on music, and helping inspire musicians of all ages.
Trevor Baron
President
Listening Edge Records - www.listeningedgerecords.com
Effortlessly fusing R&B, rock, funk, and Motown, Adri-Anne Ralph delivers a live-band sound worth hearing on her album "How Long". With vocals that belt and trill for days, this talented lady is a major discovery for fans of old-school soul, and lovers of vocalists like Tamia, Jessie J, and Jessie Ware.
En combinant R&B, rock, funk et Motown, Adri-Anne Ralph offre un son live captivant avec son album « How Long ». Sa voix puissante et flexible est une grande découverte pour les fans du soul classique, aussi pour les amateurs des chanteuses comme Tamia, Jessie J et Jessie Ware. - Who Gives A Pop? Blog
R&B Singer/Songwriter Adri-Anne Ralph just signed a publishing deal with Love & Laughter Music for her debut album set to release in 2014! Adri-Anne has performed internationally, and recently returned to Southern California to perform and finish her first studio album of original music with the Love & Laughter Production team. She is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts. - Voice & Sound
" 'How Long' was one of those songs that grabbed almost immediately. It's so jazzy, the vocal is so pure, and the lyrics so bluesy and sad." -Paul, Indie Music Sampler, http://IndieMusicSampler.com/ - Indie Music Sampler
“Singer/songwriter Adri-Anne R. has a pure, natural, evocative and dynamic vocal delivery that flows effortlessly and lyrics with modern poetic elements. Fresh new voice with a classic sound. This is the stuff great contemporary soul music is made of.
- Tara W. (EclecticBliss.com podcast host and producer)” - Eclectic Bliss Podcast
"Adri-Anne, with her clear and powerful tones, reminds me of Whitney Houston. Her lyricism has the beautiful ring of honesty and true strength."
-Chaundra Amani Grattan, KUCI Radio 88.9FM Irvine, CA,
Ear to the Ground airs Mondays 5-6pm, Stream Live at http://www.kuci.org/ - KUCI Talk 88.9FM
Discography
One Size Fits All (with 100% Cotton)
Tumble Dry (with 100% Cotton)
3 Songs (EP)
Debut Album, Title TBA, Due in Fall 2013
Photos
Bio
At a young age, Adri-Anne Ralph was already a woman of the arts. With her younger sister, and a neighborhood friend, she put on plays and musicals in her backyard, selling tickets and inviting the whole neighborhood!
Perhaps in order to focus this creative energy, at 8 years old Adri-Anne was enrolled in piano lessons, youth choir, and dance classes. She started writing stories as soon as she was able to form sentences, and discovered poetry and songwriting at age 13. By her mid-teens, Adri-Anne was performing at venues around her home town of Victoria, British Columbia. She also wrote, performed, recorded, & toured with local pop group 100% Cotton, sang in Jazz clubs & open mics, and performed in Musical Theatre productions.
After high school, Adri-Anne auditioned and was accepted into the Canadian College of Performing Arts, where she studied multiple disciplines of the performing arts, including dance, acting, and singing. Upon graduation, she continued working on her own musical projects, and guested on works of local songwriters and with a local Gospel choir.
Even so, Adri-Anne was feeling restless in the small island town of Victoria. She applied to participate in a Musician's DTS through Youth With A Mission, which equips and trains young people to use their talents in the mission field.
She was accepted, raised the money to go, and took off on a plane to Merida, Venezuela. For 6 1/2 months, Adri-Anne and her classmates absorbed the beauty and spirit of the Venezuelan culture, grew spiritually and musically, and travelled around Venezuela and Jamaica, doing service projects and performing music to help build and benefit communities in need.
Somewhere between immersion in Venezuelan culture, sleeping on floors in cockroach-infested houses, and playing music on a flatbed truck in a dusty parking lot in La Azulita, Venezuela, Adri-Anne fell in love with the idea of encouraging young people through music, education, and encouragement to trust God with their dreams and desires.
Upon arriving back in Canada, Adri-Anne set her sights on moving to Southern California to work with Project RYTMO, a Berklee College of Music-associated youth program that equips and mentors at-risk urban youth by educating them in music and technology.
Not knowing where she would live, and only knowing one person in the area, she boarded a plane, and ended up as Counselor & Mentor/Volunteer Program Coordinator (as well as songwriting, piano, and voice teacher, career counselor, and employment advisor!).
While working at Project RYTMO, Adri-Anne benefitted by learning about songwriting, performing, and the music business from music industry veterans, and rubbing shoulders with some of the best musicians and songwriters in the Music Industry.
She poured her experiences from that challenging and rewarding experience into songwriting, and ended up with an album's worth of material. Her first solo album is currently in production at Love & Laughter Music. She continues to perform at many venues and events in Orange & L.A. Counties, and is focused on her love of making music, her enjoyment of performing, and the many rewards of encouraging others to do the same.
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