Music
Press
To say that the Australian music scene is bursting at the seams with solo singer-songwriters is an understatement of big proportions. While the quality of such artists can vary frustratingly, it makes coming across something special that extra bit satisfying. Enter Anita George and her latest EP, The River. As the title suggests, the EP effortlessly flows from the opening slide guitar of Jed Rowe through many musical bends and rapids to deliver the listener to a grand destination.
On opening track, The Lost, George sings of the realisation of a love long lost in a suave and stylish manner; her vocal delivery would not be out of place in an underground jazz club. The unlikely combination of these vocals with slide guitar and cello from Daniel McCracken-Hewson is impressively effective as George sings: “This here bond it was not meant to fail / shield me from the cold as I sink into the ocean / this here bond it was not meant to fail / but the circle is broken and we start all over again/". The Lost marks the beginning of what seems like an autobiographical release from George, as the listener follows her moods and emotions from this difficult realisation to her emancipation.
The River sees its protagonist lost in a dark and possibly sinister state, heading down to the river where the leaves climb on her face and her tracks are covered faster than she makes them. She pleas in a forlorn voice to her redeemer: “We all fall down eventually / so shine your little light and come and save me/”. As George’s voice begins to soar at the end of the song, the dark
beginnings of the song gradually fade as a brighter future starts to emerge.
The next step in George’s journey is the stunningly beautiful Prodigal Son. It is a gorgeous track in both its sentiment and simplicity. On the most basic of levels, Prodigal Son is a whispering lullaby: “For now, you must try and sleep / because your eyes have been open for much longer than they should have been / I hope all your little dreams become your reality / you are the prodigal son / and you will inspire everyone around/”. But the themes of love, sense of family and emotion the song holds run much deeper and are equally matched by the passion sincerity in which George sings it.
If Prodigal Son sees George discovering what is important to her, a turning point in her salvation, the more upbeat Shades of Colour sees her grabbing he life by the reins and taking control. McCracken-Hewson turns his cello into an improvised double bass, driving this tune with a funky bass line as George sings with sassy attitude and wisdom: “Whatever makes you happy there you go / Whatever makes you learn makes you grow / Whatever you love you follow”.
Rounding out this impressive EP is the understated Soar, an inspiring track powered by George’s heavenly vocals. When she sings “Cause I can go higher until I soar”, it is hard not believe her as we are swept up in her uplifting voice and taken the special place she sings about. As the final few notes of Soar slowly fade away, it is evidently clear that George has come a long way.
Anita George, thanks for sharing.
- Faster Louder Online Reviews - http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/music/6564/
http://www.anitageorge.com.au/pdf/press_07freepress.pdf - Prince George, Free Press
Discography
The River - 5 track EP released October 2006
Shooting for the Moon - Full Length CD released July 2005
Photos
Bio
Powerful vocals tinged with soul. A wandering troubadour with a penchant for folk. Australia’s Anita George is a natural story-teller and evocative songwriter. Her tales of love, loss, travelling on trains with drunken men, hitchhiking through Mexico and Chile, and drug arrests of audience members midway through gigs are matched only by her trademark voice, carefully crafted slide & folk style guitar, occasional toots of the blues harmonica when requested, and charismatic onstage presence. Her tours of Australia, Canada, the United States, Mexico and South America have been met with universal acclaim. With an Indian Heritage, George blends and weaves extensive world-wide influences into her music with songs in English, French and Spanish.
George honed her craft over several years of touring festivals and venues across the Australia and Canada including NXNE Festival (Canada), Sunshine Music Festival (Vancouver), Falls Festival (Australia), Australian Music Week, the Melbourne Fringe Festival, Nannup Music Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Backdrop Festival, Ashcroft Opera House (Canada), The Railway Club (Canada), Manchester Lane, the Cornish Arms (Vic), Tongue and Groove (Qld), Das Kapital (ACT), the Republic Bar (Tas), (WA) and International Women’s Day Festivals (Vic, WA and Tas). She was a grand finalist in the Australian Busking Championships 2005. She was selected to showcase at the International NXNE festival (Canada) in 2007, and followed this with a tour of Canada, the States, Mexico and South America in 2007 and 2008. Along the way, she had lessons in harmonica by legendary World Harmonica Champion Carlos del Junco, slide guitar in Vancouver and Andean guitar in Bolivia.
Her second release ‘The River’ has gained national airplay on Triple J and community radio in Australia, and international airplay on the UK’s largest commercial radio station ‘TalkSport’. She has two releases behind her - the full length CD ‘Shooting for the Moon’ released in July 2005 and ‘The River’ released in October 2006 - and her song ‘Caught in the Middle’ has also been included in compilation ‘Amplified – Sounds of Tasmania’ released in November 2005.
Excerpt from interview with Australian Music Online, Nov 2005
‘I actually only decided to be a musician fairly late in the piece. I was in my second last year of Uni, and desperately needed a creative outlet. But my family is possibly one of the most non-musical families in the world, and we had this old guitar with two broken strings that no-one played because none of us knew how to change strings. We took it to a guitar store and asked them to ‘fix’ it – I’m pretty sure it’s the easiest money they ever made. After I learned three chords, I used to bring my guitar along to Uni and play songs I’d written for my fellow students but had to stop after one of my lecturers told me off for singing too loudly outside her room while she was trying to lecture…..’
Labelled by the Sydney Morning Herald as ‘Hobart’s purveyor of sultry blues folk’, George has deservedly gathered a loyal following through her constant national and international touring schedule.
Excerpt from online music review of ‘The River’ by Fasterlouder www.fastlouder.com.au
‘To say that the Australian music scene is bursting at the seams with solo singer-songwriters is an understatement of big proportions. While the quality of such artists can vary frustratingly, it makes coming across something special that extra bit satisfying. Enter Anita George and her latest EP, The River... On opening track, The Lost, George sings of the realisation of a love long lost in a suave and stylish manner... The next step in George’s journey is the stunningly beautiful Prodigal Son. It is a gorgeous track in both its sentiment and simplicity…. Rounding out this impressive EP is the understated Soar, an inspiring track powered by George’s heavenly vocals’
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