Anthony Burbidge

With his latest CD, The Great Awakening, Canadian singer-songwriter, Anthony Burbidge, delivers an award winning (1st Place Rock Song 2009 Indie International Songwriting Contest) collection of ten of his most powerful songs to date. Burbidge’s personal style mixes global sounds with inspiring socio-political/spiritual lyrics – a combination that’s perfect for the uncertain times the world faces today.

The journey that lead Burbidge to the creation of this poignant music was filled with twists and turns. In 1993, while completing his Bachelor of Classical Music Degree at Mount Allison University, Burbidge released his first CD, The Road To Rome, and the ambitious pop/rock project landed him in the media in his native Canada. Tragically, within a few months of the album's release, a rare and devastating disease known as Environmental Illness forced him to abandon his musical path - but not his dreams.

Over the next decade, Burbidge fuelled his music passion while working in a record store. The job turned out to be the best education a musician could find, offering Burbidge an on-the-job training in the music business. Still, the songwriter longed to return to making music of his own.

In 2005, the Burbidge left his record store management position to make music full-time. By 2007, he released his first CD in 14 years, the acoustic and introspective Newborn, and began touring. Bolstered by the CD’s success, Burbidge headed into the studio in 2008 to create his dream album.

The CD born from those sessions, The Great Awakening, is an album in the tradition of U2, Pink Floyd and The Beatles - an audio journey - not a random hodgepodge of singles strung together for commercial convenience. Its lyrics are brimming with messages of hope and global unity and the music is characterized by lush arrangements featuring strings, tabla, santoor, Irish pipes, Middle Eastern percussion, Armenian Duduk and a choir.

Burbidge reflects on the experiences that brought him to this point in his career, saying:

“When I got sick in ‘93, I thought I'd be well within a year but as months became years and no doctor had a cure, I succumbed to frustration and depression. Even worse, I lost touch with the musician in me. I didn't sing a note for 7 long years. I didn't have the energy - Chronic Fatigue is one of the many symptoms of Environmental Illness.

Eventually I started to seek emotional and spiritual healing as well as physical. This challenging inner work proved invaluable to me as a songwriter because years later, when I began writing again, I found the songs were no longer coming from me but rather through me.

With this new CD, I've finally combined it all – my music education, listening to 10,000 plus CDs in the record store, and the experiences of my own personal journey. I hope people see these songs as a testament to the power of persistence and a cause for hope for anyone taking action to make their lives and the world a better place."