Anaïs Mitchell
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:
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Anaïs Mitchell
- Genres: Folk
Biography
Heavily influenced by the confessional alternative folk stylings of Ani DiFranco, Anaïs Mitchell began writing songs when she was 17. Born in Vermont, she attended Middlebury College and traveled throughout the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe studying global politics before alighting in Austin, TX, in the early 2000s. She released her first album, The Song They Sang When Rome Fell, in 2002. Mitchell performed at the Kerrville Folk Festival the following year, where she was awarded with the New Folk award. Her second album, Hymns for the Exiled, came out on Waterbug Records in 2004, and a copy eventually made its way to DiFranco herself. The folk icon attended a few of Mitchell's performances and offered her a deal at Righteous Babe Records soon after. The Brightness, Mitchell's debut on that label, arrived in February 2007. In 2006, Mitchell debuted her "folk opera" Hadestown in collaboration with arranger Michael Chorney and director Ben T. Matchstick based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and set in a futurist poverty-striken America. A second draft was performed by the a group called the Hadestown Company in 2007. An album entitled Hadestown with appearances from Greg Brown, DiFranco and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon was released on Righteous Babe in March of 2010. ~ Margaret Reges, RoviWikipedia on Answers.com:
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Anaïs Mitchell
| Anaïs Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 New Bedford Summerfest July 4, 2010 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | March 26, 1981 |
| Origin | Montpelier, Vermont, U.S. |
| Genres | Folk, Indie folk |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Righteous Babe Records |
| Associated acts | Bon Iver, Ani DiFranco |
| Website | Official Website |
Anaïs Mitchell (English: /ɑːneɪˈs/; born March 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter.
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Contents
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Early life
Anaïs Mitchell is the daughter of a novelist and a college professor. She began writing and performing songs at the age of seventeen. As a child she grew up on a farm in Addison County, Vermont, traveled to the Middle East, Europe and Latin America and later attended Middlebury College.[1] [2]
Career
On a single afternoon in 2002, Mitchell recorded her debut album The Song They Sang When Rome Fell.[citation needed]
In 2003 Mitchell won the New Folk award at the Kerrville Folk Festival.[1][3]
Her album, Hymns for the Exiled, was released on Chicago's Waterbug Records label in 2004.[1] This recording attracted the attention of singer/songwriter, Ani DiFranco who signed Mitchell to the Righteous Babe Records label.[2]
In 2006 Mitchell debuted a draft of her Hadestown "folk opera" which she wrote in collaboration with arranger Michael Chorney and director Ben T. Matchstick.[4] A revised version of Hadestown was staged in 2007 and Mitchell's third album, The Brightness, was released on Righteous Babe Records that same year.[5]
In 2008 Mitchell was nominated in the Contemporary Artist category of the third annual Folk Alliance awards show broadcast.[6] In September that same year Righteous Babe Records released country e.p., a split vinyl/CD EP Mitchell recorded with Rachel Ries.[citation needed]
In April 2009, Mitchell said she intended to release a recording of Hadestown. Mitchell lent her vocals to the song "Miss Independence", off of Burlington-based singer Myra Flynn's album "Crooked Measures".[7]
Hadestown, a recording of Mitchell's folk opera was released on Righteous Babe records in March 2010 in the US (late April 2010 in the UK) and received favorable reviews.[8][9] Her manager, Slim Moon, described it as "the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America." The album includes guest appearances by Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem, and The Haden Triplets (Petra, Rachel, and Tanya Haden).
Mitchell released an album called Young Man in America, on her Wilderland Records label in 2012.[10]
Reception
Mitchell has received favorable reviews on her musical style, sound and performance. An article in Acoustic Guitar magazine calls Mitchell "fearlessly emotive" and compares her to Dylan, Cohen, and Welch.[11]
A review in No Depression magazine describes Mitchell as "girlishly sprite and brimming with innocence" and says that she "brings to mind the hippie-throwback charm of Victoria Williams and "80s pop star Cyndi Lauper".[12]
Margaret Reges of Allmusic describes Mitchell as having "the earthiness of Shawn Colvin, the child-like bite of Joanna Newsom, and the urban jumpiness of Ani DiFranco"[13]
Discography
- The Song They Sang... When Rome Fell (2002)
- Hymns for the Exiled (2004) Waterbug Records
- The Brightness (2007) Righteous Babe Records
- Country E.P. (2008) Righteous Babe Records (with Rachel Ries)
- Hadestown (2010) Righteous Babe Records (with Ani DiFranco, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Greg Brown and Ben Knox Miller)
- Young Man in America (2012)
References
- ^ a b c Anais Mitchell Bio, Last.FM
- ^ a b Official Website
- ^ Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse
- ^ "Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell" December 7, 2006 by Megan James Addison County Independent.
- ^ "oh, the places she's gone! anaïs mitchell's righteous babe records' debut the brightness is poetry in motion. in stores February 13, 2007." press release Righteous Babe Records.
- ^ "Ellen Jewell, Uncle Earl highlight Folk Alliance award nominees" News You Should Note posted February 4, 2008 No Depression.
- ^ "Interview With Slim Moon", HitQuarters, 13 April 2009.
- ^ (April 22 2010)Anais Mitchell Hadestown CD Review The Guardian
- ^ Drowned in Sound
- ^ (Feb 2012) American Original More From This Weeks Qa With Anais Mitchell.
- ^ "Family politics, love, and music infuse the stunning Hymns for the Exiled. Vermont-based singer-songwriter details her new album." by Anand Nayak Songcraft: Anais Mitchell Acoustic Guitar April 2005, No. 148.
- ^ http://www.nodepression.net/ No Depression
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/ Allmusic
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anaïs Mitchell |
- Official website
- Boston Globe music review
- Sing Out! sound recording review of The Brightness by Rich Warren June 22, 2007.
- State of Mind Our Lady of the Underground: A Conversation with Anais Mitchell by Matt Bushlow March 2010.
- nthWORD Magazine Interview by Ryan O'Connor June 7, 2010
- NPR Music Review
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