Allison Crowe

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Allison Crowe flies east for new album sessions: "This Little Bird" joins Antony, Cat Power atop Download.com

Published on 12/3/2007

By Allison Crowe - news service

Allison Crowe has begun sessions for her next album, "This Little Bird". The reference recordings reaffirm the Nanaimo, BC native's stature as a supreme vocalist and one of today's most singular and exciting artists/performers. At the same time, (half-an-hour later in Newfoundland), Crowe is the most downloaded singer-songwriter at CNET's Download.com site. CNET, the web's premier source for digital music technology, offers music downloads with a primary focus, not on major-marketed, corporate-styled acts, but, on off-centre, small label, or, indie, acts. Joining Allison Crowe in the top three Singer Songwriter positions this past week is Antony and the Johnsons and Cat Power ~ other distinctive musical voices. Remarkably, Allison Crowe's broad audience comprises a non-mainstream community, of online down-loaders and file-sharers, bloggers, podcasters plus, as well as lovers of more traditional media and sounds. Her original lyrics and music possess an appeal equal to that of her beautiful, oft-acclaimed as peerless, interpretations of songs by a range of popular artists, which includes: The Beatles; Counting Crows; Ani DiFranco; and Leonard Cohen. (Crowe's bravely emotional, unsentimental, take on Cohen's "Hallelujah" has the distinction of being twice selected "Record of the Day" by the U.K.'s essential music news subscription service of the same name - in August, 2004 and, again, in November, 2005.) "This Little Bird" will contain nine or ten songs composed by Allison Crowe, alongside covers of tunes that were hits for Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin and The Lovin' Spoonful. This new album recording project is anticipated to span provinces and, perhaps, even, countries. Allison Crowe has relocated to Corner Brook, NL - more than 4000 miles (over 6000 kilometers) from her west-coast Pacific island home, to a new nest on the Atlantic side of the North American continent. As she sings in the album's title song, "same idea, different sea". During this first stage, Crowe is joined on "the rock" by life-long musicians, multi-instrumentalists and recording pros, Mike McDonald and Louis McDonald. Of the brothers, "You rarely meet people so steeped in music - at all its levels and aspects - as these two and would be hard pressed to meet more accomplished musicians," says Canada's Juno-winning troubador, David Francey. (A Juno being the Canadian equivalent to America's Grammys or the U.K's Brit Awards.) The McDonalds perform, with bassist Byron Gosse, in their own rock-and-roll trio, The Catch, and, each has a role in other bands: including heralded, modern and traditional, roots combo, The Fables; and the jazz-making Louis McDonald Quartet. Vocals and piano tracks are being recorded at Gitanos' ~ one of the finest venues on Canada's east coast. A supper club in the tradition of 1940s Montreal and New York City, Gitanos' was designed by islander Donna Thistle, inspired by the idea of gypsy travelers "who select ideas and goods from various cultures and redistribute them in other, often remote, communities." With new musical partners and settings, united in the fun spirit of the Be Sharps (Homer Simpson's fab combo), Allison Crowe is ready to shoot the moon. Allison Crowe's music is available @ http://www.allisoncrowe.com and through Festival Distribution (Canada's home of jazz, blues, roots, folk, world music "and much much more") as well as via a range of fine online retailers including: MapleMusic; Amazon.com; CDBaby; and iTunes. Details of Allison Crowe's 2006 North American and European touring plans will be announced as recording of "This Little Bird" proceeds.



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Allison Crowe flies east for new album sessions: "This Little Bird" joins Antony, Cat Power atop Download.com