Happy New Year!!

“Everywhere I look, (I say this very generally and broadly, but not vaguely), I see a lot of incredibly good and kindhearted people be really REALLY hard on themselves, in both words and actions, for no good reason and it breaks my heart. You deserve better. If you're going to resolve something for the New Year - whatever works for you - maybe add to resolve to try and give yourself some slack, because you're incredible. (I am most definitely also guilty of same, btw - and I do know that it's much easier said than done, but a reminder can't hurt hahaha) :) Anyways, just thinking of all my friends, and friends I haven't yet met, at the end of this year and want you to know how great you are. Yes you! XOXO PS if you resolve something and it doesn't happen - meh! You're still amazing! (And now, back to my coffee. I resolve to drink another coffee today.),” Allison

New Year's Countdown / Auld Lang Syne from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

Join Allison Crowe, family and friends ring in a New Year. (As well, Condor's birthday is five minutes following the count-down - on January 1st.)

This is not a dramatic recreation. This is the actual sound of celebration. Try this at home.

Dave Baird on bass. Kevin Clevette on drums. Allison Crowe may be on piano. You never know. A cast of many on vocals, horns, blowouts and other noisemakers and party favours. Frank Capra’s 1941 film “Meet John Doe” also makes the scene.

Gelukkige nuwejaar! Ilufio ètussé! Gëzuar vitin e ri! E glëckliches nëies! عام سعيد aam saiid! Shnorhavor nor tari! Amokitanone! Yeni iliniz mübarək! Aw ni san'kura! Mbuee! Urte berri on! З новым годам Z novym hodam! Shuvo noboborsho! Asgwas amegas! Mbembe mbu! Nauka sal mubarak hoe! Bonne année! Sretna nova godina! Bloavezh mat! честита нова година Chestita nova godina! Hnit thit ku mingalar pa! Sun lin fi lok! Bon any nou! Malipayong bag-ong tuig! 新年快乐 Xin nian kuai le! Bledhen nowedh da! Pace è salute! Sretna nova godina! šťastný nový rok! Godt nytår! Sale naw tabrik! Mbu mwa bwam! Gelukkig nieuwjaar! Happy New Year! Feliĉan novan jaron! Head uut aastat! Eƒé bé dzogbenyui nami! Mbembe mbu! Bamba mbou! Gott nýggjár! Manigong bagong taon! Onnellista uutta vuotta! Mikudo xwe yoyo! Lokkich neijier! Bon an! Dioul mo wouri! Feliz ano novo! გილოცავთ ახალ წელს Gilocavt akhal tsels! Frohes neues Jahr! Καλή Χρονιά Kali xronia! Sal mubarak! Rogüerohory año nuévo-re! Bònn ané! Barka da sabuwar shekara! Hauoli makahiki hou! שנה טובה Shana tova! Ombura ombe ombua! Nav varsh ki subhkamna! Nyob zoo xyoo tshiab! Boldog új évet! Gleðilegt nýtt ár! Obi anuri nke afor ohuru! Selamat tahun baru! ᐅᑭᐅᒥ ᓄᑖᒥ ᖁᕕᐊᓱᒋᑦᓯ Ukiumi nutaami quviasugitsi! Ath bhliain faoi mhaise! Buon anno! Sugeng Warsa enggal! あけまして　おめでとう　ございます Akemashite omedetô gozaimasu! Aseggas ameggaz! ಹೊಸ ವರ್ಷದ ಹಾರ್ಧಿಕ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು Hosa varshada hardika shubhashayagalu! Nav reh mubarakh! Zhana zhiliniz kutti bolsin! Sur sdei chhnam thmei! Ngethi cya mwaka mweru! umwaka mwiza! ЖАӉЫ ЖЫЛЫӉЫЗДАР МЕНЕН Zhany zhylynyzdar menen! 새해 복 많이 받으세요 Seh heh bok mani bat uh seyo! Sala we ya nû pîroz be! Mvhura zompe zongwa! Sabai di pi mai! Felix sit annus novus! Laimīgu Jauno gadu! Bón ànno nêuvo! Bonana! Laimingų Naujųjų Metų! Gelükkig nyjaar! Omwaka omulungi! E gudd neit Joër! Среќна Нова Година Srekna nova godina! Arahaba tratry ny taona! Selamat tahun baru! Nava varsha ashamshagal! Is-sena t-tajba! Kia porotu te ano ou! Kia hari te tau hou! Navin varshaachya hardik shubbheccha! Kaoha nui tenei ehua hou! Ose:rase! Шинэ жилийн баярын мэнд хvргэе Shine jiliin bayariin mend hurgeye! Wênd na kô-d yuum-songo! Umyaka omucha omuhle! Naya barsha ko subhakamana! Ngeu' shwi pong mbeo paghe! Jostouse anna! Godt nyttår! Bon annada! Subha nababarsa! naya sar Mubarak! Ungil beches er rak! Bon anja! Nawe kaalmo mobarak sha! Gelukkig Nieu jaar! سال نو مبارک Sâle no mobârak! Szczęśliwego nowego roku! ਨਵੇਂ ਸਾਲ ਦੀਆਂ ਵਧਾਈਆਂ Nave saal deeyan vadhaiyaan! Bun di bun onn! Baxtalo nevo bersh! Un an nou fericit! С Новым Годом (S novim godom)! Ia manuia le tausaga fou! Luholâš uđđâ ive! buorre ådå jagev! Lihkolaš ođđa jagi! Leklvaz ođđ eeˊjj! Buerie orre jaepie! Nzoni fini ngou! Bonu annu nou! Bliadhna mhath ur! Срећна Нова година Srećna Nova godina! Mwaha mwema! Goredzva rakanaka! Nain saal joon wadhayoon! ශුභ අළුත් අවුරුද්දක් වේවා Shubha aluth awuruddak weiwa! Omaka t'etcha kin washte kte ni! Srečno novo leto! Dobir leto! Sanad wanagsan! Feliz año Nuevo! Wan bun nyun yari! Mwaka mzuri! Gott nytt år! Es guets Nöis! Manigong bagong taon! Ia orana i te matahiti api! соли нав муборак Soli nav muborak! Assugas amegaz! இனிய புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் Iniya puthandu nal Vazhthukkal! Yaña yıl belän! నూతన సంవత్శర శుభాకాంక్షలు Nuthana Samvathsara subhakankshalu! สวัสดีปีใหม่ Sawatdii pimaï! Tashi delek! Sanat farah wa khare! Tshidimu tshilenga! Itumelele ngwaga o mosha! Posa varshada shubashaya! Yeni yılınız kutlu olsun! Gluk in'n tuk! Vyľ Aren! Щасливого Нового Року / З Новим роком Z novym rokom! Naya sal mubarak! Yangi yilingiz qutlug' bo'lsin! Chúc Mừng Nǎm Mới! Ene boune anéye! Bone annéye! Blwyddyn newydd dda! Bon lanné! Dewenati! Nyak'omtsha! אַ גוט יאָר A gut jor! Eku odun! Barka'n da djiri tagio! Unyaka omusha omuhle!

Merry Christmas!!!

“In My Life” - those with us, those absent or departed. Sharing love, joy, and peace:

Allison Crowe takes us on a magical musical tour with The Beatles and more on “Tidings”: http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/tidings

‘Salt Water Music’ has crested the air-waves on CFRC 101.9 FM sailing out of Kingston, Ontario since May 2007. Rob Carnell, the show’s captain and DJ embarks on Fridays, 6 – 8pm EST with a vessel full of the finest music from Canada’s East Coast.

Sharing barrels of fun and life’s true tales, today’s Christmas episode carries sounds of Dawn Chubai, Ian Sherwood, Coco Love Alcorn, Stephanie Beaumont’s Sea and Be Scene, Sleepy Driver (we’ve all been there post-meal!), and, says the good ship’s manifest, a full cargo of tunes from Allison Crowe’s “Souling” album – which serves up a cappella such traditional favourites as “The Wexford Carol” (from the full menu @ http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling-bonus-tracks-edition ) - and, for dessert, a treat from Crowe’s “Tidings Concert” http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/tidings-concert

 

This evening, park your sleigh, join Santa, the reindeer and us all for a joyous ride with Rob Carnell on Canada’s “Salt Water Music”. Climb aboard from anywhere in the world - listen online @ http://www.cfrc.ca from 6 to 8pm EST tonight (check your local clock and compass for coordinates).

"Silent Night" - Allison Crowe from "Tidings".

Christmas Carols By & Memories From Allison Crowe

he jolly elves at “Cohencentric: Leonard Cohen Considered” are well into the spirit of the season. And they have on their juke-box music from a certain bi-coastal Canuck, as the blog notes: “Allison Crowe’s resonant, rich, gorgeous voice seems as much a manifestation of Christmas as an instrument for singing holiday songs.” We join now Santa’s helper at the blog, Allan Showalter, and sing in Christmas!

The Christmas Song

“The Christmas Song” brings us together ’round the musical hearth. Yule know this tune penned by Mel Torme and Robert Wells. It’s paired here with the Fleischer Studios 1936 Color Classics animated short “Christmas Comes But Once a Year”.

The Christmas Song from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

This a cappella performance is on Allison Crowe’s just-released “Souling (Bonus Tracks Edition)” – an album which expands upon a cherished release of last Christmas. To “Souling” Crowe’s added one more traditional carol plus characteristically distinct colourings of secular songs popularized by Elvis, Eartha Kitt, Louis & Ella, Nat King Cole and Stevie Wonder among others: http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling-bonus-tracks-edition

Allison Crowe is on Muruch.com's Top 10 albums of 2015 - twice!

Murúch, the pioneering blog that’s been sharing music and culture notes with the world since 1999, has been making a list – and checking it twice for releases from Allison Crowe.

“Muruch.com’s Top Albums of 2015” is coming to town – online you can enjoy all twenty discerning picks via playlists and widgets from Spotify, Bandcamp and Soundcloud @ http://www.muruch.com/2015/12/2015albums.html



"Allison’s supernaturally agile and exquisite voice is especially stunning" on Sylvan Hour

Clocking the top ten albums of the year, Murúch’s fine hand points to “Sylvan Hour” at #10. “Recorded live in a log-cabin in the Canadian wilderness during a cross-country journey, Allison Crowe’s new album, Sylvan Hour, may be her best yet… Allison’s extraordinary voice is in its purest state accompanied only by guitar and piano,” says the site’s original review. “The music seems to rise from deep with her chest, sometimes ripping out of her throat in full roar, other times being restrained and shaped with the skill of a master sculptor. Sylvan Hour is truly a masterpiece.” http://www.muruch.com/2015/05/allisoncrowe-sylvanhour.html

2015 is the year that Murúch branched out into music supervision – curating, assembling and releasing a collection of visual art, music and spoken word poetry to benefit RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network organization and helpline originally created by Tori Amos. “Muruch.com for RAINN” features contributions from two dozen artists including: Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, My Brightest Diamond, Pamela Means, Jen Hopper, Poe, Johnette Napolitano and Allison @ http://www.muruch.com/2015/11/rainnbenefit.html

Murúch has long been a champion of independent creators and, in a range of music genres, has an history of supporting new and left-of-centre artists who’ve gone on to broader public appreciation - acts such as Gaba Kulka, Amanda Palmer, She & Him, Lorde and Soak.

The blog’s profound understanding, and sharing, of music by Allison Crowe is so constant and resonant that Murúch, launched 15 years ago in West Virginia, sails o’er the bounding cultural main with a bi-coastal Canuck at the bow as musical mascot.



Curated collection of Allison Crowe's Greatest Makes Muruch's Top Albums of 2015

Capping more than a decade’s worth of releases by Crowe as a, primarily, solo artist, #3 on the Top Albums of the year list is a joint expedition across frontiers, the blog’s newest curation: “Muruch.com Presents: Allison Crowe”: “this spectacular, career-spanning collection features Allison Crowe’s most magnificent original songs as well as her mesmeric interpretation of ‘Hallelujah’ and other classic covers. Muruch.com also created the album’s cover art from photographs taken by our Editor in Newgrange, Ireland.” http://www.muruch.com/2015/10/allisoncrowealbum.html

Tune in, turn on and voyage this holiday season and beyond with the year’s finest albums – from Allison Crowe, Beth May, Alessia Cara, Rhiannen Giddens, Brandi Carlile and more - as chosen by Murúch.

The First Noel

“The First Noel” - a favourite from the traditional Christmas canon.



Late one afternoon, Allison Crowe took her place at the piano and performed the songs of “Tidings” live-off-the-floor – captured on film in real-time by director/producer Alex Postowoi and his crew: camera-persons Karen Duthie, Randy Rotheisler, editor Shirley Claydon and interviewer Steven Rosenberg. The audio’s recorded by Larry Anschell at his Turtle Recording studios in White Rock, BC, Canada.

Crowe's much-loved versions of carols alongside tunes from the popular songbook, by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles and more, have been viewed and heard by millions of people around the globe - every sex, race, religion and creed+ without boundaries or divisions.

It’s an historic session that nearly didn’t happen.

On the way from Vancouver to the studio near the Canada/US border, the large industrial van carrying the musician, film crew, and the lighting and camera gear broke down and had to be abandoned on the median.

Once bodies and equipment had been transferred into friends’ passenger vehicles, including a Volvo sedan so weighted down its undercarriage sparked as it grazed the tarmac, all arrived at Turtle late in the day for what had been booked for a morning call.

Engineer Anschell said had it been any artist other than Allison Crowe he’d have cancelled the session and looked to reschedule, as there was not the time available to set-up and film/record an album of song material. Knowing Allison, though, “Turtle” let things proceed – and, between sips of water and tea, she performed each song in a single, first, take. The full recording happened in the window it takes to enjoy these videos.

Soul Cake

An earlier form of carolling – and trick or treating, to boot - is the tradition of “souling” or “soul-caking”.


Soul Cake from Allison Crowe on Vimeo.

As singers make the rounds, door-to-door, chanting ancient rhymes a welcome reward is a soul cake – for which there are a range of recipes.

Here’s one from Shropshire, a county in the West Midlands of England, that’s collected by Dorothy Gladys Spicer for publication in her 1960 book “Feast-Day Cakes from Many Lands”.

“INGREDIENTS

6 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Cream shortening and sugar. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water to which a teaspoon of sugar has been added. Set aside. Scald milk and add to the creamed mixture. When cooled add yeast mixture and stir until thoroughly blended. Sift together flour, salt, and spices, and add gradually to other ingredients, kneading into a soft dough. Set sponge to rise in warm place in greased covered bowl. When doubled in bulk, shape into small round or oval buns. Brush tops with slightly beaten egg white. Bake in moderately hot oven (400° F.) for 15 minutes. Drop temperature to 350 ° F. and bake until delicately browned and thoroughly done.”

To join in the musical feasting, here’s Allison Crowe, with the first song track served up by her a cappella album "Souling": http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling-bonus-tracks-edition

Santa Baby

Allison Crowe hurries down the chimney for a special a cappella delivery of “Santa Baby” – penned by Joan Javits, Philip Springer, & Tony Springer.

This track is on Allison's just-released “Souling (Bonus Tracks Edition)” – an all-a cappella collection which expands upon a cherished album of last Christmas. To the original “Souling” collection, Crowe’s added one more traditional carol plus her take on secular songs popularized by Elvis, Eartha Kitt, Louis & Ella, Nat King Cole and Stevie Wonder. Happy holidays!

http://music.allisoncrowe.com/album/souling-bonus-tracks-edition

Introducing / Heirs & Grievances

Allison Crowe & Band have just recorded a new album. Collectively, 27 song tracks (representing 20 unique song titles) will be released in the New Year from recent sessions at White Rock, BC’s storied Turtle Recording Studios and from a live concert in Vancouver, Canada.



Allison’s titled the studio set “Heirs & Grievances” and the live set “Introducing”.

Growing up on rock and popular music – before its mass corporatization – it was thrilling to experience the creative vitality, the ideas and sounds of such bands as The Beatles, The Kinks, Mott the Hoople, The (Small) Faces, Pink Floyd… and original voices on the radio and turn-table – Van Morrison, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Luke Kelly, Otis Redding, David Bowie, Elton John, Patti Smith and so many, many, more singular talents.

My rock/pop roots are seeded in a time before Allison and her fellow musicians are born. Thankfully, these new tracks deliver the same, genuine, feelings as did those recordings from such artists emerging in previous generations.

"Soulful. Alive. Joyous. Grievous. Real, true, music is what I want to make," says Allison Crowe. And she does - with bandmates Billie Woods (guitar, vox), Lin Lin (cello, vox), Sarah White (multi-instrumentalist), and Dave Baird (bass).

Melting down some lines lacquered on the body of an earlier water-shed recording of lore, “Introducing / Heirs & Grievances”, today, “is a magnificent album that pays off on every bet ever placed…”

Sláinte! Adrian (du Plessis)


Image: Allison Crowe & Band concert poster – photo by Billie Woods, art design - Lin Lin / Contour Grafix. Audio discs – studio session engineered by Larry “Turtle" Anschell, live recordings engineered by Brad Graham. Coming together in 2016 for release.