Artist Bio
ALANNAH MYLES returns to the scene with her super cool brand new album called 'Black Velvet'.
The title should ring a bell with you, and for those of you who have been hiding under a rock the last nineteen years, Alannah scored a massive worldwide hit with the song of the same title way back in 1989. Everyone knows 'Black Velvet' but few remember the artist, and it's time to bring people and fans back to speed.
Alannah began to sing at a young age: "I picked up my mother's Espana Spanish guitar with a wide neck and taught myself some chords but could not figure out the chords to other artists' songs so I wrote my own," she explains to me. "I was demoing my music by 16. It was punk/country styled ballads and blues rockers. My influences very early on would have been Crosby Stills Nash & Young, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Lovin Spoonful, very early Bee Gees and other folk groups; later I progressed to Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Emmy Lou Harris, Little Feat. When I sang covers in bands, performing my own material I was influenced predominantly by the Stones, AC/DC, Chrissie Hynde, Aretha Franklyn, Anne Peebles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, 4 Tops, Elvis Costello, T Rex, Bowie. Now I have come full circle and find my influences as a writer in Bob Dylan, Johnnie Cash, Mick Jagger, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Neil Young, Marvin Gaye, Sara McGlauchlin. It's almost as if I have reverted back to my musical beginnings to try and find my original inspirations."
I ask Alannah what was it like landing a contract with a major label (Atlantic/Wea) and how she got the contract?
"Well Nicky, it's not what it was cracked up to be. Though it changed my life I still had budget constraints recording my first record, in a male predominate society of corporate execs with lack of faith in my ability to do the work because I was female. Afterwards, I found myself curtailed from expressing anything that might place me in a position of political power or supersede those that wielded it, financially abused by a company that I had worked my ass off to sell over 150 million US dollars globally but have never seen a red cent of profits from those sales due to recoupment issues. It took a very long time to pass through the victim, then the anger phase of the experience to arrive at a place of collective wisdom."
Alannah worked hard when 'Black Velvet' hit the big time all over the world. "I could hardly remember my name, never mind what city we were in, or what country we were in. A lot of experiences are only coming back to me now, of places I had been and performances I had given. It wasn't a time for me to cave to the excitement of it all. I had to barrel forward, full steam ahead to continue with the death defying workload. I was the little engine that could."
In 1992 Alannah released her second CD 'Rocking Horse' which didn't do as well. "I was entirely disappointed Nicky, especially with the music industry in America and until I could find a way to make it all go away I could not regain control of my own musical destiny, or at least own my own music, after spending years creating and gathering the funds to pay for it."
Alannah doesn't hold fond memories of that time 'although' she says 'life is more forgiving now in the midst of struggle to recreate my career and return to the fans who love my music and have kept me going strong. I will do things allot differently now.'
Several more albums followed: 'Alannah' in 1995, the excellent 'Arrival' in 1997. Then all went quiet until now. I ask Alannah why she decided to re-record 'Black Velvet' and call the new CD 'Black Velvet'?
"Atlantic Records had a re-recording restriction clause in my seven album contract (with an option for eight) so twelve years and fifteen minutes after the contract was up I took back what belonged to me and recut the song. I intend to recut it several more times while I am still alive. People who remember the title of the song (or not) do not remember my name. It seemed fitting to reclaim my title by familiarising my fans with which it was that sang the song they had made their favourite. By titling my new CD 'Black Velvet' it's plain and simple." This is understandable and rightly so. More power to Alannah.
The new album started like in 2004. Alannah hooked up with her producer Mike Borksky in Toronto and alongside her French assistant producer Veronica Ferraro she played dozens of songs that she had scarcely written to watch their reactions. "I assigned certain songs to whoever showed most enthusiasm for each song. A few they doubled up on but Mike and I basically handled the bulk of how it was produced. We flew to France to lay down the first tracks, Mike and I returned to Toronto and wrote as we recorded, a very costly procedure that had me seeking bank loans to complete it."
When all the tracks were recorded Alannah called on Terry Brown to mix the CD with her. "It was a labour of love',"she proclaims proudly. "We spent three and a half months in his studio in Toronto finessing it with Terry assigning the right mastering facility to create as flawless a recording as possible. I am immensely proud of everyone's hard work and invested time but most of all, the music."
Alannah's inspirations are all depending on the track she is writing or recording. "I do not have any singer I aspire to sounding like. I am very much in touch with my own voice and trust it to give me whatever I need. My music is a very insular process. I live in silence most of the time."
Alannah hopes this time to tour the UK and Europe. "I have missed performing in the UK immensely. I hardly found myself performing there at all given that Brits love 'Black Velvet', the blues and my music so very much. I am planning a fall tour through Europe with a band in Sept and there is rumour to our passing through for a couple of dates in he UK. That would greatly please me! I have always found myself treated with utmost respect by press in the UK."
I ask Alannah how she feels about internet downloading and the whole change within the industry compared to how when she started out back in the late 80's. "There is nothing an artist can do nowadays to prevent piracy with how easy it is to rip and download. A lot of indie artists give their music away because it's more important that they place the songs in the public conscience. The way bands are going to survive is by touring with their music, creating a fan base for their catalogue. Albums will become antiquated like technology due to ipods. Prince has proven himself to be the highest grossing profiteer in the industry, offering his new CDs as a part of the high cost of a live ticket. He has become a frontrunner for greater things to come."
Alannah won't allow herself to make taken advantage of anymore. "I have learned to temper my voracious ego," she laughs, "To enjoy the small wonders I receive from my fans in their continual praise and enjoyment of the music I was born to create. I love what I do, singing is my therapy, and songwriting is where I channel my pain. I am a survivor and I recommend to any young artist that they dig deep to find music as their calling in life before they search for fame and fortune. Fame and fortune for it's own sake will surely take its toll on your soul. No one can beat the fame game, and no one can live in the limelight like a God. Our light needs to burn out so we can become human again. But again I 'd like to thank all my fans for what they have given me. For hope, for keeping my music alive and in future I plan not to disappoint firstly anyone or myself who enjoys my music. In the time I have been away I have written enough songs, and poetry, for many more years of recording. I am ferociously hungry to create more ways to inspire and be inspired. Hey, what about a jazz cover of a Madonna song? Never judge anyone, or any idea. It may come back to slap your face with greatness!!!"
Check out Alannah's new album that is out now via www.alannahmyles.com
Nicky Baldrian
