Anais Mitchell
Encyclopedia
Anaïs Mitchell (born March 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter
.
and attended Middlebury College
. Her father is a novelist and a retired college professor.
Mitchell began writing and performing songs at the age of seventeen. While growing up, Mitchell traveled to the Middle East
, Europe
and Latin America
, which later influenced her career as a songwriter.
In 2003 Mitchell won the New Folk award at the Kerrville Folk Festival
.
Her next album, Hymns for the Exiled
, was released on Chicago's Waterbug Records
label in 2004. This recording attracted the attention of singer/songwriter, Ani DiFranco
who signed Mitchell to her label
, Righteous Babe Records
.
In 2006 she debuted a draft of her Hadestown
"folk opera" which she wrote in collaboration with arranger Michael Chorney and director Ben T. Matchstick.
A revised version of Hadestown was staged in 2007 and Mitchell's third album, The Brightness
, was released on Righteous Babe Records
.
In 2008 Mitchel was nominated in the Contemporary Artist category of the third annual Folk Alliance awards show broadcast. In September that same year Righteous Babe Records
released country e.p., a split vinyl/CD EP Mitchell recorded with Rachel Ries.
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".
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. 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
).
magazine calls Mitchell "fearlessly emotive" and compares her to Dylan
, Cohen
, and Welch
.
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
".
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
"
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
Early life
Anaïs Mitchell grew up on a farm in Addison County, VermontAddison County, Vermont
Addison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. In 2010, the population was 36,821. Its shire town is Middlebury.-Geography:...
and attended Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
. Her father is a novelist and a retired college professor.
Mitchell began writing and performing songs at the age of seventeen. While growing up, Mitchell traveled to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, which later influenced her career as a songwriter.
Career
In 2002, Mitchell recorded her debut album The Song They Sang When Rome Fell in a single afternoon.In 2003 Mitchell won the New Folk award at the Kerrville Folk Festival
Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
.
Her next album, Hymns for the Exiled
Hymns for the Exiled
Hymns for the Exiled is the second album by American folksinger Anais Mitchell, released in 2004 on Waterbug Records. It was recorded at The Bristmill in Bristol, Vermont and produced by Michael Chorney.-Track listing:...
, was released on Chicago's Waterbug Records
Waterbug Records
Waterbug Records is a small independent record label based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois specializing in singer-songwriters and traditional folk musicians who do original research. The label was founded as an artist cooperative label in 1992 by singer-songwriter Andrew Calhoun. Calhoun described the...
label in 2004. This recording attracted the attention of singer/songwriter, Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
who signed Mitchell to her label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Righteous Babe Records
Righteous Babe Records
Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label. It was created by progressive folksinger Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company.-History:...
.
In 2006 she debuted a draft of her Hadestown
Hadestown
Hadestown is the fourth album by Vermont-based Anaïs Mitchell, and was released by Righteous Babe Records in the U.S. on March 9, 2010. The album, a concept album, follows a variation on the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus must embark on a quest to rescue his wife Eurydice...
"folk opera" which she wrote in collaboration with arranger Michael Chorney and director Ben T. Matchstick.
A revised version of Hadestown was staged in 2007 and Mitchell's third album, The Brightness
The Brightness
The Brightness is the third album by American folksinger Anais Mitchell, released February 13, 2007 on Righteous Babe Records. It was recorded at The Bristmill in Bristol, Vermont and produced by Michael Chorney.- Track listing :# Your Fonder Heart...
, was released on Righteous Babe Records
Righteous Babe Records
Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label. It was created by progressive folksinger Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company.-History:...
.
In 2008 Mitchel was nominated in the Contemporary Artist category of the third annual Folk Alliance awards show broadcast. In September that same year Righteous Babe Records
Righteous Babe Records
Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label. It was created by progressive folksinger Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company.-History:...
released country e.p., a split vinyl/CD EP Mitchell recorded with Rachel Ries.
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".
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. Her manager, Slim Moon
Slim Moon
Slim Moon is the founder of the independent music label, Kill Rock Stars. He also started its sister label, 5 Rue Christine...
, described it as "the story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in post-apocalyptic Depression-era America." The album includes guest appearances by Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Greg Brown, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver
Bon Iver
Bon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
, Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem
The Low Anthem
The Low Anthem is an American indie folk band from Providence, Rhode Island, formed in 2006. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowsky and Jocie Adams, and rose to prominence with the re-release of its third studio album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, in 2009.In...
, and The Haden Triplets (Petra
Petra Haden
Petra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age,...
, Rachel
Rachel Haden
Rachel Haden is the current bass guitarist for Todd Rundgren on his "Arena Rock" tour, and one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden....
, and Tanya Haden
Tanya Haden
-Biography:Born in New York City, she was a member of several bands, including Let's Go Sailing, and is the creator of the Imaginary Bear puppet show. She has contributed to recordings of a number of Los Angeles musicians, including vocals and cello on Par Avion's EP, Pop Music United...
).
Reception
Mitchell has received favorable reviews on her musical style, sound and performance. An article in Acoustic GuitarAcoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
magazine calls Mitchell "fearlessly emotive" and compares her to Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, and Welch
Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely...
.
A review in No Depression
No Depression
No Depression may refer to:* No Depression , a bi-monthly roots and Americana music magazine and now a music website.* "No Depression in Heaven", a 1936 song popularized by the Carter Family...
magazine describes Mitchell as "girlishly sprite and brimming with innocence" and says that she "brings to mind the hippie-throwback charm of Victoria Williams
Victoria Williams
Victoria Williams is an American singer-songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. She is noted for her descriptive songwriting talent, which she has used to immerse the listener of her songs into a...
and "80s pop star Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
".
Margaret Reges of Allmusic describes Mitchell as having "the earthiness of Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, the child-like bite of Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom is an American harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California.- Early life :Newsom grew up in the small town of Nevada City, California...
, and the urban jumpiness of Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
"
Discography
- The Song They Sang... When Rome FellThe Song They Sang... When Rome FellThe Song They Sang... When Rome Fell is the 2002 debut release by Vermont-based American singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. The album was made during the singer's 6-month stay in Austin, Texas, and was recorded in a single afternoon...
(2002) – ASIN: B000N4917Q - Hymns for the ExiledHymns for the ExiledHymns for the Exiled is the second album by American folksinger Anais Mitchell, released in 2004 on Waterbug Records. It was recorded at The Bristmill in Bristol, Vermont and produced by Michael Chorney.-Track listing:...
(2004) Waterbug RecordsWaterbug RecordsWaterbug Records is a small independent record label based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois specializing in singer-songwriters and traditional folk musicians who do original research. The label was founded as an artist cooperative label in 1992 by singer-songwriter Andrew Calhoun. Calhoun described the...
– ASIN: B0016BUVTC - The BrightnessThe BrightnessThe Brightness is the third album by American folksinger Anais Mitchell, released February 13, 2007 on Righteous Babe Records. It was recorded at The Bristmill in Bristol, Vermont and produced by Michael Chorney.- Track listing :# Your Fonder Heart...
(2007) Righteous Babe RecordsRighteous Babe RecordsRighteous Babe Records is an American independent record label. It was created by progressive folksinger Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company.-History:...
– ASIN: B000LP4O2E - Country E.P.Country E.P.Country E.P. is a collaborative effort by Vermont based folk artist Anaïs Mitchell and Chicago based Rachel Ries. The five track E.P. was released on both 7” vinyl CD format, though the 7” vinyl was only available from Righteous Babe Records' online store....
(2008) Righteous Babe RecordsRighteous Babe RecordsRighteous Babe Records is an American independent record label. It was created by progressive folksinger Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company.-History:...
- ASIN: B001EYGOCY (with Rachel Ries) - HadestownHadestownHadestown is the fourth album by Vermont-based Anaïs Mitchell, and was released by Righteous Babe Records in the U.S. on March 9, 2010. The album, a concept album, follows a variation on the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus must embark on a quest to rescue his wife Eurydice...
(2010) Righteous Babe RecordsRighteous Babe RecordsRighteous Babe Records is an American independent record label. It was created by progressive folksinger Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company.-History:...
- ASIN: B0034JIOWK (with Ani DiFrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Justin Vernon of Bon IverBon IverBon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
, Greg Brown and Ben Knox MillerThe Low AnthemThe Low Anthem is an American indie folk band from Providence, Rhode Island, formed in 2006. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowsky and Jocie Adams, and rose to prominence with the re-release of its third studio album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, in 2009.In...
)
External links
- 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