Melanie Shanahan
Encyclopedia
Melanie Shanahan was an Australia
n world folk singer and songwriter. She was a member of the groups Arramaieda and Akasa, whose hits included "Tell Me Now", "She Will Not Lose", "Walk With Me", and "Human Zoo". She also collaborated with Coco's Lunch and Safara.
Melanie was influenced by political singer/songwriters, in particular Sweet Honey in the Rock
, and decided to form her own female acapella band in Hobart. The band, Arramaieda, originally had nine or ten members, but reduced down to three. They released their debut
album, "More Ways than One", in 1992, and more than half of the songs on the album were compositions of Melanie's. Unfortunately, it was her issues with mental health that led to the break up of the band.
She was invited to sing with Coco's Lunch, but the need to sing politically-relevant music led her to join Akasa, contributing songs to their first two albums. She also directed four choirs , including Living Out Loud and Yirriba.
Melanie committed suicide
at the age of 39. A memorial concert was held soon after to commemorate the loss.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n world folk singer and songwriter. She was a member of the groups Arramaieda and Akasa, whose hits included "Tell Me Now", "She Will Not Lose", "Walk With Me", and "Human Zoo". She also collaborated with Coco's Lunch and Safara.
Melanie was influenced by political singer/songwriters, in particular Sweet Honey in the Rock
Sweet Honey in the Rock
Sweet Honey in the Rock is an all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an American Grammy Award-winning troupe who express their history as women of color through song, while entertaining their audience. They have together worked from four women to the difficult five-part harmony...
, and decided to form her own female acapella band in Hobart. The band, Arramaieda, originally had nine or ten members, but reduced down to three. They released their debut
Debut
-Media:* Debut , a 1993 album by Björk* Debut E.P., a 2000 release by Korean pop rock band Bulldog Mansion* The Debut, a 2001 independent feature-length film directed by Gene Cajayon...
album, "More Ways than One", in 1992, and more than half of the songs on the album were compositions of Melanie's. Unfortunately, it was her issues with mental health that led to the break up of the band.
She was invited to sing with Coco's Lunch, but the need to sing politically-relevant music led her to join Akasa, contributing songs to their first two albums. She also directed four choirs , including Living Out Loud and Yirriba.
Melanie committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at the age of 39. A memorial concert was held soon after to commemorate the loss.