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MARCH 2010: I feel as though it has been ages since I have last forced some correspondence upon my mailing list :) Life in Alesa land seems to get busy and fluffy around the edges at times. I have been on many adventures, had some important history lessons, lost some dear friends, made some new ones, and written tunes about all of the afore mentioned topics. More on that in a moment! Firstly I would like to say thanks to the new people from Dogstar who have joined my mailing list. Welcome! Right. Conditions are perfect. It's business time. RECORDING: If I had to do some wanky genre analysis :) I would say it draws inspiration from a variety of musical styles, namely Celtic, American Folk, Blues, and Classical. There are more songs on this album than there are instrumental pieces, so I feel that I am definitely pushing my writing and sound into new areas. In particular, I feel as though I dipped back into my earliest influences; the music that first inspired me to play guitar in the first place. It's really nice to honour those influences. They are so special to me and live on in my playing always. To my heroes and muses, I salute you! Extra special thanks to Kym and Anje for letting us inundate their home for certain parts of the recording process thus far. You guys are so beautiful and we are really grateful for your hospitality! JULY 2010 TOUR: PICS OF RECORDING SESSION:
BELATED STORIES OF 09 ADVENTURES: I would like to officially say that West Moreton Anglican failed me and many other students, and it would be very gracious if they could acknowledge their mistake. I hope schools everywhere realise how important it is to our national community to be aware of what our minority groups have endured. Any racism, sexism, homophobia and general intolerance I have encountered in my life has stemmed directly from an individual's poor education (which does not exclude those lessons learned at home). Education is everyones responsibility, and does not end once we leave the school grounds. I really don't think it is an acceptable argument to blame the fact that the national syllabus has not included Indigenous studies on a grand scale. I don't know about you but I don't need to wait for the government to tell me that murder, rape and genocide are wrong. I'm pretty confident I can pass on that info myself. I really hope you can all take the time to think about how your own education shaped up in regards to this topic and hopefully take steps to rectify any shortcomings. On that note, please check this incredible video featuring Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity? On a much happier note, I had the great privilege of supporting Fourplay String Quartet on their Fourthcoming album launch tour. A wonderful adventure which featured some delicious culinary delights (particularly at the Raspberry Farm in Tasmania!) and lots of touring silliness. A special note of appreciation to all of the Fourplay crew ad Top Shelf for letting IN CLOSING: Peace and blessings to you all, SEPTEMBER 2009: This is a very limited offer and only available up until Fathers Day in Australia, the 6th September 2009. All you need to do is visit the ABC Online Shop (or pop into your local ABC Shop/Centre), purchase a copy of Celtic Gypsy, then email your receipt to sales@alesalajana.com.au along with your postal address. Our sales team will promptly dispatch a signed copy of Home Calling into your hot little hands. It's that easy! Please note that the date on the receipt must be between the the 1-6th September to be eligible for the give away. Happy Fathers Day Australia! AUGUST 2009: To listen to my interview with ABC Radio Tasmania, simply click play below. If you have recently visited the Facebook page then you might have seen one of the beautiful dogstar dresses that was used for the latest album photo shoot. For those of you who have not yet had a chance to visit here is a preview of what is to come.
The dogstar CD giveaway is almost all wrapped up. If you still want to check in to see if there are any left you can visit one of the three Brisbane stores, or the dogstar website. To add your reviews of Celtic Gypsy visit the ABC Shop. July 2009: There are some wonderful things I would like to share with you in this news edition. Firstly a very very special offer to lucky ladies living in the Brisbane area. We have recently collaborated with the unequivocally talented fashion designer Masayo Yasuki. Masayo and her very talented team are the founders of the Brisbane based label called dogstar. I am proud to announce that we are proudly endorsing dogstar as the new look for the new album that is currently nearing the end of it's pre-production phase, as well as our new publicity campaign. On the 13th July dogstar will begin to release their beautiful new Laika range into their stores (I have seen a sneak peek and it's all to die for!). As a special offer to dogstar customers and fans out there, if you spend more than $100 in the dogstar stores (South Bank, City, The Valley), you will be eligible to receive a FREE copy of my CD! The CD's for giveaway are limited so be sure to make the most out of this offer while they last. To see what dogstar is all about you can visit www.dogstar.com.au The next thing I would like to share with you is a link to a short film called Aeroplane Dreaming for which I wrote and recorded the music. The man behind this gorgeous little film is called Tristan Pemberton from Flywire Films. He heads a team of wonderfully talented cast and crew. Be sure to check out the other shorts on his site as well! Watch Aeroplane Dreaming February 2009: December 2008: October 2008: APRIL 2008: JANUARY 2007: May 2006:
In September, Alesa will be travelling to beautiful sunny Cairns to perform at both the Backdrop and Up Tempo World Music festivals. Both these festival programs showcase some wonderful national and international artists, including Dobacaracol from Canada, and Australia's very own Jeff Lang and Regurgitator . It would be well worth checking out the lineup if you find yourself in the norhern reaches of Qld. Whispers of an overseas excursion for Alesa next year have now been substantiated. The exact intiniary is as yet not decided, but visits to New York and parts of Germany have already been confirmed. June 2005: Alesa has spent a great deal of this year writing new material. As well as producing instrumental compositions, she has begun to introduce some vocal stylings into the mix. Recent collaborative efforts have included studio sessions with master Indian tabla player Dheeraj Shrestha. These recordings have introduced a wonderful new dimension to Alesa's music and she looks forward to further work with Dheeraj in the latter part of the year. In addition she has begun writing new material with gypsy jazz extraordinare Ewan McKenzie. There will definitely be traces of Manouche gypsy swing featured on her debut commercial album, thus equating to a very strong world music theme for the finished recording. December 2004: After taking some time off during the festive season, Alesa resumed her performance schedule with a string of concerts at the magical Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland. The festival featured a delectable array of local, national and international artists, including West End Composers Collective, Bob Brozman, Rumberos, Xavier Rudd, Waiting for Guinness, Kafka, Stringmansassy, Monsieur Camembert, Sars, Jeff Lang, Mystery Pacific, Doch and many more. The event proved a wonderful opportunity to showcase the recently released works from Alesa's debut album Ceol Si. Her concerts were well received and it remains one of Alesa's favourite places to perform. The new year will see preparations for the commercial release of her album Ceol Si through ABC Classics. This will feature additional bonus compositions played on her brand new Bear Creek acoustic lap-steel from Hawaii. Up and coming shows will have her playing alongside artists such as the Martinez Brothers, Eric Bibb and Tony McManus. This should prove an inspiring and exciting introduction for 2005! October 2004: It has been a remarkably hectic year for Alesa. After completing a string of concerts early this year, she spent many months cultivating and fine tuning repertoire for her debut album Ceol Si. In June, Alesa was informed by the Australia Council for the Arts that her grant application to fund studio costs had been successful. The album arrived back from the printers in early September. The launch for Ceol Si was held in Brisbane at Cerello's Bar/Cafe and attracted many guests, including representatives from the ABC, Woodford Folk Festival, and Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Her debut effort has inspired a warm repsonse, and has received air play on both local and national ABC radio. Alesa's touring schedule is set to pick up pace towards the conclusion of this year. She has some exciting performances coming up, and a fantastic new Bear Creek guitar on the way from Hawaii. |
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