“I was a skinny girl with oversized glasses, and on this particular evening, I was sitting in front of a black and white television set in the living room of my family’s farm house in Norway. I was watching The Muppet Show, with their “very special guest star, Mr. Kenny Rogers!!!” Kenny was on a train, surrounded by Muppets, singing “The Gambler”. A scraggly, old Muppet was sitting by the window, acting as the Gambler himself. At the time, I didn’t know country music from anything, but I just knew that I loved that sound, that honesty, that feel.
Fast-forward to some twenty years later, I’m all grown up, and have just finished laying down the final vocal track on my debut album in our home studio in Victoria, Australia. I go into the living room, turn on the TV, and start channel surfing. On one of the children’s channels, an old Muppet Show rerun is on. And it turns out to be the very same episode, the very same scene, and the very same Kenny Rogers sitting on that train singing “The Gambler” to his friend, the scraggly old Muppet by the window. I just watch, and think that I’ve come full circle.”
The story of singer/songwriter Ann-Marita’s life unfolds over four countries on three different continents. Growing up on a farm in the Norwegian mountains, she was as country as country gets. But with a great love of music and the desire to create some herself, without any role models closer than the stars of her parents’ record collection; Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves, Lynn Anderson, and of course – Kenny, she had to use her imagination. She taught herself to play air piano on a peculiarly shaped rock on her family’s property, before she eventually graduated onto an antique church organ with pump pedals, - the only musical instrument she had access to.
By the time Ann-Marita was a teenager, she was writing songs and performing wherever she could. She was influenced by other musical styles like rock and blues, which would color the sound that eventually was to become so uniquely her; the sound that has been referred to as “Ann-Marita Country”.
Ann-Marita’s slow trip around the world started with many years living in a small mining community north of the Arctic Circle. Then, at fifteen, she spent a year living in Iowa, USA, as a foreign exchange student. This was followed by Gothenburg, Sweden; where she landed a two-year contract as the lead vocalist in an international show band performing on cruise ships in Northern Europe. Having completed her contract, she headed for Hollywood, California, where she after two years of music studies received the “Most Outstanding Vocal Student” award from the acclaimed Musicians Institute. Things were looking very bright, as Ann-Marita signed a two-album record deal with a Los Angeles-based production company. After a year of day-and-night recording sessions and many lessons learned, Ann-Marita found that the contract had been a scam, and her “production team” had mysteriously disappeared off the face of the planet. It was time to try something different.
Ann-Marita arrived in Australia in 2003, ready for a new beginning. Through the obstacles and turmoil, she had written the songs for her self-titled debut album, which was recorded in part in a friend’s studio in California, then finished in Melbourne, Australia, with the help of some of Australia’s top musicians.
Intuition, Ann-Marita’s sophomore album, continues to push the boundaries of modern country music where her self-titled debut left off. Produced by Brett Garsed, Ann-Marita delivers an album rich in diversity and creativity. Intuition is not your mainstream modern country album. It is, however, proof that an indie artist on a shoestring budget can make a record that can compete with the majors on every level. All it takes is outstanding musicianship, a producer who can cut to the core of what the artist is truly about, a lot of guts, drive and a healthy sense of humor, and last but definitely not least, some damn great songs and a big, big voice.
"As I was writing these songs, I realized there was a theme starting to form," Ann-Marita says. "There was a thread running through everything, tying the songs together: listening to your instincts and following your heart and your gut. The title, Intuition, seemed to fall naturally into place, especially after I wrote what was to become the opening track and first single: "A Woman's Intuition". Intuition, to me, isn't about being psychic. Women often tend to spend more time listening to other people than to what their own gut is trying to tell them. I've been accused of writing a lot of girl-power songs, and as you can see, I'm not about to stop anytime soon!"
That pretty much sums it up! |
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