ANN WEST

Hi from Ann in London

I am now complete with the recording of my first album called 'Confidante' It was recorded in England at SARM Hook- End Studio and at Avalon Studioson Kauai in Hawaii with Producer David Tickle. The album has 11 songs and was recorded with Mike Rowe (from Englands OASIS and now with Sheryl Crow) ..s and Bass. Chris Sharock (from Robbie Williams band) on drums. Dave Randell (from Faithless and played on Dido's first 2 albums) on Guitar. The amazing Alex Acuna on percussion. Last but NOT least my co-writer Richard Fammerre (World class poet and song writer) on guitar.

The album will be released in the UK first... my homeland. My music has been described in many ways, some say its simple Fresh.... adult contemporary/ in the vain of Dido / Sarah Mc Laughlin and even James Blunt ........ in a skirt :-)

I am all about PEACE! One of our latest songs 'In the Name of Peace' will be performed live at the 'World Peace One' event. A worldwide concert to cover the globe in 2009.

I am an avid environmentalist who cares about our planet and all life that lives upon it. I take a stand to protect nature, wildlife and our human right to be healthy, vibrant, conscious beings.

I love media as a way to empower the public, our society and the world at large. Tune into my radio show 'Truth from the source' every first Sunday of the month on www.kkcr.org I broadcast cutting edge information about how to be a part of the worlds solutions and not a part of the problem. From Kauai, Hawaii from 12 noon to 1 pm Pacific.

I live in Ibiza, Spain, or Glastonbury England when I am not in Hawaii.

The creating of this album for me was a very special journey. I never really understood what it took to create a piece of art that demanded so much out of the artist, writers, musicians and producer. I am now convinced that an album is never really the sole creation of the artist but a synergistic weaving of the wealth of knowledge, talent and creativity of the whole band, producer, writers and unseen, unknown elements that influence the end result. Every one involved has something unique and wonderful to offer.

Since I was a little girl I knew I was supposed to be involved on some level with singing and possibly making my own music. Although I had no way of knowing exactly what that would look like. I had a gnawing sense within that I was incomplete and had something significant to do.

I had been progressively getting involved with charities over the years and causes that were close to my heart, the ocean being one of them. I was particularly interested in the protection of Marine life, specifically Dolphins and Whales.

It was around this time that I was compelled to form a non-profit org to help protect dolphins and whales. In this endeavor we put together an album called ‘Out of the Blue’ to raise funds for the cause. This was when I was compelled to write my first song with Alan Hewitt writing the music to go with my lyrics. I found it easy to write for a cause rather than for myself. So I always say it was the dolphins and the whales that finally gave me permission to write and sing my own song. Which resulted in 'Keepers of the Sea' my first ever song.

Fast forward:

When I recognized the time had come for me to start singing, I spoke with music producer David Tickle and we discussed what that would look like. Being the producer that he is he suggested one stipulation, which was that I must make it fun above everything else. That sounded like the right thing to do, so I set off on my grand venture of writing my album always with an undercurrent of fun.

Song writing isn’t just all about fun though it’s a lot of hard work and intense focus. I dedicated the next seven years to learning the art of song writing and studying with some amazing teachers. Frank Myers being one of them. Frank has had many great hits, my favorite was ‘I Swear’ which became a number one hit for Alabama.

Frank has a down to earth approach with a flare for keeping it real and simple and is a talented musician and singer.

Because of my love and reverence for Spirit, at first I started writing devotional songs. I studied Sanskrit chants and the Guru Gita and put the sacred verses to music. This was fun for a while and maybe one day I will complete this project. Although since I was still trying to find my voice in my music I was soon drawn to my Celtic roots.

My challenge was that I didn’t have any experience with a musical instrument beyond my voice and no formal training with that either. David always told me that I should not go to any type of voice lessons or training as he thought they had the potential to ruin my voice. Natural was better. So natural it remained.

I had a hard time finding the right musicians to write with, on our tiny island. It was at this time I had moved away from totally devotional music to my heritage, which is Celtic and I wanted it to be blended with East Indian. So Ben Nevis (one of the songs on this album Co-writen with Amy LaTelevision) was born out of this era of my writing.

David introduced me to Rory Kaplan who had been playing keyboards with Michael Jackson. Rory wrote a couple of tracks for me, which was where the song ‘No Wonder’ emerged from. I entered ‘No Wonder’ in the Kauai song writing festival sponsored by BMI, became one of the winners and received a beautiful new Sheryl Crow Gibson guitar, signed by Sheryl.

When David was producing Toni Childs he met a musican she had written with called Richard Fammeree who played guitar and keys.

Richard was introduced to some of my work through David and he showed an interest in us writing together, which became the beginning of many songs we have since written with the spirit of fun at the centre of all we do.
Over the next 2 years Richard and I got together periodically, he lived in Chicago and travelled back and forth to Kauai to write and perform together.

Richard and I have written close to 30 songs and continue to write because we just love the process and of course the results. It’s truly the most fun work I could ever imagine having the privilege of doing.

When we got to the point of choosing what songs were going to be on the record there were some favorites that needed some extra attention. This is where Frank Myers came back into the picture. Richard Fammerre I flew to Nashville with 3 of our songs that needed more work and asked Frank if he’d have a listen and give some input.

Frank, Richard and I re-wrote Angel, Missed It Again and Writing on the wall. He is an excellent songsmith thru and thru. I had a wonderful writing experience with Frank, hard as it was I got incredibly sick while in Nashville with something that looked and felt like food poisoning for 5 days. But it didnt stop us writing 3 amazing songs.

Frank Has written 10 number 1 hits, 25 number 10 hits, has written songs for over 70 pop and country artists and is a grammy award winner.

When it came to choosing who was going to be in my band, we looked all over the world for the best musicians we could find. There were several conditions that needed to be met. Obviously talent came first, but besides talent it was really important for me to feel comfortable with them and to have as little ego flying around the studio as possible. Everyone had to want to be in the fun of it all and that is exactly what we got starting with Mike Rowe.

Mick Rowe plays with Sheryl Crow played Keyboard and Bass. Mike was incredible to work with. He has a brilliant mind and ears that do not miss a beat. He was very active in the recording process when it came to creating wonderful licks and musical hooks. As Mike said one day “ At the risk of sounding like Butlins……..” He was trying out a new idea and wasn’t sure if it would be corny or super cool… as it turned out I loved it and it couldn’t have been further away from anything you would hear at Butlins. (Butlins is an English summer holiday camp for families)

Mike showed me how to step way outside the box… and at the risk of sounding like Bultins…. go for it. Don’t fear the creative process even though it makes us extremely vulnerable feel the fear and go for it any way. Mike gave us all permission to hang off the edge and not be afraid we’d slip into the abyss but instead find our wings.

Then there’s Chris Sharrock:

When you hear the album you will be taken by some of the guitar licks and Interesting sounds created by Dave Randell’s talent on guitar. Very inspiring and provoking, Dave moves you deep within with his choice of tones and melodies. Dave is in the band Faithless and also played on Dido’s albums. He also an independent artist with his own music and CD’s. It was truly fantastic to have Dave on board with us, he added the cherry on the top of the cake.

Dave Randell

Alex Acuna

Alex played all the percussion on my album. Alex's South American and Caribbean roots and understanding of contemporary and classical music make him a complete and skilled master musician. Zan Stewart of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Alex Acuña is the epitome of the world music percussionist, to whom no style is a stranger". Alex is widely known as an educator, gifted teacher and clinician of drums and percussion

Innovation, energy and pure heart characterize Alex's playing. It is easy to see why Alex Acuña is one of the most sought after musicians of our time. Alex recognizes his music as a gift from the Lord and gives all the glory to God!

David Tickle, my producer has made over 80 albums throughout his close to 30 years in the industry. He helped create many number one hits and has worked with some of the leading artists from around the world. His credits read like an encyclopedia of rock and roll including Prince, Peter Gabrielle, U2, Split Enz, George Micheal, Jackson Browne, Blondie, 4 Non-Blondes and the list goes on.

HOOK END

I should take a minute to share some of the experiences of recording the album because firstly we did it at probably England’s most finest residential studio. SARM at Hook End Reading - www.sarmstudios.com/hookend .
The studio is set in 25 acres of forest and wonderful English countryside. This recording studio is an Elizabethan mansion with a lot of history. A large barn converted into a world class studio offering five star treatment all round.

There are 11 unique and wonderful bedrooms, which meant the whole band could stay under the same roof and play, chill-out, walk the woods with the dogs and eat together…. and did we eat.

I did try to get everyone to play hide and seek and Dave, Chris and I actually drew up our very own Hide and Seek rules for hiding inside the house, We never actually got around to playing maybe because they were secretly afraid that some of the ghost stories were true. We did become partial though to some good old ghost stories. There are always ghost stories with a home of that size and age. And I loved the look on Mikie’s face when he learned he had the haunted room. …… His room actually made the local newspapers with a story of a ghost when a band member actually saw his CD’s moving around on a tale and insisted on moving to another room…. the gardener told me. True or false I love the mystery that went along with such an enchanting home.

We couldn’t have had a better time making this album. The vibe was great right from start to finish. No one wanted to leave ……

I have a special thanks to give to Rob Smith … or Smitling as I fondly preferred to call him our incredible talented and helpful engineer. He kept up with David our trusty steed of a producer and was always ready for a laugh.

A special thanks to Robert Hall. Rob is David’s assistant at Avalon Studio Hawaii.