Blues and soul songbird Ann Vriend may have won the ‘She’s The One’ competition for solo female artists at the Ottawa Bluesfest, but she’s no cookie cutter Canadian idol.
“I'm not actually a big fan of competitions when it comes to all those Idol shows and all that. That's not really my thing.”
Vriend has been a part of the music scene since her 2003 debut album, 'Soul Unravelling', quietly mastering her 'thing' into a melting pot of soul, funk, blues and jazz.
The ‘She's The One' experience gave Vriend a chance to debut some new material from her latest album, which looks to be a deeper exploration of Vriend's soul roots. “I haven't really had a chance in my career to make an album that was just straight-up soul because of the logistics of touring.
“With this kind of music you pretty much need a band because it's very groove-orientated music, so I made these other records that were easier to tour. But for a really long time I've wanted to make a record like this.”
It took meeting the right producer for Vriend to find her groove, something she would not compromise on. Luckily, she met Toronto producer Tino Zolfo through mutual friends. “I wanted to find the right producer for it who really had a lot of experience with that kind of music, who understood my goal of making it retro but not just retro either ... I thought to myself, ‘I'm not going to make this record until I find a producer who has the chops for what I want to do’.”
The new record, 'For The People In The Mean Time', is Vriend's most complex work to date, providing a fascinating social commentary on Vriend's diverse home neighbourhood, Edmonton. “When I moved there I guess it just had an effect on me,” Vriend says.
“I kind of just realised that everybody in the world does the best they can do with what they've got and some people have just got a really bad hand in life and they're doing their best, and we're doing our best. Everybody's just doing their best and one person's best might not look like your best. That's just how the world is.”
Written by Jessica Darnell
'For The People In The Mean Time' will be available shortly.
Ann Vriend Tour Dates
Fri Feb 14 - Homestead (Hobart)Thu Feb 20 - Sunset Studio (Newcastle)
Sat Feb 22 - Tree House (Byron Bay)
Sun Feb 23 - Black Bear Lodge (Brisbane)
