User:Usagi Jeshika/Sandbox
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 | This article contains promotional content. (July 2011) |
Anael® | |
|---|---|
 Anael, circa 2003 (courtesy of APSIS Music) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Annie Tremblay |
| Origin | Jonquiere, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, Adult Contemporary, New Age |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | vocals |
| Years active | 1997 – present |
| Labels | APSIS Music |
| Website | Anael.net |
Anael® [1] is a Canadian born and based New Age vocal artist. Literally translated from Hebrew, her name (pronounced "anna-el" and not the sometimes mispronounced "ah-na-el") means "Please God" ~ Ana (Please), El (God).[2]
Personal and Professional Statistics
[edit]Born Annie Tremblay on February 1, 1964, Anael hails from Jonquière, a small city on the Saguenay River in the northern region of Quebec, Canada. She started singing at age 2 and knew 30 songs by heart by the age of 5, yet it was in her teen years that she began to take her musical gifts more seriously. At the age of 12 she took a few piano lessons, and at 16 she started playing acoustic guitar and writing her first songs. At 18, after winning one of several local talent competitions, CBC Television made a studio recording and video for her song, Hymne à la Paix.[3] Years later, this song would be re-recorded and featured on her 3rd album, Language of the Soul.
She continued to sing her own songs mainly in private functions for the ensuing years, and finally took a leave of her musical aspirations to have a child in her young adulthood.
At the age of 28, she met composer/performer/producer Bradfield®,[4] who would become both her mentor and partner in life. Together they founded APSIS Music ~ Music for the Human Spirit, an independent Canadian label dedicated to the utmost exploration of the human experience. Her own musical vision had at last found its heart and home.
Since meeting in 1993, they have collaborated on 12 albums - Light of Refinement (Anael, 1998), Unconditional (Anael, 1998), Language of the Soul (Anael, 1999), Spiritual Beings on a Human Journey (Anael, 2003), Once Upon a Dream (Anael, 2005), Buddha Spirit (Anael, 2006), Within Our Reach (Bradfield, featuring Anael, 2006), Buddha Spirit 2 (Anael, 2007), Light & Love (Anael, 2007), Greatest Gifts 2 (Anael, 2008), Sacred Signs (Bradfield, featuring Anael, Spring 2009) and Exhilara (Bradfield, featuring Anael, Spring 2009) - and one philosophical overview DVD, dual-disk packaged with favorite singles from her first 5 years on CD - Greatest Gifts (Anael, 2004) for the New Age genre; while to date Bradfield has one popular album - Harmony in the Chaos (1995) and two piano instrumental albums - Virtue (2001) and St. Peter’s Gate (2005) to his own credit. The 16 recording projects between them, spanning the past 14 years, show their prolific work and passion for their cause.[5]
Beginning with the 1997 release of her own Light of Refinement, Anael has experienced a slow yet steady climb into the public awareness. Each of her first three albums garnered significant airplay on New Age radio throughout the world, reaching the top 20 in the now defunct trade publication New Age Voice (Atlanta, GA). Her third release, Language of the Soul, was a finalist for the 2000 New Age vocal album of the year in the same publication.
In October 2005, her album Once Upon a Dream reached #4 on iTunes’ top 100 New Age music chart, and spent over 2 years among their top sellers, igniting further interest in her music internationally as well as closer to home.
Conceived, compiled and produced for the Fire the Grid worldwide meditation, Light & Love - a compilation assembled in a highly specific manner suggested by Shelley Yates as led by her Light guides - peaked at #5 across all musical genres in the Quebec Loisirs Spring 2007 Catalog.
At Amazon.com in July 2007, her albums Light & Love and Spiritual Beings on a Human Journey reached #2 and #4, respectively, and Light & Love peaked as the #1 most popular item in their New Age music section.
In 2002 , the Jonquière, Quebec native was invited with her partner, Bradfield, to sing the theme song for the popular Korean TV drama "Sang Do." The pair travelled to Seoul and ended up collaborating also on the English version entitled "This Heart of Mine," which was heard by five million viewers each week for the entire season. Celtic in flavor and somewhat of a departure for Anael, it was a wonderful experience which only strengthened her ideas about respect for other cultures. As Anael stated, There are 12 million people in Seoul - and less crime than here in America. It tells you something about the level of consciousness - there's always something to learn from everyone. [6]
The pair contributed two songs (Come Again, I Believe and One Brief Dream) to the soundtrack of another Korean production, the dramatic film, Calla, starring Song Seung Hun as well.[8]
| Title, Date of Release |
|---|
| Light of Refinement, 1997 |
| Unconditional, 1998 |
| Language of the Soul, 1999 |
| Spiritual Beings on a Human Journey, 2003 |
| Greatest Gifts DVD, 2004 |
| Once Upon a Dream, 2005 |
| Buddha Spirit, 2006 |
| Within Our Reach, 2006 |
| Buddha Spirit 2, 2007 |
| Light & Love, 2007 |
| Greatest Gifts 2, 2008 |
| Sacred Signs, Spring 2009 |
| Exhilara, Spring 2009 |
| Buddha Spirit 3, Fall 2009 |
(NOTE: "Anael"® and "Bradfield"® are registered Federal trademarks)
Fire the Grid
[edit]By far, the most ambitious and farthest-reaching of Anael and Bradfield’s joint projects to date has been the Fire the Grid worldwide meditation which they co-founded with Shelley Yates. At Shelley's request, they donated songs for this monumental effort (Sky Sent (Disclosure) and Be Still Thy Soul – both to be found on the albums Spiritual Beings on a Human Journey and Light & Love) - which have now been downloaded for free over twelve (12) million times, combined, from the Fire the Grid website. It is conservatively estimated that ten million souls participated in the meditation which took place on July 17, 2007 at 11:11 GMT across the globe.[11]
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Anael" is a registered Federal trademark
- ^ Additionally, "Ana" also means "Grace".
- ^ Review/interview at Musicaldiscoveries.com
- ^ "Bradfield" is a registered Federal trademark
- ^ all albums referenced: Amazon.com and APSIS Music
- ^ Biography on Anael.net, the Official Website
- ^ Fan playlist of songs, Heart of Mine included under the title Merchant of Joseon OST (english).mp3 -and- Sangdo synopsis at HanCinema
- ^ Fan listing of soundtrack songs -and- Calla synopsis at HanCinema -and- List of songs and their artists from Calla at NewsAsia
- ^ All reviews of note may be accessed in a collated collection on the production website, APSIS Music, in the Press Kit under the "Reviews" category. All reviews are fully credited to their authors and sources. Full versions of the reviews from which these excerpts were taken can be referenced there.
- ^ All albums initial release on CD format, APSIS Music label (APSIS Music ~ Music for the Human Spirit)
- ^ Based on unique site hits as referenced on the Fire the Grid website