PREVIEW
MARIA DUNN
Wednesday, November 19
Kaos Jazz and Blues Bistro
All about the song
Maria Dunn crosses genres while exploring the fine art of songwriting
Celtic. Bluegrass. Celtic. Bluegrass.
For many artists, it would have to be one or the other. You wouldn’t want to piss off Celtic music aficionados by playing that backwoods bluegrass stuff, would you? And why alienate landlocked bluegrass fans by exposing them to songs about shipwrecks and, um, shipwrecks?
But for Edmonton-based Maria Dunn, music isn’t about limiting yourself to just one genre.
Like her 1998 debut CD, From Where I Stand, the follow-up For a Song refrains from following any preconceived notions about what a CD should sound like.
For a Song (which, by the way, doesn’t actually contain any tunes about shipwrecks) boldly kicks things off with a murder ballad, then merrily alternates between traditional-sounding numbers that meld folk, bluegrass and country sounds, and tunes strongly influenced by East Coast and Celtic traditions.
Clearly, Dunn is following her own musical rules. And it works.
Originally born in Scotland, Dunn’s family moved to Sarnia, Ontario when she was still an infant, and then to Edmonton when she was 10. That alone is enough to explain her interests in different genres.
"I really think my music is a result of the influences I’ve experienced in my life," she says. "Obviously the Celtic influence comes a bit from my background, but I also grew up with my dad playing Johnny Cash and Lonnie Donegan songs, and country blues stuff, so I think there was a Western influence there as well.
"I think both things are suited to my voice and singing style, and that’s probably what makes it more likely that I’m going to write or sing those styles."
While the bluegrass-folk-country sound makes sense given Dunn’s Alberta address, listeners are often surprised when they hear her Celtic and East Coast sides, which trick the ear into thinking she’s lived her entire life by the sea.
"People often come up and ask if I’m from the East Coast, which I always consider a compliment because I love the music from Cape Breton and Newfoundland," says Dunn. "When we moved to Edmonton, we lived in Sherwood Park, so we didn’t even have the river valley. It was very depressing for me."
Dunn has since grown to appreciate her home, and her prairie roots are now winding their way into her songs.
"I think for a long time I really resented (moving to Alberta). Let’s just say, through a pre-teenager’s eye, it was a bad move. But we have a pretty amazing history in this province, and there are tons of stories to tell. I’m really enjoying getting into it."
It is her finely honed talent for storytelling that seems to form the root of Maria Dunn’s music, regardless of the style she happens to be playing – a point made clear when she explains why she chose For a Song as the title for her CD.
"There’s such pleasure and satisfaction in writing a song," she says. "I work hard at being an independent musician, and to me the ultimate reward is creating a song that I’m proud of and feel good about. And when I get lost in the day to day paperwork or e-mails or all the things I’m supposed to do, I really have to come back to why it is I’m doing this, and that’s why." |
