The Toronto Blues Society's annual Cobalt Prize win for "All that I Can" is a real boon to AV's growing list of accolades. She writes and records non-stop and it's always a thrill for her when receiving recognition in this way. Vriend recently embarked on a month-long tour in Australia where she just released her EP entitled Anybody's Different, that includes the winning track alongside four other original tracks. It's currently being released on February 17th in Canada, as Side B on the new digital 45, to Side A's "Real Love."
Just in time for Valentine's Day, comes the video for Ann Vriend's "Real Love," with her gorgeous, expressive voice, and catchy backing vocals – she combines the vocal timbre of Dolly Parton and the soulful singing approach of the late Sharon Jones – riding a lilting reggae groove and subtle but propulsive horns to get to the challenging home truth that "real love is something that you earn." It's a song about how it can take work for a couple to last beyond the passion of the early days and avoid the daily grind that can set in after a while; as Ann sings knowingly, "real love is harder than it seems." Irresistible!
With the vocals on "All that I Can" recorded primarily in one take, the song has a live-off-the-floor feeling and falls into the category of gospel blues with its 6/8 time signature. The music is very traditional gospel, but the lyrics are secular. The Hammond organ combined with upright piano and AV's soul vocals are reminiscent of early gospel and soul recordings in the era of Sam Cooke. However, there is also a contemporary twist in the sound too – since the drums used on this track are sampled in the style of retro hip hop, and eq'ed to give the song a rough low-fi edge, in contrast with Vriend's smooth and sweet (though powerful) vocals.
The lyrics of the song are an earnest promise to a lover to do "all that I can" if the lover is willing to "take me just as I am" – a plea to be a true friend and companion in a world where "sometimes I think they wanna break me, just to see if they can." Though Vriend points out: "but they mistake me as a weak and silly woman," which could be taken as a slight jab at the misogyny that is sadly, still so prevalent in the world.
Vriend writes songs for people in the daily grind of the nitty-gritty. "I like art that acknowledges brokenness, not that runs from it," says AV. In live performance, she'll often weave her songs around personal stories she tells the audience, sharing intimate moments of family history, self-deprecating vignettes of personal foibles, and highlights of interactions with the world – all of which inform her songwriting. Her music can be danceable, explosive and jubilant, but conscious at the same time.
Composer: Ann Vriend
Producer: Tino Zolfo
Mixing engineer: Brandon Unis, Cylinder Sound
Film mastering engineer: Peter Letros, Wreckhouse Mastering
Label: Aporia Records
vocals and piano: Ann Vriend
organ: Rooster Davis (David Aide)
programming: Tino Zolfo
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