"The Pack"

“In the Aboriginal world view… only in extraordinary states of consciousness can one be aware of, or attuned to, the inner dreaming of the Earth.”
author, anthropologist and symbologist Robert Lawlor

To reduce a sublime complexity to base simplicity, in Australian Aboriginal mythology, the physical world we inhabit runs parallel to a greater, spiritual dimension called The Dreaming. The Dreaming is the source of all creation, a sacred realm that imbues the waking world we live in with meaning. In the Aboriginal belief, The Dreaming is more real than the real world.

Montreal singer, songwriter and soul miner Angie creates at the convergence of these two streams, pairing natural, tangible vitality with an inner-born, epic sensuality that spans the lands of real and imagined. And she’s never even been to Australia.

“I believe the creative process starts with the dreams more than the music,” Angie posits. “There are always certain dreams or visions that stay with me, and even weeks or months later they’ll still be there like a cloud over my head. And music really helps me put that into perspective and bring it into a more real dimension.”

“The dream world has always been a window to another part of me, to help me understand things on a different level – a window peeping into a deeper side of me, to help me look at things that maybe I had a hard time looking at or facing.”

A formidable foe demands a formidable talent, and here Angie is as fearsome as they come, wielding a twin-chord attack of the piano and vocal variety, supported by a full band (bass, drums, violin and cello) and a deadly array of writing. Whether it’s sweeping emotional arcs in the manner of an Amos or Amy Lee, or feather-gentle evocation reminiscent of countrywomen McLachlan and Kreviazuk, on the eve of the release of her album debut, the fittingly titled Once Upon a Dream, Angie has already risen to the level of her peers.

Born into music on Canada’s East Coast, the Acadian from Prince Edward Island-cum-Montrealer knows that big countries demand big ideas. And a big family doesn’t hurt either.

“Music’s always been a part of my life – I come from a musical family – but I was always really shy so music was more for me. I remember my grandmother had an upright piano, and I felt like there was a presence in that wooden instrument. I was maybe six or seven years old, but I felt like the piano would surround me and hold me. And I know it sounds cheesy, but I felt like I wasn’t alone… but I wasn’t playing either, so these were quiet moments.”

Angie was to write her first song, at only 10 years of age, on that piano. From there an almost pre-ordained progression through a teenage Prince Edward Island rock bands (handling keyboards/vocals for a touring pop band at only 13 years old) and short-lived music academia (classical music and opera at Université de Moncton), pursuits that never quite kept pace with her own exploding passions.

Larger challenges for an expanding talent were inevitable, and by 2007 a relocated Angie had become part of the musical firmament in a vibrating Montreal city scene with an independently released four-song EP in her hand (“The First Set”), and 2,000 downloads, over 80,000 MySpace listens and more than 200,000 YouTube views courtesy of an ever-widening presence on the web. To wit: she is the only Canadian artist thus far to have had an album funded by fans – an international array of more than 500 folks willing to put their money where their love is – on Sellaband.com. And one of her more unusual talents even caught the eye of some particularly prominent Montrealers: “I can move my ears one at a time, and I actually used that for a Cirque du Soleil audition once. It got me through to the final round – they were impressed.”

On the topic of showmanship, as in music as in performance, Angie is adept at both creating space and using it, properly according the live venue the respect it deserves, and deservedly taking everything she can from the experience and sharing it thusly.

“It feels like the ultimate challenge followed by the ultimate reward,” Angie explains. “And sometimes when I’m living in the moment, I feel like that moment kind of stands outside of time, and I feel like I always have to go back and find that moment. That’s where I feel like there’s something else going on inside of me that’s not the every day Angie that you meet. Even though I’m quite comfortable being the girl next door as well, I like to have permission to get outside of that once in a while.”

As it is with any accepted reality, subjective and universal by turns, so too is the just-released, full-length, full-band, full-on Once Upon a Dream. The culmination of a life’s journey on both sides of the dream divide, a nuanced rendering of realities stark and not, fulfilling and harrowing, empty and entrancing, Once Upon a Dream is predicated on engagement, but, smartly, never forgets about the entertainment.

“My personal experience of my music is that it transports me, it allows me to feel certain things – it’s a very emotional music. But for me when I say emotional, it’s not always sad and dark and depressing: there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and that’s why it’s a necessary emotional journey.”

“At the end of the day it has to be fun too, which is why I’ve always liked the theatrical aspect of performance, having all the senses stimulated, which is something I bring to my live shows, and which brings a kind of closure to the whole dream ideal I have in my head.”

A few thoughts by Wolfman…

“Once Upon A Dream”

As the title track of her debut album, “Once Upon A Dream” was my little light into this amazing album that explores dreams and as Angie so eloquently puts it, the “different levels of consciousness, questioning the meaning behind dreams”.  The subtle opening piano gently guides the listener in to the dream…followed by Angie’s melodious, sweet-sounding voice…so pleasing to the ear.  As the dream deepens, the rhythmic drums and piano draw you in to the world of dreams with a fluid, flowing, harmony…melting and blending into the dream…evolving into a celebration of angelic conscious fantasy.

Angie Arsenault may be the newest member of “The Pack”, but she has long been an artist I always admired and one for whom I had the highest respect.  “Once Upon A Dream” is an unbelievable masterpiece and you can hear 5 songs from the album on “The Pack’s” music player.  I encourage all to explore Angie’s website and if you like what you see and hear…support her project on Sellaband and purchase a copy of her album. You can easily join her international army of supporters right here on this  page just by clicking the “Fund my Album” button on the Sellaband widget above. Enjoy!