With the music industry desperately in need of a substantial shot in the arm, allow me to introduce you to, Ariana Gillis. She is a 21-year-old singer songwriter from Vineland, Ontario, who recently launched her second CD Forget Me Not.
Gillis possesses a unique voice that can best be described as fearless – an “original” musical talent in an ocean of bland and blander. She is a self-professed voracious reader with the innate ability to write songs that matter, her subjects ranging from personal despair, to creatures with healing powers, to celebrating freedom and mourning the state of the world we live in.
There have been the comparisons of her to the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, her sound is indeed rife with a traditional folk and rock beat that seems to suit her perfectly.
After listening to Forget Me Not, Bernie Taupin (Elton John’s lyricist) had this to say: “I’m staggered by how good she is. There is not much that impresses me these days, but after hearing her available tracks I can honestly say she’s the single most exciting thing I’ve heard in a very long time.”
Equipped with about 60 songs, Gillis spent four months of solid days recording and mixing the record with her father, David, who is also the producer, album designer, and guitarist. Their relationship is built on a deep mutual respect for one another that both agree has only enhanced their ability to make music together.
Gillis describes the recording sessions as painstaking and incredibly difficult, commenting that the songs ‘Dream Street’ and ‘Oh the World’ turned out to be the most difficult to produce. “I couldn’t tell you how many times we stripped down these songs and put them back together again. It was frustrating…but the end result feels so good that I’m glad we never gave up on them.”
The opening track on Forget Me Not is called ‘Money Money’ and is a song filled with sarcasm and is a playful shot at her father’s love of pretentious action movies, which Gillis plainly despises. The title track ‘Forget Me Not’ is next and suggests we reexamine societies past mistakes and is wrought with finger pointing and guilt.
Next is ’Dream Street’ a song of hope, and Gillis’ personal favourite on the record, “I am really happy with the way all the songs turned out. But, if I have to pick one favourite, I think it would be ‘Dream Street.’ I just never tire of listening to it or playing it.”
Listen to 'Dream Street' from Forget Me Not:
Gillis is very much an advocate for the protection of wild animal life and fully supports SaveJapanDolphins, and the next song ‘The Cove’ was written after she watched a documentary, of the same name, about the dolphin slaughter that happens annually in Taiji, Japan. She wrote the song for Ric O’Barry (SaveJapanDolphins) who she is a big supporter of and his mission to end the slaughter.
’John and the Monster’ is an extraordinary song about a young boy named, John, who has cancer and is cured by the monster, but at a cost. Gillis herself is puzzled by the song, “I actually have no idea where that song came from. It was purely inspiration running through me when I wrote it. Inspiration is a powerful thing. It never comes to me in the same way, but when it does, it just flows through me and on to the page. Usually, I’ll wake up the next morning and take a look at my lyrics. And about 9 out of 10 times I wonder how the heck I actually wrote them.”
The next track ‘Samuel Starr’ exposes listeners to Gillis’ humourous side and is based on a fictitious conversation between two dead guys, Samuel Starr and Joe Jasper. ‘Cannonball Sam’ is another wonderful narrative tale about a daring escape whereby the cabin boy slips Sam the key. ‘Snap Crack’ has a hypnotic beat and is laced with some superb guitar sounds. ‘Back on the Hill’ is a twisted love song and the final track ‘Oh the World’ leaves listeners with a sense of hope, optimism, and longing.
Listen to 'Oh the World' from Forget Me Not:
Gillis agrees that with her latest album they were determined to scale down the sound, “In the first CD To Make It Make Sense I didn’t know what direction I wanted so I was testing everything out. It’s just us now; we’re not trying to be anything. We wanted to make sure there is a lot of space on the album, say the most with the least amount of instruments possible. We wanted to sound like we do live.”
With that being said, Gillis had this to say about the possibilities of recording a live album, “I definitely think a live record will happen at some point. Even if it isn’t a live show recording, but just a live off the floor album with no overdubs or fixes. I really enjoy listening to those types of records because they feel real and sincere.”
Forget Me Not is a remarkable record by a remarkable singer songwriter. Ariana Gillis is definitely on the verge of becoming a huge star, it’s only a matter of when.
For more information about Ariana Gillis, tour dates, and details about how to purchase copies of Forget Me Not visit her website.
Ariana Gillis plays 'Samuel Starr' from Forget Me Not:
*Note - Photo #1 and #2 by Steven Elphick and Photo #3 by Kevin Molyneaux.
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