Wow, a lot of time has past since I last did a post!

Music-wise I have been working on songwriting, recording and filming with a group of young kids in Bega thanks to South East Women and Children Services and funding from the Australian Govt. and South East Arts. The end result is 2 film clips over the past 5 months. The first song we recorded was filmed by Bill Brown at ABC South East. It is called ‘Courage Under Fire’ and has a strong hip hop urban feel to it. You can viewed the clip by clicking the link below…

Click here to view ‘Courage Under Fire’ by Critical Infinity

The second song was a more upbeat reggae tune put together over three 2 hr sessions called, ‘Let it Shine’. Basically I gave the children the chorus and they wrote the rest. With a little musical help from Damon Davies and myself, we were able to record the song at Dave Hibbert’s home studio in Kalaru. The filming was done by Katrina Walsh and I did the editing. It is a real home grown effort and the kids did an amazing job to write, record and perform on the project…they are awesome! It’s amazing to see the difference in the children’s confidence between the first clip and the second. Check it out…

Click here to view ‘Let it shine’ by Critical Infinity

It’s been an amazing experience working with these young and talented individuals. It will be great to see what they do in the near future!

One love,

Andrea

Ok Summer update! A few jams in Candelo before Woodford saw myself and some musicians and friends weave together a fabric that I can only explain as a ‘new and unique sound’ that is very exciting for me. Seeing the elders at Woodford again, as well as the brilliant organisers of the First Nations Tent has sent my album in a new direction again. More centered on Family and Roots. New songs have been written and it will be exciting to see the end product unfold over the next 5 months in time for the Dreaming Festival. Til then though, just taking it slow and enjoying the holidays. 2010 finished in a fast race to the Summer Solstice before landing in the mud at Woodford. 2011 seems to be a year of abundance and flow in more ways than one. My prayers go out to those affected by flood in QLD and VIC, I can only imagine the devastation. In love and Light, Andrea

Music is still happening in the Bega Valley, although the cold has certainly set in on the South Coast in recent weeks. Friday night blackboard sessions have waxed and waned in audience attendance numbers, however this Friday is set to breathe life into the bega valley community once again! With musicians such as Andrea Kirwin, Noel Whitten, Ged Riverstone and Trapper John and friends, it’s set to be a really great night of local talent. There are still spots available if aspiring/seasoned musicians want to come along and share their songs within a warm, encouraging atmosphere. It’s sure to be a great family night out. Hope to see you there!

I was blessed to have Daniel Kempers and Robyn Martin join me in the studio to collaborate on a few songs in May. It was an absolute pleasure to see how their energy and finesse as musicians added so much life to the songs in my head…I look forward to more golden days in the studio in the upcoming months.

…and on that note,

If you are thinking of recording an album, I highly recommend Pirate Studios. Dave Sparks has a finely tuned musical ear and so much great gear. It’s a magic spot, and apparently Bournda has some really great bike tracks down to the beach…and also the pirate paraphernalia is classic

‘Til next time,

Blessings and warmth for your winter!

Andrea

Support those who support live music!

On Friday nights in April there will be a blackboard session run by Andrea Kirwin and open to all artists who would like to share their music. Original or covers, please come down and share some dinner, drinks and musical conversations with friends!

The fundraiser for the Bega Valley Sanctuary exceeded everyone’s expectations last night. The night kicked off with John Dixon, local aboriginal elder, welcoming all to what he believed was ‘a good cause’ and was followed up by Local Council member Liz Secold who gave a warm and brief speech in support of the cause as well.

Damon Davies then took to the stage and livened up the early arrivers with his highly entertaining style of  performing followed by a Congolese speaker from Sydney who gave the audience a presentation on some of the issues facing refugees from the Congo and a fair bit of Congolese history and culture.

One of the major highlights of the evening were the fantastic belly dancers and community drummers led by Dave Hewitt who turned up with many djembes and dun duns for people to jam on. A frenzy of dancing took place in the pavillion for a good half hour while the drummers got into the groove.

Arati George and the Sound scape choir were also a wonderful addition to the evening as they sang songs from all over the globe,  bringing a strong message of unity and celebration to the night.

Other highlights included an exciting Sudanese song from Mary Momour, James bringing the Reggae tunes and Andrea Kirwin and Claire Synnott closing the night with some gentle yet funky accoustic numbers.

Many thanks goes to all the members of the Bega Valley Sanctuary who volunteered to make the night such a success. Over 200 people passed through the doors and all were treated to amazing music, food and culture til late in the evening. Hopefully it will become a yearly event to look forward to for many people in the Bega Valley community.

Thanks to all for such a wonderful night of music on Wednesday 13th January. Saritah and band were a great hit for a Wednesday night and a lot of families came and stayed way past their bed times! Look forward to their return later on in 2010. If you would like to keep informed  about music gigs and workshops in the local Bega Valley send an email to andrea@peacerunrecords.com saying, ‘keep me informed’! Have a great summer

Mihirangi recently visited the Bega Valley and performed at the Tanja Hall on Friday 4 December. The gig was also followed up by a women’s haka workshop which was attended by about 17 ladies and girls as young as 4 to 64. It was a really touching experience learning the haka with so many beautiful people from such diverse backgrounds and an absolute pleasure to host such a beautiful weekend of music, food and culture. I look forward to bringing more talented people to the area to share their stories and craft.

In other news, there is a new member in the Peace Run Family, a 10 week old male Kelpie named Jaeda

Peace, Andrea

If you are in Melbourne this weekend, and you are interested in the industry/marketing side to music, I recommend checking out the Australian World Music Expo that’s taking place in St Kilda and South Yarra. You can register at www.awme.com.au or just turn up to one of the gigs at the Hifi bar for a great night of music! There will be many festival organisers and music industry types around for a chat aswell. I recommend independent musicians attend and get a broader understanding of the Australian Market and make new friends and contacts for future gigs and fun!

After many weeks of planning and patience Peace Run Records is proud to anounce that the Label’s first album by Andrea Kirwin will be produced over what will be the summer of love 2009/10. The album is to be titled, ‘Swan’, a representation of the  grace and beauty embodied in the feminine within all of us.