Despite hailing from Canada, the people of Australia have taken the lovely Ms. Vriend to their hearts – accepting the quirky songbird as one of their own – as Digital Journal reported last year.
At present, the soul/funk/jazz/pop performer is on a month-long tour of Australia’s East Coast. Aptly titled the Those Records tour, the jaunt is named after her single of the same name – the ninth track on her latest album – that was officially released on February 19.
“Yep, East Coast only – a pretty short tour,” she confirms. “Next year we hope to get to more of Oz for a more extensive tour… Australia has been good to me and I’ve made a lot of friends and contacts here, so every year for a different reason it’s worked to come out at some point in their summer.”
Commenting on how it’s been going so far, Ann states, “The tour has had one or two shows where the attendance hasn’t been super, but overall it’s been really great. The song ‘Those Records’ goes over well because we really expand it past what the recorded version is.
“‘A Need So Wide‘ is a favourite that a lot of people in Oz seem to know because it got a lot of radio play, and has a sing-a-long part that we get everyone joining in on. The whole show has a lot of variety so so far no one’s seemed bored at all. Instead we usually end up with everyone on the dance floor.”
“It’s a funk/disco song about the ability songs from an era of your past have – like it or not – to immediately bring back a flood of memories when you hear them,” she adds, referring to the song “Those Records.”
The tour is coinciding with the Australian vinyl release of For the People in the Mean Time. What has the Aussie reaction been like to the album since it first came out on CD and digital download last year? “So far so good! Seems the vinyl epidemic is alive and well down here…
“DJs seem to be picking up on the fact it’s a retro-sounding album and on vinyl it’s translated super well, if I do say so myself. We are also selling limited edition colour vinyl at the shows only. We pressed 100 and when they’re gone, they’re gone. We have a box or so left.”
And then after the tour, it’s back to Canada to start work on the next record? “Yep. I have a phone meeting with my producer, Tino Zolfo, about that tomorrow. I’m looking forward to working with him again.
“I liked what he did on the last album with a sort of retro soul, low-fi approach and we’ll be going after that sound again with a bunch of songs I’ve been trying out on the crowds.
“I’m nearly done… A few lyric tweaks and that’s about it, though the production part is a big thing to tackle next. It’s fun, but I really want to make sure it’s super strong so we’ll be taking our time with it.”
For the People in the Mean Time is out now.
For more information on Ann Vriend – and to check on tour dates – visit her official website.
