Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)

Subject: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 28 Apr 18 - 06:22 PM

Hi fellow Catters,

Just wondering if any of our Australian contingent have remembrances of Melanie Shanahan and/or the a capella vocal group Arramaeida who performed in and around Tasmania and the rest of Australia in the late 1980s/early 90s. I looked on wikipedia and found a little info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Shanahan and remember seeing them several times in Tassie and being impressed. Apparently, sadly Melanie took her own life in 2003. A least two of her co-Arramaeida singers, Rachel Hore and Kirsten Mackenzie, seem to be still involved in vocal music according to their respective web pages. I should like to know more of the history of the group but there is little around in the published domain it seems at this time. BTW I have some audio and video recordings of the group from 1989 and 1995, just watched the latter video tape and it is very well performed and atmospheric music. Regards - Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 29 Apr 18 - 10:34 AM

Gidday, Tony

A friend who uses one of Melanie Shanahan's songs in her choirs suggested you contact Rachel Hore

sandra

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 30 Apr 18 - 04:08 AM

Thanks Sandra, have done so and will wait and see! Meanwhile I have added a little more to the Wikipedia biography based on some more internet sleuthing...

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 14 Jun 18 - 06:48 PM

I put this image up on wikimedia commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arramaeida_(Australian_vocal_group)_on_stage_in_Hobart,_Australia,_April_1995_(Tony_Rees_photograph).jpg. L-R are Pascale Rose, Rachel Hore, Melanie Shanahan and Kirsten Mackenzie. Taken at Hobart Town Hall on 21 April 1995.

Also found a nice review of their 1992 album "More Ways than One" here: https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/she-will-not-lose.

Regards - Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: rich-joy
Date: 14 Jun 18 - 10:32 PM

Green Left Weekly also has this Nov '93 article on Melanie, by Scott Lewington :

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/melanie-shanahan-talented-world-citizen

Cheers,
R-J

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 15 Jun 18 - 12:27 AM

Thanks R-J... just noting that the date on the article is 2005 rather than 1993 as it is commemorating Melanie's life following her untimely departure. Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 17 Oct 21 - 02:33 PM

Hi all, with reference to the above, the surviving members of Arramaieda (note corrected spelling: I gave an erroneous one in my previous messages, also in the thread title) have seen a digitised copy of my video recorded in 1995 and graciously permitted me to upload it to YouTube, where it can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7R0Dg-ihzk. I think it is a fine tribute to Melanie as well as showing the high quality of music and contributions/interplay from all four of the group members. Several of them said that it was quite emotional to watch after all these years... in my case I am just pleased to be the means by which such fine music is preserved for the future, when eventually for sure, none of us will still be around.

If you are interested in seeing other recordings, audio and video, as well as still images from my archive, see separate mudcat thread "Live recordings - Tony Rees archive", where I have just put an announcement about this upload as well.

Regards - Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: rich-joy
Date: 17 Oct 21 - 10:10 PM

That was so wonderful to revisit, Tony - THANK YOU!!!

I feel moved to repeat my Comment from YouTube and to wish that recorders/collectors like you had been available in every city in Oz while the "a cappella harmony" scene was so vibrant!!!

"A lovely capture of this great group in full flight, Tony! SO GOOD!!
Australia in the 80s and 90s had an abundance of excellent, small “a cappella harmony” combos (not ‘choirs’ per se) and many were all-female, and they were in every capital city and many other towns as well.   A wonderful time for making vocal music with heart, in harmony with one’s friends – both old and new. Unforgettable times. The Folk Scene of course (esp in the UK), had a long history of groups singing in harmony “unaccompanied”. But sadly, so many of these wonderful experiences in concerts, folk clubs, and the like, were never captured on film, nor even audio tape that has survived the ravages of time. All were pre-mobile phones, the internet, and YouTube :))    So every time you see a performance online from last century (!), realise that it was just the tip of the iceberg and that SO MUCH good stuff happened that was not able to be recorded for posterity.   But it is indeed wonderful to revisit with the fabulous Arramaieda after all this time – so thanks Tony!!!         
PS        This evocative performance is also redolent of the amazing ‘Sweet Honey in the Rock’ and I feel so privileged to have seen Sweet Honey 3 times in concert, in Darwin and Brisbane!       RjB. "

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 17 Oct 21 - 11:32 PM

Thanks, Rich-Joy, for those kind words... makes me feel even more strongly that the long term effort to preserve and make available recordings such as these is rewarded, as indeed are the performers who are thus immortalised, to a very small degree at least...

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 20 Oct 21 - 02:51 PM

Some more thoughts on my recently uploaded video recording of Arramaieda in concert, Hobart, 1995 can be found on Deb Wace's Facebook page here ... a nice read.

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: rich-joy
Date: 20 Oct 21 - 05:38 PM

yeah, nah - doesn't let Outsiders like me in :)

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 20 Oct 21 - 06:32 PM

Tony, can you cut & paste the text for the outsiders?

please & thankyou

signed
another outsider

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 20 Oct 21 - 08:58 PM

OK, I will check with Deborah to see if she is happy to have her text shared publicly - I thought it already was openly accessible since I am not her friend on FB yet I can read it. Stay tuned...

- Tony

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: Tony Rees
Date: 22 Oct 21 - 02:21 AM

OK, permissions obtained to post this text here, thanks to Deb and Rachel...
--------------------
Deborah Wace FB Page
October 20 2021

From Deborah:

This beautiful video of Arramaieda has been made available! Here are some words from Rachel Hore letting us know, for those of us forever changed and deepened by the beautiful harmonies of this groundbreaking Acapella group, Arramaieda. It was a highlight of my life to be part of Arramaieda.

From Rachel Hore, Arramaieda co-founder:
                                                                                                             "Hi folks,

I want to share a huge gift that has come to me out of lockdown. A rare vintage Arramaieda concert, nearly two hours in length, is now available for you to view on youtube.It is very, very, special.
When you have some time, sit down with a glass of wine or a cup of tea and have a look. As far as I know, this is the only video footage available of Arramaieda in concert. As it was one of our last ever concerts in 1995 (Hobart Town Hall, Tasmania), it captures some new songs that were never recorded.

Arramaieda is one of the things I am most proud of in my life. Formed by Mel Shanahan in Hobart in late 1980’s, Arramaieda gave me the gift of singing that has been my love, life and work ever since. Since Mel’s death in 2003, I have felt pulled to build on her beautiful legacy of bringing harmony, music and social connections into communities.

A huge thank you to Tony Rees, who contacted me recently with this rare footage. Tony was going through his boxes of old recordings and videos in a garage during lockdown, and thought now was the time to make these recordings available to the public in the digital age. I am so, so, glad he did!

A big huge thank you to Kirsten Mackenzie and Pascale Rose, my sisters on this journey into the past. To Deb Wace and Teresa Castley, who were integral to our growth and development, many, many thanks. How proud of you all am I!

I want to say a big thank you also to Mel's family who have given permission for Mel’s music to be made public. Mel’s mum, Josie, sister Netty, niece Zina, and Mel’s great nieces and nephews are still in my life today.

Please pass the link to anyone who you think might be interested through your various social media.

Meanwhile, I hope to get to work writing down some of our arrangements, so the songs can keep on living!

Big love to you all, Rachel Hore"

Subject: RE: Melanie Shanahan- Arramaeida (Australia)
From: rich-joy
Date: 22 Oct 21 - 04:17 AM

Good Work, Tony - thanks!!