Best wishes for a new season.

Hi there everyone,

It's been a long time since I said hello to all of you, so I thought that I'd take a moment to wish each and every one of you a very happy Spring! I hope that this season of rebirth brings you much happiness, clarity and peace of mind.

Music is obviously a huge part of my life, and I love discovering music that I love and telling other people about it. So I thought my springtime present to each of you would be to share my favourite CDs of 2003 and 2004. This is music that will hopefully entertain and inspire you as much as it did me. Go out and buy some of it if you haven't already!

My favourite album of 2004 was Chariot by Gavin DeGraw. I must confess to wanting to marry this man despite the fact that he will likely never have a clue as to who I am. I also loved Hopes And Fears by Keane, All Of Our Names by Sarah Harmer and Retriever by Ron Sexsmith. All truly gorgeous. In 2003, there were also three albums I give an "honourable mention" to - Folklore by Nelly Furtado, Davnet by Damhnait Doyle and To Whom It May Concern by Lisa Marie Presley (she's a fantastic lyricist.) These albums were all extremely pleasant surprises. I didn't really expect to like any of them much, but ended up loving them. They're very different records, but all passionate and heartfelt and beautiful in my humble opinion.

My #1 pick of 2003 though, and my fave of the past two years, was the highly overlooked but absolutely stunning Some Devil, the solo debut by Dave Matthews. The first time I played it I was pretty much rendered immobile... it was one of those records that just bowled me over and made me look at who I wanted to be as a songwriter from an entirely unexplored perspective. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I've been asked quite a bit recently what I'm up to these days, when I'm performing again, if I'm writing new stuff, etc. It's very nice of people to ask. All I can really say is that I've been going through a lot of the more challenging sides of life lately - stress, uncertainty, lots of change and yet lots of static, inertia yet discovery... the ebb that follows the flow I guess. It's been a time of more introspection than artistic expression, but I have no doubt that when this phase passes it will give birth to a yet another musical overflow. I'm sure I'll be more of a social (and creative) butterfly soon, but before every butterfly there is a cocoon.

Much love,
Tanisha