Artist description "In Sanskrit, if memory serves me correctly, "Ananda" translates as "bliss." And with a voice somewhere in the vicinity of Jewel, Portishead, and Mazzy Star, well, the name fits. Someone get this band some money and into the studio, stat! With a sound like this, they should go big soon." -Bill Ribas NYRock.com Music Editor (April, 2000)ananda emerged in lower east side alternative music scene in 1999 playing shows at Arlene Grocery, Continental, Elbow Room, and other east side hangs. The band was formed by Ananda Thorson – the lead singer and songwriter. Together with Ramsay Adams, Anthony Gonzalez and Maria Millar the band represents the merging of electronic music, hip-hop, folk, rock, pop and classical music. In March, 2000 they were selected by Disney’s School of Audio Engineering in Manhattan to record a demo song. That song – “shameless” topped the mp3 charts - rising to #10 on Rolling Stone and getting them some real attention. Another track “sameness” was chosen to be on The Cafe Music Network’s “Selects 2000 CD” along with Beck, U2, Gloria Estefan and others. The CD was sent to more than 600 coffee shops around the country. That was followed up by a major feature on The Women of MP3.com and on Transistornet.com.

Music Style laid back co-ed altern-folk pop rock electronic, AAA groovy.

Musical Influences beck, moby, 10,000 maniacs, tori amos, stones, blondie, bad brains

Similar Artists Natalie Merchant meets Godzilla, beck, moby, 10,000 maniacs, blondie, tori amos, bgm,

Artist History Ananda Thorson saw her younger years in Neenah, Wisconsin. She attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison and earned a degree in Journalism. She did a short stint as a beat reporter for the Washington Times covering murders, drugs and death and decided to pursue music instead. She teamed up with Ramsay Adams -a guitarist and songwriter whom she met at UW Madison. They moved to New York City (Ramsay’s hometown) and put a band together. The philosophy of the band was simple: total responsibility to the audience without compromising any of the integrity of the band. A friend introduced Ananda to Maria Millar, a student of Violin at the Juilliard School of The Performing Arts and soloist for the Broadway hit Riverdance. Maria brought Anthony Gonzalez, a student of Percussion, also attending Juilliard. This inside relationship with Juilliard continues to allow the band to utilize some of the most talented young musicians in the world – both live and in the studio.In the summer of 2000 Ananda and Ramsay ventured out on a song writing expedition. They obtained 2 Martin Backpacker guitars and hiked over 1,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail from New York to Tennessee. They wrote their next album and found an abandoned and starving tomcat, whom they named Huckleberry. “Huck” wisely decided to follow Ananda and Ramsay and ended up hiking over 200 miles with them. This story came to the attention of Roanoke Times Reporter Kathy Lu who tracked them down on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia and took pictures and wrote an article. The next day, October 19th, 2000 the story emerged on the front page of Virginia’s Roanoke Times and brought instant celebrity to the trio. Huck has since joined the band- enjoying his newfound life as a hip cat from the lower east side. Ananda and Ramsay returned to find out that the band was chosen by The Institute of Audio Engineering to record an album for free at the school. The band is currently in the studio and expects to have a new release by early 2001. They have gigs scheduled in New York City beginning in January. Ananda is currently unsigned and independent.

Group Members ananda sunshine, ramsay adams, maria millar, anthony gonzalez, huckleberry

Instruments Electronics, girl vocals, violins, guitars, percussion and other fun instruments

Albums Indie Demo 2000

Press Reviews "Ornate alterna-folk incorporates a weeping string section to sultry AAA grooves and beautiful female vocals..." - Mike McGuirk, Listen.com Music Editor. ************************** "In Sanskrit, if memory serves me correctly, "Ananda" translates as "bliss." And with a voice somewhere in the vicinity of Jewel, Portishead, and Mazzy Star, well, the name fits. The sound is fortified by good use of a string section on "Shameless," but again, it's the vocals that carry the weight. The second cut of this 3-song EP has a Beastie, hip-hop funk going on, that abruptly cuts into a Renaissance-like sound before shifting back... The final cut, "I Dream Awake," is a soft, beautiful number, Jewel-like in a way, and then rips into a country refrain and quickly dies. What? This CD is over?!?! Someone get this band some money and into the studio, stat! With a sound like this, they should go big soon." -Bill Ribas NYRock.com Music Editor

Additional Info The front page story about ananda from the Roanoke Times here: http://www.roanoketimes.com/roatimes/news/story102806.html

Location (nyc), NY - USA

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