Very original and well mastered The Flowerbed of Oblivion has its own distinct sound that stays with you, I had an wonderful interview with my friend Jane from Ana Bhraka.
A word from the producer about "The Flowerbed of Oblivion": This finely tuned album reflects upon a lot of the music we loved from the 70's, 80's and 90's but brought into the now. The music pulls at your soul and leaves you with something almost unexplainable. The soft yet mysterious female vocals backed by a tremendous band with a somewhat familiar psychedelic feel is a timeless piece of work that will sit well in your music collection for years to come. ~ Tim Greencorn
Ana Bhraka is a Canadian rock band formed in Ottawa, Ontario in 2003 under the alias of Year of the Gone. Afterwards, they changed their name to Ana Bhraka, and embraced the new world order of music by digitally releasing their first album “The Flowerbed of Oblivion” (2008) under their own label. Ana Bhraka blend alternative, progressive, and ambient music to help form the sub-genre of ambient art-rock and are best known for their hypnotic live performances with the use of multi-media and eccentric interests in existentialism, surrealism, mythology, and dystopia.
The story so far...
The daughter of an Irish/English mathematician father and Austrian/Hungarian chef mother, Jane Eliot grew up in an isolated neighbourhood in Gloucester, Canada. Eliot took an early interest in poetry and music and pleaded with her parents for a piano…she received a banjo instead. Despite this, Eliot, plinked away in a dark winter's basement, conducting her first experiments. After her parents’ separation at five and financial hardships, the banjo was sold - Jane and the banjo, sadly, were not to be.
Several years later, music returned to Eliot’s life when her older brother learned guitar, and in turn, began teaching her. Later, Eliot struck out on her own to Toronto. There, she continued high school, dabbled in visual arts and photography, and studied acting at The New School of Drama. After gaining admission to The Etobicoke School of the Arts, which for personal reasons, she declined, she moved back home to take care of her ailing grandmother...it was during this period that she turned more seriously towards music and began writing.
When her grandmother passed, Eliot re-located to Los Angeles where she attended LACC (majoring in film), and directed music videos (which got some play on Much Music), all the while quietly working on music. While performing around at open mics and Salvation Army benefits, she caught the attention of producer Stevie Blacke, a.k.a. "The Blacke Orchestra" (Beck, Madonna, Timbaland), as well as some casting directors for a reality show for Imagine and VH1/MTV. The premise of the show was to follow the lives of a group of young musicians. After jokingly threatening to throw herself off the rooftop of a downtown rehearsal studio during an interview, however, Eliot was cut from the show.
Stevie Blacke then introduced Eliot to high profile manager Inga Vainstein (Jewel), and they began recording demos which received some play on the infamous KCRW. After her first showcase at Coles Studio, Eliot was signed to a development deal with Artist Direct Records by influential producer and A&R rep. Tony Berg (Beck, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Aimee Mann).
Eliot, having played with some of the best session players in town such as Pete McNeal (CAKE) and Jimmy Paxson Jr. (Stevie Nicks, Alanis Morrissette), found it difficult when it came time to put together her own band to create the sound she wanted; and landed at a creative impasse. Meanwhile, the label folded and Eliot found herself without a deal.
Deciding that a departure from the revolving door ride in L.A was what was called for, Eliot headed back to Canada to find some grounding. This move paid off, and she soon found the group of musicians she was looking for to take things to the next level.
In 2003, Eliot re-established old ties with the Desmarais brothers. Phil Desmarais (*more below), a drummer/multi-instrumentalist (formerly of Cold Motor Rodent) and also a graphic artist, and John-Marc Desmarais (*more below), a bassist/multi-instrumentalist (also formerly of Cold Motor Rodent) and an engineering student, had been working with classically trained pianist/ keyboardist Allan Kinney (*more below) (formerly of Montreal group Oryzeim, and philosophy major) on developing a progressive/world/exploratory musical style. The unification of Jane's extensive contemporary catalogue with the textured experimental structures being developed by Kinney and the Desmarais brothers, along with the addition of guitar virtuoso Michel Danis (*more below) resulted in an accessible sound, rich in subtlety and grand in scope — their common aim being to produce fresh yet timeless material, with a passion for incorporating deep overtones of the ambient and exploratory sounds emerging from Britain in the early 1970s.
Thus “Ana Bhraka” was born.
With their first studio album “The Flowerbed of Oblivion” under their belt, produced by Tim Greencorn and mastered by Joao Carvahlo, Ana Bhraka has achieved an endeavor that is both introspective and relevant, with traces of a world weary soul and moments of haunting innocence. The content of the songs subtly explores universal themes such as isolation, desire, disillusionment, love, war, death, and redemption, and leaves the listener with “something almost unexplainable” (Greencorn).
Currently the band is planning live shows and is working on new material for a second album.
