"I am thirty-two flavours and then some," Ani DiFranco sings, and she’s not joking. There’s Ani the twenty-six-year-old singing and song-writing folk-punk warrior princess who’s music appeals to everyone from riotgirls to alternarockers to fans of old-school folk. There’s the business savvy founder of her own do-it-yourself indie label, Righteous Babe Records; she makes more money per album than Madonna, and without the benefit of commercial radio or video airplay. There’s also the feminist firestarter and hopeless romantic, the in your face punk-rocker and introspective folk singer, as well as the politically conscious, not to mention intensely sexual, goddess of independent music.
As original in style as she is earnest in her intent, DiFranco is a folk singer only in the travelling sense; she mixes her acoustic guitar with jazz-inflected vocals, a heavy hip-hop beat, and the energy of punk rock. As her striking lyrics carefully explore both political and social issues through poetic and personal narrative, her live performances are spirited, empowered and outrageous experiences; headrushes that leave you seeing spots, and hungry for more. Whether it is her lyrics, range of sounds and styles, or approach to the music business that attracts her various fans, they all agree on one thing: she is the goddess incarnate, and undisputedly one of this era’s most talented performers. It’s been a long journey from being the self-described "goofy, bumbling little folk girl" to the diva she is today, and it hasn’t always been easy.
While growing up in Buffalo, New York, DiFranco took an interest in music at an early age, first by playing Beatles songs and later by hanging out with older musicians, with whom she played, wrote, and attended folk performances with. When her parents divorced, her mother moved to Connecticut. Seizing the moment, DiFranco had herself declared a legally emancipated minor and graduated from Buffalo's Visual and Performing Arts High School when she was sixteen. She started dating a man twenty years her senior who got her pregnant and left her high and dry at the abortion clinic.
When she was nineteen, she moved to Manhattan and started her own record label, Righteous Babe Records and since then, has released a total of ten albums. That’s ten albums in nine years, far more than most major labels. Her first album was a cassette-only release that DiFranco sold from the trunk of her car. And although at first she considered signing with a label, she eventually chose to resist signing with anyone in order to stake out her own artistic ground on her own terms.
Ani has matured not only as a businesswoman but as a musician as well. On her third album, "Imperfectly" (1993), DiFranco added a drummer: Andy Stochansky, a veteran of numerous bands and a wonderfully talented percussionist. As a songwriter, she hit her stride with "Not a Pretty Girl" (1995), a mosaic of empowered songs marked with passionate fury and confidence. In 1996, debuting impressively at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 200 Album chart, was DiFranco's eighth album, "Dilate". That year, she also released "The Past Never Went Anywhere" with Utah Phillips; poetry set to acoustic hip-hop folk. And this year, she released Living in Clip, a two-CD live album recorded at various shows in 1995 and 1996.
The approach to this live recording was both casual and ambitious, containing more than two hours of pure, unbridled Ani. Backed only by bassist Sara Lee and drummer Andy Stochansky, DiFranco performs thirty songs on Living In Clip and reveals herself as an accomplished performer. An entertainer of wild energy and contagious enthusiasm, Ani literally comes alive in concert. The CD has four new songs, including "Gravel" and "Hide and Seek", but also presents the oldies in a far superior manner than on her pre-recorded albums; Whereas on her studio albums DiFranco has come across at times as brittle and unforgiving, here she conveys an endearing warmth and grace.
On "Untouchable Face," her romantic nature reveals itself as she juggles with seething jealousy and trembling vulnerability. And on a new one, "Gravel", she wrestles with her conflicting emotions regarding an old flame. Then there's "Willing to Fight," where she rages against passive and apathetic acceptance of injustice. And "Every State Line," an eerie ballad in which she details what it feels like to travel as a lone female troubadour, learning that survival depends on learning to "smile pretty and watch your back."
While hardcore fans will want Living in Clip for offbeat moments, like Ani’s performance of "Amazing Grace" with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the obligatory hidden track offering five full minutes of hilarious banter between Ani and Stochansky, it's also a great introduction to her work for the uninitiated listener.
As her music dictates, DiFranco emphasises individuality above all else. And as she grows closer to the point where she is no longer a cult priestess, but a mainstream queen, she hasn't shied away from the issue of individuality and independence. Now that the major media is finally starting to pay attention to her, she has approached it with a rather blase attitude that is typical of Ani. "I focus on the performances and the audience. The rest of it doesn’t have as much meaning for me. The media’s paying attention right now; they may not somewhere down the road. But I’ll still be driving around, playing music for people." You can be sure that the worshippers of this indie diva-goddess will be right behind her.
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