Freewheelin' songwriter returns to roots

Author: Grace Duggan

Born and raised in Vermont, Ana's Mitchell '04 began writing songs when she was seventeen years old before going on to study political science here at Middlebury College. "It wasn't really my 'spirit department,'" Mitchell said. "It would have been more of a natural choice to study literature or somethingÖbut I was attracted to the serious, aggressive nature of the political science types, and I got my fingers into some stuff I'd never have touched otherwise." Mitchell also became deeply involved in the music scene on campus. She felt increasingly drawn to music as a career path, a calling that she kept to herself for some time. "I knew for years that I wanted to be a singer-songwriter but I was often shy to tell people because it seemed na've, it seemed like an impossible career path. I used to say I wanted to be a journalist, which wasn't entirely made up as I always romanticized that world as well as the music world."

Mitchell has been compared to the likes of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, but her style remains uniquely her own. Her lyrics are sharp, intelligent and brimming with political undertones. Many of her songs focus on love, politics or both. She includes references to anything from T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" to her time spent abroad in the Middle East. She also writes some songs or parts of songs in Arabic. The beautiful simplicity of her music, coupled with her almost child-like voice, allows the power of her emotional and moving lyrics to shine through on each of her albums.

Mitchell released her debut album, The Song They Sang When Rome Fell, in 2002. She was living in Austin, Texas at the time, and recorded the now out-of-print album in a single day. Her second album, Hymns for the Exiled, came out in 2004. Singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco discovered the album and eventually signed Mitchell to her label, Righteous Babe Records. Mitchell was honored to sign with Righteous Babe especially given the strong influence she says DiFranco had on her own music. Mitchell explained, "I probably wouldn't be a songwriter today if it weren't for Ani DiFranco. I mean thatÖand I'm a great admirer of the label itself, its philosophy, its integrity, it is bizarre and cool artist roster." Andrew Bird, who performed at WRMC's Sepomana last semester, is also on DiFranco's label. Mitchell's third album, The Brightness, is scheduled for release by Righteous Babe Records on February 13th, 2007.

Mitchell's talents extend beyond writing and performing, as last year she branched out into the realm of musical theater with Hadestown, a folk opera that she collaborated on with Ben T. Matchstick, director of Vermont's own Bread & Puppet Theater and composer Michael Chorney. "Hadestown is a retelling of the Orpheus myth, set in a sort of an archetypal American company town," Mitchell explained. The opera follows Orpheus' journey into the underworld following the death of his wife Eurydice, played by Mitchell herself. Ben Campbell '03 played Orpheus, and Lisa Raatikainan '03 was a chorus member who also helped with the choral arrangements. Hadestown ran for two weekends in Barre and Vergennes last December. Mitchell felt pleased with the results, adding that "It was so fun to put together, and I must say it went better than I could have imagined, though I'm already thinking of a million ways to tweak it for the next run."

Mitchell recorded her third album with Michael Corney in his studio in Bristol, Vermont. She refers to The Brightness as "the most deliberate album I've made, at least, it took the longest to make." When she started recording the album she was living above the studio and would often go downstairs in her pajamas to record. Talking about her work, Mitchell said, "I don't quite know how to describe the album itself. I'd say that for all my initial intentions for big-sounding production, it ended up pretty sparse, which seemed to serve the spirit of the songs. Ultimately it's a heart-on-the-sleeve recording. There are a lot of love songs and unrequited love songs and love stories."

Mitchell gave a talk Monday afternoon to the popular J-Term class, "Bob Dylan's America" and gave a performance at The Grille which was described as "a breath of fresh air into a steadily decaing genere. From today's heap of mediocre folk rockers, she stands out with a very distinctive sound and surprisingly insightful songwriting," by sophomore Scott Robinson.