Music Review- Interwoven Roots

(Shy-Anne Hovorka- Photo By: Christine McFarlane)

Bio of Shy-Anne Hovorka

Shy-Anne is an award-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and performer from Northwestern Ontario who began singing at the age of three and has been performing on stage since, she was nine years old.  Shy-Anne is a natural born performer whose talents shine in multiple genres.

Interwoven Roots is her third album and was released on June 25th 2012, in conjunction with the debut video release for one of the albums single releases, called "The Glue".


Review By: Christine McFarlane

Shy-Anne's 3rd album "Interwoven Roots"  is an amazing blend of country and pop music rolled into one. The 13 track album features many artists besides Horvoka which includes Grammy Award winning Native Flutist Bill Miller, hip hop artist, Coleman Hell and up and coming youth singer Christine Arnold.

Interwoven Roots starts with an almost slow melodic tune "Birch, Cedar, Spruce" which speaks about the three specific trees- birch, cedar and spruce that Horvoka witnessed growing from one root. The lyrics

"We may be all different, but we're all the same

Every seed sown from a common grain"

speaks to the interconnectedness that Aboriginal peoples are taught to believe in, and reminds the listener of the importance of leaning on each other and how we're never really alone, because our spirits stay together forever.

Another song that spoke to me was "The Glue" which is another song that shows testament to the strength and love we can experience as individuals and together. I particularly like the lyrics and how Horvoka sings

 "Another  day on this crazy road, sometimes i guess we both don't know

where this little love is going

sometimes it isn't showing

 anything at all

love can be like learning how to dance

you take two steps forward

and I'll take two back

and then we stumble on each other

and maybe even smother

this gracefulness"

Further along in the song, the listener is grabbed by the imagery of a canoe that Horvoka sings about and how it is the journey within the canoe, the love, the hard times and the tears we experience in love that help make us stronger and it is how

"we do what we love and it becomes the glue"

Though Shy-Anne Hovorka has been singing for years, I have only known about her and her music in the last couple of years, and the first time I heard her sing live was when she sang at the AFN AGA Welcome Concert at the Harbourfront Centre on the WestJet Stage on July 18, 2012.

All the songs on "Interwoven Roots" have a bit of something for everyone- for the young to the old and catchy songs like "The Glue" "Super Star" and "Summer Fling" will have you singing too.

Shy-Anne Horvoka is up for 6 Awards with the Aboriginal People's Choice Awards. Please vote for her for the following:

Entertainer of the Year
Best Produced (produced by Shy-Anne Horvoka and Jerry Vandiver and a couple of songs by Rob Bie)
Single of the Year (The Glue)
Best Country Album
Best Music Video (Too Young, Too Late: featuring Christine Arnold)
Best Album Design (artwork by Silver Suggashie and Liane Ross-Buckler)

Follow the below steps to cast your vote:

1. Returning voters www.aboriginalpeopleschoice.com (get your original email and password, sign in and vote…)

2. New Voters! ( a.) Click on 'Sign Up' if you are new to voting ( b.) You will receive a PIN # and Password in the email account inbox that you entered in the signup form (c.) Go back to www.aboriginalpeopleschoice.com and click on 'Log In' and type in your PIN and Password and then you're good to vote. Note: check junk mail if you don’t receive email.

To find out more about Shy-Anne Horvoka- please visit her website at http://shy-anne.com and to obtain a copy of "Interwoven Roots" please go to the website http://www.cdbaby.com