Some of us are born with a song in our heart, a song we are born to sing, a song which could possible touch the lives of others. However, it often stays our secret.
Rondebosch resident Mary-Anne Constable is determined to not let her song stay with her and hopes to share her music, which has been a therapeutic journey for her, with others.
The upcoming artist left her job as an architect to pursue her dream of compiling an album, inspired by poetry written during trying times in her life.
After a 10-year journey, Ms Constable is finally getting ready to realise her dream with the help of people from around the world who supported her journey to create her album through a crowdfunding initiative.
“I felt that I was born to be a writer but I never had the confidence that I could sing. It felt like a dream that got squashed by realities of life. I was unhappy with my job and that’s when I started to write Bitter Sweet. Each song has a story about a different time in my life. I got quotes for how much it would cost to record an album and one was around R11 000 a song. I had the idea of crowdfunding because I couldn’t afford to pay for the album. Leaving my job and working for myself was a crazy thing,” said Ms Constable, with her hands in the air as though she were strumming her words.
The crowdfunding campaign aimed to achieve a dream goal of R55 000 through the pre-sale of albums, artwork and promotion of her work through lounge concerts.
Together with these initiatives and social media promotion, Ms Constable managed to raise enough to get the album, titled Where Oceans Meet the Sky, recorded.
“I didn’t manage to reach the dream goal, but I reached my minimum. I reached R30 000, at least that covered the basics cost of recording, which is the most important part ,” said Ms Constable, laughing
In her lounge, concert clips posted on her Facebook page, Ms Constable gently strums her guitar to match her soft melodies. She labels her music as an eclectic mix of indie folk with a blues and jazz influence in a few of the songs.
“One day you’ll see that the fresh wind blows to still your fears; One day you’ll see that the sun shines down to dry your tears; One day you’ll see that love was made for you and you’ll let it do a miracle inside of you.
“One day you’ll see that a fire burns to warm your heart; One day you’ll see that you’re a work of art, a miracle,” sings Ms Constable.
These lyrics to her song Miracle was written after a close friend died.
“When I was 27 my best friend died. We met in residence at university and for two years became inseparable. Later she got married and I used to head out to Cape Town’s northern suburbs, guitar in tow, bringing with me new songs. She died of pneumonia and she was eight months pregnant. So I sang a song at her funeral,” said Constable.
She said the song was not about death, but about life and it was about the world around us being evidence of an invisible God. She was encouraged by her friend’s family to record the song. Another song of hers, called Walls, was inspired by international band Florence and the Machine and was written about Ms Constable’s childhood home in Johannesburg which was bought by developers after her parents divorce and demolished.
“I lived there for 17 years and then came down to Cape Town for varsity, the house was bought by developers who demolished the house and build four town houses. I am a very visual person. I still have dreams I am walking around the garden. That house will always be a place I visit in my mind. It’s a place in my mind and not in reality,” said Ms Constable.
The album consist of 11 tracks and Ms Constable is gearing up for its official launch, which will take place on Thursday February 23 at Music Experience North Gate Estate, Brooklyn, at 7pm.
Tickets cost R100. Email maryanne@marannesong.com to book.
If anyone would like to find out more about the album launch or about the pre-sales, visit www.maryannesong.com or find
maryannesong on Facebook.