Anawan, by Anawan

Anawan

by Anawan

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

Beautiful 12" record in reverse-board sleeve.

Includes unlimited streaming of Anawan via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

edition of 300 14 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$17 USD or more
Subscription

Subscribe now to receive all the new music New Amsterdam Records releases, including 37 back-catalog items, delivered instantly to you via the Bandcamp app for iOS and Android. You’ll also get access to subscriber-only exclusives. Learn more.

Subscribe Now $85 USD/year or more

1.	Will You Call Me I 04:04	buy track
2.	Are You For Real 04:29	buy track
3.	Am I a Part of You 04:08	buy track
4.	Creamside 03:06	buy track
5.	Where Are You Now 04:49	buy track
6.	One of Us is Dead 04:08	buy track
7.	Smokes in The Sun 02:19	buy track
8.	Running our Mouths 03:30	buy track
9.	Burning Shadows 03:46	buy track
10.	Breaded Me 04:14	buy track

about

Anawan (formerly known as TWVE) is a five-piece band based in the waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn. The project of composer and multi-instrumentalist Trevor Wilson, Anawan is a hybrid animal: part avant-garde vocal ensemble and part wildly-experimental pop group. Wilson, the de facto leader of the group whose mentor Meredith Monk is but one discernible influence, is a restless and prolific musician who has written and released hundreds of songs. In Anawan, Wilson's innovative vocal stylizations are mirrored by the rest of the group, evoking the image of a five-headed beast harmonizing with itself. Their third album together, Anawan is the first to be released under the group's new name and has the feel of a debut. With the band sounding tighter than ever, Anawan aims for the heart and at the same time impresses the mind with its intricate and inventive arrangements.

Since first forming in 2011 as Trevor Wilson and Vocal Ensemble, the band has carved out an idiosyncratic niche for itself. Their sound includes a mixture of five-part layered vocal harmonies, nylon string guitar, electronics, synths, and keyboards. Yet the songs never feel tedious or over-wrought: on the contrary, the arrangements sound deceptively simple. For example, many songs begin with a single instrument: a strummed acoustic guitar, a keyboard melody, or in the case of "Breaded Me," a drum machine. But it's how the songs spiderweb out from their relatively humble beginnings that is most impressive about Anawan. It's this constant push and pull between restraint and catharsis (exemplified perhaps most dramatically on "Where Are You Now") that gives the album its subtle grace.

Going one step farther, the members of Anawan actually embody this simplicity in their everyday lives. Wilson, who grew up in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, uses no social media and for a time lived and worked out of an RV with other members of the band (during heavy rain, a tarp would be thrown over the RV to prevent leaking). Wilson has only a basic computer for correspondence, and espouses a DIY-ethic for everything from concert promotion to album art (their previous LP All Material came packaged in beautifully hand-stenciled sleeves). Anawan takes advantage of this itinerant POV by exploring big, philosophical questions from an outsider's perspective.

The members of Anawan all met while studying at Bennington College. Since their debut album release Soft Wings, Anawan has toured across the northeast and performed in New York at Glasslands, Pioneer Works, and at Baby's All Right with fellow artists Nat Baldwin, Celestial Shore and Son Lux. Their sophomore album All Material, released on New Amsterdam Records revealed a tight knit group of friends growing together to create beautifully human music which evokes a curious nature and reflection. Anawan is yet another evolution, sure to inspire.

credits

released November 18, 2014

license

about

Anawan New York

contact:
info@newamsterdamrecords.com

press:
jill@newamrecords.com

contact / help

Contact Anawan

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Anawan, you may also like:

Unremembered
by Sarah Kirkland Snider (featuring Padma Newsome, DM Stith, and Shara Worden)

supported by 8 fans who also own “Anawan”

I discovered this incredible album just browsing late at night and was instantly transfixed by it's dark and beautiful complex compositions. I'm totally blown away by everything about this. wow! The gaye device
go to album
All Material
by Trevor Wilson & Vocal Ensemble

supported by 7 fans who also own “Anawan”
go to album
Render
by Roomful of Teeth

supported by 7 fans who also own “Anawan”

So many amazing tracks on this album, each rich and deep in their own way, revealing more on every listen. At this moment, I can't make it through Brad Wells's Render without hearing something new that brings me to tears. Thank you to the composers, performers, and engineers for all the care that went into this amazing album. markschifferli
go to album
Mind, Man, Medicine
by The Secret Sisters

The Alabama duo's fifth album exults in dusty Americana, showcasing rich vocal harmonies alongside blissful folk instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 31, 2024
go to album
Little Sun
by Charlie Parr

More contemplative folk from the Minnesota singer-songwriter, sustained by raw full-band arrangements and philosophical lyrics. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 28, 2024
go to album
Cold Sea
by Oisin Leech

Irish singer-songwriter Oisin Leech's acoustic folk music is characterized by its muted beauty and intimate, solitary quality. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 16, 2024
go to album
Gray Lodge Wisdom
by Will Stratton

supported by 7 fans who also own “Anawan”

Amazing songwriting, amazing guitar playing. I've been listening to this album all summer, great for a road trip. Zac
go to album