It's all about love - from the sensual to the spiritual! 50 Shades of Love, 50 kinds of love sweep over and blanket the listener in this new DOWN TEMPO Native recording. See info on specific tracks listed below. 50 Shades of Red is also a one-hour theatrical and ceremonial show with music, dance, and film. Produced by Grammy Winning Larry Mitchell. Grammy nominated cellist, vocalist, and songwriter, Dawn Avery calls on her Mohawk heritage to bring new meaning to passion in this newest recording 50 Shades of Red as she makes love to her cello and sings with her smoky voice evoking powerful emotions and beauty. Dawn has created music with Grammy award winning producer and guitar texturalist (and electrifying soloist) that takes you on a journey from start to finish. TRACK INFO: Beginning with the song My Heart Is Strong, (see online video of live performance), she sets the stage with chill percussion, luscious strings, and acoustic guitar solos while singing about our ability to have a strong heart through adversity. Next, Dawn keeps a strong heart by taking charge as an Ndn girl who calls the shots with her cowboy in Ndn Girl On Top. You can read into the words as you wish! Strawberry Field Forever is sung mostly in Mohawk, but even without knowing the meaning, the sensuality seeps in through Dawn's voice, strings, and Larry's powerful electric guitar solo. For translation of these juicy lyrics see Dawn's website... Otsiketa means Sugar or sweet one in Mohawk, so be sure to whisper Otsiketa to someone you love (lover, grandparent, pet... of course I imagine the inflection will change depending on who you lean over for that endearment). The song is a heart-warming love song that uses the Mohawk creation as a metaphor for true love. Two Spirit is dedicated to Ty Defoe (Grammy winning singer/musician) who is playing flute and singing back-up on Otsiketa. This song is about the world of two-spirits who carry their own kind of love. Heart Shadows is a new rendition of a song written by Larry Mitchell - listen to those beautiful guitars, and the conversation between cello and guitar as we all may come out of the shadows the heart may sometimes project. Bear Tracks is a basically a healing song about how a broken heart may feel when someone stomps all over it. Title Tracks - 50 Shades of Red - be surprised! Best when Parts 1, 2, and 3 are heard in sequence, but can also be heard separately. My Life With You is about being in this world with sky beings watching over us - protecting us, guiding us, loving us. Non: wa Tsiotkon (Now, Always) was used in the film Always Becoming by Nora Naranjo-Morse. I'd be interested in hearing where this one brings you and what your experience is of this song - actually all the songs. Hope to hear from you and that you may experience at least 50 Shades of Red! QUOTES about 50 Shades of Red: Love is quite literally in the air as vibrations leave Dawn's divine voice and sultry digs of her cello. There is a tangible freedom in her work to love freely - children, lovers, parents, friends, nature, art, our selves, our fears, and the divine. Although almost every musician has written about love, there is nothing trite or commonplace about love in this recording. She allows us to feel the expansive, amorphousness of love, taking the shape of each person's heartfelt imagination. Once you hear this recording or see the show, you will feel deeply loved for who you are and who you love. Anjuli George To me, Dawn Avery is like a storyteller, reminding us of what is real and what is beautiful...opening our hearts to what has always been there, love - all shades of love putting us at ease in acceptance and unity... through her voice and music we are filled with love, joy, and healing. Shahrzad Eini Short Bio: Rarely are performers as at home in Lincoln Center as they are in a Longhouse. Dawn Avery's Kanienkha (Mohawk) name is Ieriho: kwats and she wears the turtle clan. Composer, cellist, vocalist, educator, GRAMMY and NAMA nominated performer Dawn Avery has worked with musical lumina
