Each Measure Feature: AnaShie
FEATURE
There is a line in Mess, the penultimate track of Dawning, where AnaShie—the Kenyan-born, Atlantic Canada-based artist—sings, “Supermodel on the weekends / By the way, I’m just someone from the Upside Down.” When I heard this lyric, I couldn’t help but interpret “the Upside Down” as a reference to Stranger Things, the hit Netflix series in which the Upside Down represents the dark underbelly of things we consider sacred. In a collection of songs that explores disillusionment through the lens of holy matrimony, this allusion feels especially apt.
In Stranger Things, the quaint town of Hawkins might seem sacred to its well-meaning, blissfully ignorant citizens. But the bitter truth of the corruption lurking beneath the surface is known to Eleven, the show’s young protagonist. As the townspeople brush shoulders with her, they are gradually forced to confront the hidden atrocities within their community. In this way, Eleven serves as a foil to their naïveté.
By aligning herself with Stranger Things’ protagonist, AnaShie suggests that she, too, has become wise to the truth about life and the fragile ideals we place our faith in. Just as a bride-to-be might step into marriage expecting eternal bliss, only to face the sobering reality that it is no fairy tale, AnaShie’s project reflects a hard-won understanding: disillusionment is inevitable, but it is also clarifying.
In Dawning, AnaShie takes us on a thrilling ride through the maturation of her perception of life, using the experience of a new bride as a lens. Each song represents a different stage in the character’s journey through marriage.
The first track, Apple Pie, is a pulsating, club-ready anthem that exudes excitement and electricity—you can imagine the same anticipatory energy coursing through the bride on her wedding day. However, it doesn’t take long for that eager expectation to give way to a mournful recognition of her own delusion.
On A Little Lot, the EP’s second track, AnaShie delivers a particularly poetic line: “I’m watering the sea,” perhaps suggesting she feels as if she’s pouring effort into something futile. She follows with, “Listen, every inch of me / is giving bitter energy / Cause I’ve been lying to myself.” While A Little Lot remains groovy—featuring a strong guest verse from a fellow Atlantic Canada artist that serves as a reminder that, in relationships, there’s plenty of blame to go around—it also delivers the EP’s first real blow to marriage’s blissful facade.
On Mess, we find Dawning’s protagonist ready to admit her contribution to the turmoil that has unfolded since the wedding day. “I’m sorry for the mess that I’ve become,” she sings, before subtly flipping the line: “I’m sorry for my mess,” owning the dysfunction as her own. Mess is a gorgeous song—perhaps my favorite on the project—and it’s delivered like a revelation, giving possible meaning to the EP’s title, Dawning, as in a dawning realization. Here, the bride has emerged from the Upside Down—aware of love’s dark underbelly and prepared to call it out.
By the time we reach Dawning’s cinematic final track, Beggin’, we anticipate the bride’s reconstructed vision of marriage. AnaShie brings the listener to that soulful moment of reconciliation. “We escaped this time,” she sings, acknowledging how fortunate they are to have
a second chance, then pleads, “Please let’s just rewind / I’m begging you.” Here, we get another possible meaning behind the EP’s title—there is a new beginning coming, just like a new day dawns. Dawning’s protagonist may never again experience the blissful ignorance she felt on her wedding day, but she will step into a fresh start, armed with hard-earned wisdom.
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