The five singing sisters of Ashelin have made their way onto David’s Suzuki’s iPod. Kaliyan, Cassy, Joesie, Thea and Shaelin Palmer of Conception Bay South were selected as the Newfoundland and Labrador representatives on the David Suzuki Foundation’s “Playlist for the Planet,” released in stores and on iTunes Monday in celebration of Suzuki’s 75th birthday.
Proceeds from the sale of the CD go to the foundation.
More than 600 musicians submitted songs to the Playlist for the Planet environmental song search, and after a public vote, Ashelin’s song “Song for Mariana” was declared a winner. A song was chosen from an artist in each province, and one from the north.
Started by Joesie and completed by the whole group, “Song for Mariana” is a love song for the ocean.
Mariana is the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world’s oceans, located in the western Pacific.
“Today, with the oil spills and everything, people are taking advantage and exploiting the ocean, and with this song we’re talking from the ocean’s perspective,” Cassy told The Telegram before the song was released on the band’s album “The Road Not Taken” last October.
“Some things are better untouched. People don’t realize things now that they’re doing to the environment, and in the future it’s going to cause great sadness.”
In addition to the contest-winning songs, “Playlist for the Planet” also features music by artists including Joel Plaskett, Lights, Raffi, Johnny Reid, Tom Jackson, Gordon Lightfoot, Rush and Great Big Sea.
“We were ecstatic,” the girls said in a statement about their inclusion on the CD.
“Our song just might create more awareness concerning the condition of our oceans.”
Ashelin is hosting a public birthday party for Suzuki/“Playlist for the Planet” CD release party Wednesday evening at Memorial University’s Reid Theatre, beginning at 7 p.m.
tbradbury@thetelegram.com
www.twitter.com/tara_bradbury
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