Bio
Audrey is a singer-songwriter born and raised in Ottawa, Canada. Her warm and powerful vocals accompanied by her acoustic guitar weave a soulful sound to her folk-style songs with an R&B twist. Musical influences include Dawud Wharnsby, Lynn Miles and Joni Mitchell whereas her voice has been compared to that of Jane Siberry and Sarah McLachlan. Her writings give a voice to a Muslim woman's perspective that is both refreshing and not often heard in the music industry.
Audrey was one of those kids who started singing before she could talk. In her elementary school years she learned the techniques of choral singing and participated in numerous Kiwanis Festival competitions. At the age of 11, inspired by her cousins, she taught herself how to play guitar. In her late teens she studied vocal music with a private teacher who helped her win her one-and-only Kiwanis Festival trophy in the musical theatre category. After that time she put music aside to pursue her love for biology and the sciences.
Recently, she started writing and performing her own songs. She wanted to write songs that she could sing and were reflective of who she was, a Canadian Muslim woman. One of her songs helped her win box seats in the CBC booth at a Stanley Cup final hockey game- the year when the Ottawa Senators made it to the finals (in 2007). Since 2008, she started writing songs for an annual show presented by Expressions of Muslim Women - an organization for which she is an active member.
In 2013, she met through the internet the American artist Raef, and co-wrote their first song (hopefully first of many), "Dream" as a pet project. "Dream" later got produced and recorded onto Raef's debut album “The Path” released in 2014 with Awakening Records.
In 2014, her song "She Misunderstood" won in the Folk Music Ontario, Songs From the Heart songwriting competition, under the Multicultural sub-category.
In 2015, she was among the singer-songwriters featured in the Ontario Scene songwriters' circle sponsored by the National Arts Centre and Folk Music Ontario, where she shared the stage with Amanda Rheaume, Chris Maclean, Slo Tom, Ian Tamblyn, Ana Miura and Jill Zmud.
In 2016, she worked with James Stephens, Stove Studios, Chelsea, QC, to finish her debut EP, Beauty Inside, released in October, now available on Google Play and iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music. Contact her if you'd like a CD version.
Song-writing has become a way for her to express her spirituality and her story in a folksy sort of way. Hoping to unify people through universal themes, she shares her songs with the heart of whomever her songs can touch.