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Music

Anjulie's Video for "Dragonflies" Is a Heartfelt Ode to Women's Rights

We talk to the singer and songwriter about her new song in support of the Canadian Women's Foundation.

Photo via Instagram

Oakville, Ontario-raised, LA-based singer/songwriter Anjulie, known for dance-pop hits like "Brand New Bitch" and "You and I", is back with a new song and video for "Dragonflies." The release is in support of the Canadian Women's Foundation and their Campaign to End Violence Against Women, which starts today. "I've been talking to the Foundation for about a year now," says Anjulie, "They do amazing, well-researched work to help stop sex trafficking in Canada and fund programs to stop violence, end poverty and empower girls." Watch the video below and read on for our interview with Anjulie.

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Noisey: What’s the inspiration behind the subject matter of the song?
Anjulie: I recently wrote a blog for [the Canadian Women's Foundation] about self-esteem and when they approached me about writing a theme song for their Campaign to End Violence it was something I felt really connected to. Normally I write songs about unhealthy relationships so this was a change.

Who are the dancers?
Racheal McLaren and Yannick LeBrun. It was choreographed by Jamar Roberts. They killed it.

Why’d you pick them and the setting?
Racheal has been a friend and also a muse of mine for a while now and this was the perfect project to collaborate on. I saw her dancing for Alvin Ailey in Toronto a couple months ago to "Case of You" by Joni Mitchell and it was really inspiring. I love their style of dancing. I wanted it to be against a skyline to convey the message of the song and they were in New York at the time doing a show so I met them there and we filmed it in on a rainy rooftop in Brooklyn with my other talented friends Anthony Morgan and Vas Sfinarolakis.

Why would you say supporting survivors of and initiatives against domestic abuse is important at the current moment?
Their Campaign to End Violence launches today. The stats are pretty heartbreaking. Every night over 3500 women and children in Canada have to sleep in a shelter because their home is not safe.

Do you have a personal connection with incidents of domestic abuse?
As a feminist I guess I have a personal connection with inequality among the sexes in general. I also think it should be a much bigger deal than it is. For example, America is obsessed over terrorism yet as Gloria Steinem points out, the number of women murdered by their partners since 9/11 exceeds the number of deaths from the attacks and ensuing wars. Not to get too depressing.

For more information on the Campaign to End Violence Against Women visit here

Phil Witmer is a Noisey Canada staff writer. Follow him on Twitter.