Melanie Shanahan

Australian world-folk singer-songwriter and choir director. Melanie Therese Shanahan (January 1964 – 10 December 2003) was an Australian world-folk singer-songwriter, choir director and vocal coach. She was a member of the groups, Arramaieda (1987–95) and Akasa (1998–2002) and collaborated with Coco's Lunch and Safara. She also directed four choirs, including Living Out Loud, The Boîte Millennium Chorus, and Yirriba. Shanahan first performed in Sydney from the mid-1970s and was influenced by political singer-songwriters. She then moved to Hobart, to participate in the environmentalist movement, where she formed a female a cappella band, Arramaieda (a.k.a. Aramieeda), in the mid-1980s. After 1995, Shanahan relocated to Melbourne to join the acclaimed vocal group Coco's Lunch, who she performed regularly with until parting ways a couple of years later. Her need to sing politically relevant music led to forming Akasa in 1998, contributing tracks to their first two albums. Melanie Shanahan committed suicide at the age of 39. A memorial concert was held in the Melbourne suburban of Eltham in December 2003.