Born in Amsterdam (NL), Anselmo's early musical influences stem from Cabaret, Chansons, Classical music and Prog Rock. He moved to Alberta, Canada as a teenager. In Edmonton he started to explore Americana, Folk, and Alt-Country. Especially the songwriters.
As Anselmo started to develop his song-writing, he began performing with an acoustic guitar. This format gave him the freedom to pursue a life in music akin to the train ridding, hitchhiking early-mid 20Century folk singers. Hitchhiking and taking trains, himself, during his early tours of Canada and Europe.
As live on the road became more scheduled and regulated, looking for inspiration and new horizons, Anselmo looked to the sea and began hitching rides on sail boats. Riding waves instead of rails. Performing and playing music wherever the boats put in. Weaving the stories of the roustabouts, dreamers and ne'er-do-wells that you find scattered around harbours, beaches and malecons all over the world, into his own songs.
It is a life that has led Anselmo to countless new places and new musical influences; countless new stories in songs. Along the way, Anselmo developed a style that is hard to define yet remains firmly rooted in that early singer song-writer tradition.
Anselmo has performed extensively at venues and festivals in Canada and Europe. He has performed in the USA, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and even the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena.
It is a measure of Anselmo's connection to Canada that he lists performing at, both, the Pacific and Atlantic end of Canada's Yellowhead Highway --Masset, Haida Gwaii and Canso, Nova Scotia-- as one of his favourite touring accomplishments.
Anselmo has played at venues like the Gazebo (Lund), the Railway Club (Vancouver), the North Country Fair (Jousard), the Horse Shoe (Toronto), The Stan Rogers Festival (Canso), The Cutty Sark (Norfolk), The Beach Club (Lutjesstrandt) The Blue Moon (Antwerpen), MIR (Oslo), Slovenian television, MKC (Kopper), Tlingo Lingo (Livingston) and The Standard (St. Helena), to name a few.
He has performed at squats and student clubs across the EU/ Balkans/Scandinavia, beach huts and bars in the Caribbean and Bahamas, Braai's in South Africa, restaurants, pubs, hockey rinks, private parties and pretty much everything in between, up-to and including laundromat-venues like The Wash 'n Slosh in Saskatoon.
He has played at shows and festivals ranging from folk and world music, to rock, punk, country, electronica and all manner of indie music.
Anselmo has toured, played and recorded with a host of artists, from the known to the obscure. Most of these artists came out of, or are still firmly grounded in, their respective indie and underground scenes. You can find links to some of these artists on the Friends page.
Anselmo has released three well received full-length recordings and has been involved with a myriad of music and community arts projects.
With the birth of his child, Anselmo has taken a sabbatical from the constant travel. Sticking closer to home, on BC's Sunshine Coast. Anselmo opened Zunga Studio in 2020 and has been performing at venues and events on the Sunshine Coast and surrounding area. He plays guitar in the band Hollowed Sound and performs with the Malaspina Ensemble.
Anselmo has a new set of songs that is slated to be recorded and released in 2025.