Anna spelade med sitt band ALQ hos oss förra säsongen och i samband med det hann vi med en liten intervju, mycket nöje!
Eric: You mention in your bio that you went from being a predominantly classical singer to working in more of a jazz context. Was there any particular recording that influenced this change?
Anna: It was several albums, actually. There was like a ”new jazz wave” in Sweden in the beginning/middle of the 90’s. Esbjörn Svensson, Lina Nyberg, Rigmor Gustafsson, Jacob Karlzon, Fredrik Ljungqvist. They came along with a new sound, a fresch way of playing jazz. I went from not being that keen on jazz to totaly lost i love. It was my kind of music, especially the improvisations and using the voice as an instrument. At that time I listened to The doors, Led Zep and all kinds of psycadelic music from the 60’s and in some way I felt that energy, and still do, in the jazz music.
Eric: You have 2 CD’s out and a third on the way(?) Has the process of recording your music changed much during the course of these 3 recordings?
Anna: The debut album, Borderline fiesta, was actually a mess! And still it was a huge hit and the cd that got most reviews and export orders, haha..It was a really green Anna in the process of making her first album. Half of the stuff was old music from the first year at school (Skurup) and half was new. I really must confess that I didn’t have a clue..who I was or what I wanted to do. Still, now and others have mentioned it too, I can hear the ”Anna Sound” already on that cd even if it was a bit ruff here and there. My second cd, City, was released a year after. A busy year. I wrote music under stress and put the cd together with three covers. I came a bit closer to the sound I was looking for but I felt that something was missing. Anyway, it was important for me to release it fast so it almost felt like a double-cd, some kind of sister or brother to Borderline fiesta.
The new cd, Before you I was almost fine, was released 22/10 2012. I took my time this time and wrote only what I really wanted to write. Nothing was rushed and it also was a huge relief that I let another write the lyrics. Lovisa Taver wrote all the lyrics this time and the collaboration also gave me energy to focus on what I do best, write music. It’s not that lyrics in unimportant, it’s just not my…I express myself through the making of music, the arrangements and melodies..a good lyric is the crown, you could say. Or an extra glitter of some kind.
This new album is 100% me and I’m totaly more in touch with what I want to do.
No regrets what so ever about the other cd, though…You have to grow from somewhere..
Eric: Miles Davis said something to the effect that ” the studio atmosphere is kind of dead and you can’t really get anything happening there” as opposed to playing live. What is your feeling about studio vs live ?
Anna: Mr Davis is 100% right:-) And even more when you do this small budget recordnings that most of us do and can afford..It’s more a document of where you are right now. If you get the live-feeling in the studio, you’re a lucky guy. But if you have time and monney I guess there could be ways to work around it..like audience in the studio and so on..My play is to only record live-gigs in the future. I hope I can make that happen on the next cd.
Eric: Is there any particular record or single track that you repeatedly go back to for inspiration ?
Anna: Any? How many do I get? To mention a very few I must say: Ebony Queen – McCoy Tyner, Heat – Jacob Karlzon, Gentle Piece – Kenny Wheeler, Comunication breakdown or anything with Led Zeppelin…to mention a very few!!!!!
Eric: Can you list 5 desert island records ( you are stranded on a desert island and these will be the 5 records you will listen to forever. Yes, you managed to have a cd player and the island had electricity!!)
Anna: Haha. Sahara – MyCoy Tyner, Remasters double-cd with Led Zep and maybe an Jussi Björling-cd!
End of interview!
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