The daughter of an English mother and music-obsessed Italian father, London-based singer/songwriter Anna Calvi was exposed to a variety of influences from an early age. But if you pay close attention, there's plenty of references surrounding her self-titled debut of this year: the nimble Delta blues of Robert Johnson, the impressionistic swoon of Maurice Ravel, Maria Callas’ pure drama, and — visually speaking — the smoked-out primary colours of filmmaker Wong Kar-wai.
Many young artists would struggle to differentiate themselves from such an eclectic palette of tastes or, even worse, get themselves lost in a patchwork of paying dues. But Calvi’s a late bloomer. At 29, she only this year released her first album, and has the feeling of someone who’s matured into her craft, harnessing each of these elements to facilitate a mature and distinctive form of self-expression.
On the phone Calvi, much like her music, gives little away. There are no wasted words or platitudes; just a direct line to musings on a busy year, a need to retain creative control over her work, and her first ever tour to Australia when she lands on these shores for Laneway Festival in late January.
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Whereabouts are you, Anna?
My flat.
In London, I’m assuming?
Yeah.
Our first attempt at an interview was kyboshed by you having lost your voice. It's been a big year. Has it taken its toll physically?
I'm really, really careful, and I take it very seriously that I do rely on my body to do my work, so if I feel like I'm coming down with a cold I just wouldn't do any interviews. It's more important for me to sing well. I'm very conscientious about warming up and so because of that I've done all right. I'm not in too bad a shape [right now].
It’s ten months since the release of your album. The last count I did had you at thirty festival dates over the northern summer. Does life feel a lot different to how it did at the start of the year?
Yeah, that was a really busy period with all those festivals. I think it was actually thirty-three in the end. Yeah, a lot. I've had a lot of fun. I've really enjoyed getting to play in all these different places. It's been really good.
Anna Calvi - 'Desire'
The album sounded like a very intense experience for you personally. People tend to look back on those intense periods of their life and discover something different about themselves – perhaps put it into perspective. Do these songs now feel different to you? Has their meaning changed after you've played them so much?
I definitely try and approach them from a current place because I don't listen to the album; I don't really think about the recorded version of them anymore. Whatever they are that night is what they mean to me. So it doesn't feel like reproducing a recorded song.
Are you keen to get on to some new material?
Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to getting on with that, when I have longer at home.
You locked yourself away to make this album. Is that the only way you think you can make music, by locking yourself away and not letting yourself out until you've come up with something?
I personally work better when I'm on my own. It just works for me.
You talk about the material coming out of that very isolation of recording on your own. The fact that the process was feeding on itself, did that make it harder to know when to stop?
I think just being a perfectionist makes it hard for me to stop. But at some point you have to, and that's kind of a good thing. I don't think I would spend as long on the next record as I did on this one.
The record has an intensely personal feel to it and yet it spans three years of your life. Does that strike you as a little odd, that something so focused came from such a long period in your life?
It probably took about two and a half years in terms of writing it and recording it. I guess it was just I had a really strong vision and I just saw it through. Through the process it did change a bit, but I think I was focused enough so I was able to make it a cohesive body of work.
A lot of yourself is in your music. Your Italian father: he's mentioned in your bio and of course it shows up in your surname. Was he more important in terms of your development as a musician or your development as a person?
Well both really, and he's very artistically minded, and he introduced me to a lot of the music that I really like. He was just very encouraging of my creativity.
You mention four singers quite often in your interviews: Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, and Aretha Franklin, but also Maria Callas. Where does Maria Callas fit into the picture for you? Where does that love come from?
I think that she's an extremely inspiring woman. I've read quite a lot about her and obviously there's her voice, which is just incredible and very moving. There's something quite fierce about it. It's not necessarily a pretty voice but it's incredibly emotional. She was just such a hard-working artist and really dedicated, which I find inspiring.
I find when you listen to Maria Callas it's hard to separate what you know about her life from her actual music.
I don't know. I don't really find that at all. She's more than just a tragedy. She's a true artist, I think.
You’ve talked before about creating your songs as mini films. I know you studied art and you've talked before about having a passion for directors such as Gus Van Sant and Wong Kar-wai. Did you ever consider studying film when you were at college?
No, I think it was more I really loved and found it inspiring. I was considering when I left university to try and get into music for films. But I got sidetracked. It’s something I'd quite like to do at some point in the future.
Does that interest in film translate into you having a hand in your film clips?
Yeah, everything that I do has to represent my music so it's very important to me that I have a say – that I basically am controlling everything.
Anna Calvi - 'Moulinette' live
Let's talk about Australia. Is it just going to be you, Daniel [Maiden-Wood] and Mally [Harpaz] for the live shows down here at Laneway Festival?
Yeah.
With all the performing that you've done have you been tempted to fiddle with that formula at all?
No, I think it works pretty well for this album. Next album – depending on how it turns out – we might change it, but for this album it's perfect.
Talking about your live performances, you make the point about you being retiring and then becoming fearless on stage. For most people it's the complete opposite to that.
I think it's just that music really enables me to be strong because it feels very natural for me to express myself in that way. It gives me a fearlessness I don't have in other situations.
There’s not anything else in life that you do that makes you feel that way?
Not really, no.
You say you write music for yourself rather than the listener. What about when you perform – is it the same thing? Is it mostly for you as opposed to the audience?
It's not that I don't think about the listener when I'm writing. It's just I didn't think about the listener in terms of, "Oh, would they like this or that?" In terms of live, it's very much a relationship. It's very much a give and take thing. I'm very aware of my audience. I don't perform in a shoegazer kind of way where I don't even look up. I try and look people in the eye. It kind of freaks them out sometimes [laughs]. It's an important part of it.
Do you slip into the travelling circus of festivals OK? Does that come easily for you or do you prefer to do your own shows?
I think there's really good things about both. Sometimes festivals can be difficult because my music's very dynamic and there are moments where it gets really, really quiet — and the songs could get lost in certain festivals — but you just have to find a way around it. It's a challenge and it's good to be kept on your toes.
Looking at your career, Anna, it strikes me that you're coming to this when you're a little older, in your mid-to-late twenties as opposed to your late teens or early twenties. Do you think that's helped you deal with the attention and the music industry in general?
I've always been a musician. I've always written music but I guess my first album coming out later has been emotionally good for me because I'm more stable and I'm just more comfortable in myself. I've had enough experience to be able to be strong with my ideas and not get swayed by other peoples' opinions, whereas when I was 16 it would've been harder for me to stick to my guns. I think it's a good thing for me.
Beyond Laneway, what are the plans for you next year?
Just writing and recording. That's basically it – just focusing on the next album.
Matt Shea
ANNA CALVI - AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2012
Friday 3rd February 2012 - Corner Hotel, Melbourne (18+)
Wednesday 8th February 2012 - Metro Theatre (18+), Sydney
Also appearing at the Laneway Festival, alongside Feist, M83, The Drums and more...
LANEWAY FESTIVAL - 2012
SAT 28 JAN - Alexandria Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, QLD
SAT 4 FEB - Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne, VIC
SUN 5 FEB - Sydney College of the Arts (SCA), Balmain Road, Sydney, NSW
FRI 10 FEB - Fowler's Live and UniSA West Courtyards Adelaide, SA
SAT 11 FEB - Perth Cultural Centre, Beaufort Street, Perth, WA