Anna Coogan's bittersweet Americana has enchanted listeners since she began writing her own songs in early 2002. A trained opera singer and field biologist, Anna translates her love for desolate landscapes, dark alleyways, and neon valleys into simple, sweet melodies.
Link to Anna's EPK:
http://www.sonicbids.com/AnnaCoogan
Born and raised in New England, (USA) Anna Coogan's unexpected journey
through music started young. At nineteen years old, she found herself in
Salzburg, Austria, studying opera in a language she did not yet know. She
explains: “I’m not exactly sure how I got there; a series of good
auditions and better luck. I did not speak a word of German when I first
got there: it was a crash course.”
Somewhat bewildered by the pressures of being in the prestigious world of
opera, Anna shocked the old guard at the Mozarteum by singing American
show tunes for recitals, and skipping class to go skiing in the Austrian
Alps. “I love opera, but I never could relate to the music. It did not
feel like mine. I’d show up sunburnt from the mountains, my voice in
shreds, and be in a load of trouble with my teachers.”
Homesick and lovesick for the man she would later marry, Anna returned to
the US in 2001, swearing off music for good. She re-enrolled at the
University of Washington in Seattle and began a degree in Biology. It was in late 2001, sometime after the events of September 11,
that Anna first heard Alison Krauss sing. “I had never heard any sort of
country music until that point. I grew up on the Beatles, on opera and
1960’s folk music. Hearing old-time country music changed the course of my life
yet again. I was hooked.”
Finally finding music that she could relate to, Anna picked up her
guitar and started hammering out two chord songs in between classes. She
wrote her first song, played her first gig, and formed the band “Anna
Coogan and north19” in a matter of months. After only a year
together, Anna Coogan and north19 released their first full length record,
Glory, on local country-noir label Tarnished Records. The positive
reception surprised the young band, who went from playing open stages and
coffeeshops to selling out the larger clubs in the region. Glory rose to
the top of local station KEXP’s charts, and the band was featured live
in-studio on the show “Swinging Doors”. The record rose to number 13 on
the FAR charts, and was featured on national and local TV in the US.
After the 2007 release of sophomore album Sleepwalker, which was mixed by
Grammy winner S. Husky Huskolds (Norah Jones, Tom Waits) and featured on
ABC series “Kyle XY”, Anna Coogan and north19 quietly retired. Never one
to sit still for long, Anna almost immediately set to work making her
first solo record, The Nocturnal Among Us, which was released in March
2010.
Produced by JD Foster (Calexico, Laura Cantrell, Patty Griffin) and
featuring Austin Nevins (Josh Ritter), Nocturnal spent 3 months on
the “Euro-Americana” charts, topping the charts at #1 for the month of
August, 2010. The release was supported with intensive touring, including
a spot at the Blue Balls Festival (Luzern, Switzerland), Celtic
Connections (Glasgow, Scotland), Belladrum (Inverness, Scotland), and
sold-out clubs across the US and Europe. Nocturnal received airplay
on over 200 stations in the US and was featured on the BBC Wales, BBC
Sheffield, and stations across mainland Europe and Australia.
Anna has been compared to such artists as Emmy Lou Harris, Lucinda Williams,
and Kelly Willis. Equally comfortable in a rock club, theater, or house
concert, Anna has shared the stage with such diverse luminaries as Alison
Brown, Reamonn, Fred Eaglesmith, Lambchop, and many others. She currently tours throughout the US and Europe on a regular basis with Roman guitar player Daniele Fiaschi.
Lonesome Cowboy Lullaby EP- 2003. My first release.
Glory- LP-2005. Released on Tarnished Records.
Sleepwalker- LP- 2007. Self released with Anna Coogan and north19
Live at Seattle Folklife- "State of Grace" - Anna Coogan and north19 live at Seattle Folklife
2010 Indiegrrl Compilation- "Crooked Sea" featured on this compilation.
The Nocturnal Among Us-LP. Released 2010. Produced by JD Foster.
The Nocturnal EP- Released 2010. Produced by JD Foster.
The Wasted Ocean- Released in UK, Europe in 2011, US in 2012. Produced by Evan Brubaker.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Single. Released in 2011.
Other projects:
A Second Grace: Misery. Backing Vocals. (2011)
AJ Roach: Revelation. Backing Vocals. (2007)
Our Lady of the Highway: Backing Vocals. (2005)