I did this interview with Ed Mutjiens, a music writer from the Netherlands. Great questions that really delved the depths of "The Nocturnal Among Us", so I thought I would post it. I've got a new 2011 interview for "The Wasted Ocean", so I will post that soon as well,
Question:
Anna, the release of “The Nocturnal Amongst Us” is as remarkable as your biography. A singer/songwriter who studied opera in Salzburg at the age of 19 is something very special, to say the least. Why was opera at that time so appealing for you?
Answer:
Opera was one of those funny things that just seemed to happen to me. It often seemed that the more I tried to get away from it, the deeper I got into it. I auditioned for and was accepted into the Mozarteum on a whim, and was only planning to attend the “Preparatory School” (2 years). Somehow I ended up in the normal program (8 years of study!!) My first few months were bordering on hilarious: I did not speak German yet (I do now!) and I often [...]
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Please pass the Sperm, or, You’ve got to learn the Gender of the Words!
It is dinnertime, in a lovely hotel deep in the heart of Europe. The bread is slightly stale, and it needs butter. The butter is at the far end of the small table. I am tired, somewhat desperate to speak American English and to have a moment alone, but it’s not an option for now. I arranged my face into what I imagined to be a pleasant expression, looked at the butter, and said, in my tablemates native language, “Please pass the butter.”
His face froze, then fell, then looked frantically around the room in what can only be described as pure panic. Could there possibly be someone we knew in the room? A room where no one spoke either of our two languages? No. And what the hell was the problem with asking for the butter? I was only trying to fight the natural American in me and not reach across the table.
“What did I just say?” I ask, full of caution, as things appeared to be escalating into a full-blown [...]
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I'm back in the states and finally able to process some of the UK tour into a big old list. Everything is easier to process in list form.
1) Closest I've come to the "other side": pulling out of Edinburgh Airport after 18 hours of flying and having to Navigate to Edinburgh City Center while shifting with my left hand and trying to read a map, all the while trying to stay on the left side of the road.
2)Happiest I've ever been to see anybody: Ian Parks at the Belladrum Festival in Inverness, Scotland. We were both a long way from home!
3)Coolest self-made venue: The Wombwell Wheelhouse in Wombwell, England. The guy has got a bar built in!
4)Most Roundabouts per square mile: between Wombwell and Sheffield. I counted 11 roundabouts on what was otherwise a perfectly straight road. Look kids: it's Big Ben! And Parliment!
5) Most well funded radio system in the world: The BBC. All I can say is "wow".
6) Most helpful device ever invented: The "SatNav" that my wonderful host Hedley forced [...]
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About “The Nocturnal Among Us”
Making “The Nocturnal”
“The Nocturnal” is a collection of songs that I wrote over the last 3 years. It is my first record as a solo artist (I have put out two records with my former band, north19). It is also the first time I have worked with a producer (JD Foster, who has worked with Calexico, Richard Buckner, Patty Griffin and many others) and recorded in a studio outside of Seattle.
To date, making “The Nocturnal” is the most fun I have ever had playing music—it was hotter than hell, humid, sticky, and we were up in Maine in a big old farmhouse with no internet or cell phone reception. We drank too much and had a lot of coffee and went into town everyday to get huge ice cream cones. Maine has some incredible ice cream. It is the first time I have felt such a synergy: 5 people in a house with nothing to do but make music. We tracked 14 songs in 6 days. Later, we had the honor of being joined on 3 songs by Austin Nevins, the guitar [...]
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1) Connecticut. It's bigger than it looks! Ditto for New Jersey and Rhode Island.
2) New York and PA: they look big, but they are bigger than they look.
3) Toll roads: not always very well maintained.
4) The Northeast: does it ever stop raining here? Or perhaps I carry the rain with me?
5) New York City: SO cool. Really. It lives up to the Hype.
6) Touring solo= not as fun as being in a big van filled with Italians, husbands, drummer, and one small dog. Still generally more appealing than most other jobs.
7) The 2008 Subaru is more reliable than the 1984 VW van.
8) I am going to become an auto mechanic before my next tour.
9) I better get back on the road, gotta get to Rochester.
XOXO
Anna