Annalie Wilson
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Annalie Wilson

London, England, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF

London, England, United Kingdom | SELF
Established on Jan, 2012
Solo Folk Singer/Songwriter

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"New Band of the Week: Annalie Wilson"

Okay, so this week’s band isn’t actually a band. It’s an artist. Hope you’ll forgive us? Searching for new music is a neverending task, especially when you’re trying to uncover new artists. We like championing fresh, unheard and exciting talent here at fairsharemusic – and, well, she’s one to watch!

Born and raised ooop north (Leeds apparently), Annalie is an old-school songwriter with a contemporary voice and a magnetic stage presence. She’s spent a lot of time in the company of greatness, having gone to school with Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs and others. Influenced in her early years by The Beatles and Ella Fitzgerald, Annalie was writing and recording her own songs from the age of 12 and at 16 wrote her first film score which was highly-praised at the Venice Film Festival. Not a bad little precocious talent then?

She soon left the north to join the circus, drama school to be precise(!) and soon found herself amongst an elite group of talented individuals – folk singer Johnny Flynn and actor Rupert Friend to name but a few. Whilst at drama school she began singing with jazz/funk band The Jezebel Sextet and recorded ‘Killermachine’, later released on the Mercede Benz Mixtape – spawning pockets of fans all over the world.

She then formed her own band and made her first album ‘The Anomaly Project’ in 2009. In 2011 Annalie began work on her second album, and during that process she produced the Water Snakes EP, which made its live début at the Mayor’s Thames Festival in London in the Summer of 2012 and was released a matter of weeks ago. We like it just a little bit too much.

Songs include ‘Perfect Love’, an exploration of the diversity of human relationships in all their imperfect glory. As a testament to this, the vocals and the instruments were recorded in one take and with barely any effects added. Whatever happened, happened. Neat.

Annalie recently worked with Hot Chip spin-off band New Build on their début album, providing backing vocals for ‘Medication’, impressively described by Pitchfork as ‘indulgently soulful’. She’s currently in the final stages of production for her second and eagerly-anticipated album, a heavier and grander venture than the acoustic EP, due for release later in 2013. We think it’s the one that’s going to launch the girl. Watch this space. Or her space. We’re not fussy. Either way, just keep an eye out. - fairsharemusic


"Water Snakes EP review"

Have you ever listened to British Country? Such is the description given to the music of newcomer Annalie Wilson.
“People are describing it as British Country music!” says folk-rock singer Annalie Wilson. “Yes, it’s an interesting term — not one I would use myself, but it’s curious that a few different people have picked up on it.”
Wilson, a native of England, is an upcoming artist we all should pay attention to. Her sophomore EP Water Snakes is a solid combination of folk, indie and soulfulness. “I tend to avoid genre labels where possible, but if I had to describe Water Snakes I would probably call it ‘folk-rock,’’’ she says.
The four-track album offers both up-tempo and down-tempo songs that feature layered lyrics and rhythmic instrumental pairings.
“Skin” deals with relationship issues, identity, life and humanity. The song is both bare and hopeful. The sound is rustic yet harmonious, with bits of country and sweet byway of guitar and piano. Wilson displays the honesty and candor of Feist as well as the melancholic, sometimes solemn, tone of Norah Jones’ debut Come Away With Me. In a word, it’s poetic.
Homeground is a down-tempo followup. The lyrics provide much introspection: “Integrity and poetry always seem to go hand-in-hand for me… I miss you and I know who you are at last and it’s someone I wanna be around on my own homeground.”
A turn happens on Perfect Love. Giving an up-tempo, almost pop-alternative feel, the track ironically speaks of the imperfection of love, but of such imperfection being just right. Resonating most are the lyrics: “It’s not a perfect love, no, far from it, but it’s what I’ve got and I’ll run/work with it…I know what I’ll do, I’m gonna stay with you.” The song is relatable and we feel this in every strum of the guitar. Reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’sDreams, the song is a sweet treasure — a morsel of real human emotion.
Save Me, the final song on the EP, is a downtempo, melodic tone, easily attachable to a scene from your favorite romantic comedy. It’s light-hearted, honest and unapologetic: “I don’t wanna learn, I just want things to change…Who’s gonna save me from myself”
“You’re not alone on this,” the song repeats.
For more information on rising star Annalie Wilson, visit her site: http://annalie.bandcamp.com/album/water-snakes-ep - Sonic Eclectic


Discography

Still working on that hot first release.

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Bio

Annalie is an authentic singer, songwriter and musician with a powerful voice that resonates with honesty, intensity and vulnerability. Born and raised in the North of England, Annalie’s Celtic roots find their way into her music through vibrant rhythms and haunting, memorable melodies.

Annalie’s music is bold, fresh and unapologetically human, hailing from a tradition of songwriters expressing their wisdom from the heart. With early musical influences Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, she shares a passion for individual and social awakening.

Her single "We Will Be Heard" commissioned for a festival in honour of suffragette Emily Davison was translated into 7 languages and has a powerful video featuring footage from political protests around the world. The song was later released to raise funds for Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Annalie performed at the Mayor’s Thames Festival in 2012 to mark the closing of the London 2012 Olympics. In 2013 she headlined the Awake in the World festival of arts, meditation and social vision at the University of London, and released the Water Snakes EP featuring single “Save Me,” which was dedicated to Tibetan Buddhist teacher and visionary Chogyam Trungpa.

Also on “Water Snakes,” “Perfect Love” celebrates the imperfections in ourselves and others that breathe reality into an increasingly airbrushed and materialistic world. Single “Skin” was premiered on BBC Radio London.

In 2014 Annalie won UK national competition “Rock the House” as Best Solo Artist and performed at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. She went on to release her next album “Open Heart Circus” which was mastered by legendary guitarist Ace of British indie rock band Skunk Anansie.

In 2014 Annalie toured in Poland, Norway and the UK with Polish jazz drummer Szymon Piotrowski, an organic collaboration that led to the genesis of her third album, “The Cold Blows.” Recorded completely live with grand piano, voice and drums at three locations in Norway and Poland, it is an album of contrasts and space, light and dark, energy and stillness.

Latest releases:

The Cold Blows (Album, December 2016, Undercurrent Records)

Fire (Single, November 2015, Undercurrent Records)

Soulmate (Single, February 2015, Undercurrent Records)

Open Heart Circus (Album, November 2014, Undercurrent Records)

We Will Be Heard (Single, August 2014, Undercurrent Records)

The Astronaut (Single, November 2013, Undercurrent Records)

Water Snakes (EP, March 2013, Undercurrent Records)


Band Members