2019.05.28 - EPISODE #3
London | Singer-songwriter and Guitarist
Let us introduce you to Anna Calvi, the third guest of the digital project #HouseOfMolteni. Watch the full episode to discover her life in London.
1 | Would you like to introduce yourself?
I’m Anna Calvi and I’m a singer and guitarist. I’ve released three albums so far. Music is everything to me.
2 | When and why did you start playing guitar?
I’ve been playing guitar since I was eight, when I saw some footage of Jimi Hendrix playing at Woodstock. I picked up my dad’s guitar…and that’s was it! When I was younger I was very shy and playing guitar helped in expressing myself, as it felt like it was an extension of my voice. Even now that I’m a singer, I really feel it’s important that the guitar and the voice feel like one entity and that they both express the same thing.
3 | What is music to you?
Music is a way to convey things are otherwise difficult to express in everyday life. Also, when I play music, a more extrovert and untamed part of me definitely come out. It’s like a wild and liberating force, especially when I’m on stage.
4 | Talking about your live shows, you perform in front of small and large crowds alike. What are the differences for you?
Playing for a really small audience is sometimes more daunting than playing to a larger crowd.
When I play smaller venues and the audience is so close, it can be really incredible, but also quite intimidating.
5 | Your mother is English and your father is Italian. How do the two different cultures affect your music?
I believe that the Italian influence is felt through the music that I like, and I guess the passion I feel when I play music is tied to an Italian way of being free, of really expressing oneself. I definitely feel that that comes across in my music.
6 | Your videos are visually quite striking. How important are they to you?
I’m really influenced by films, so when I’m shooting a music video, the cinematography, the way it looks and the colours, are all important to me.
The visual aspects of what I do must feel that they’re expressing the music.
7 | The record that changed your life?
Jeff Buckley’s “Grace”. I was around 18 and a friend recommended to me. I took it home and listened to it once, but I was so amazed by it that I spent the whole night playing it over and over again.
I feel that that was a complete turning point for me as a musician, the moment I realised I really wanted to pursue music.
8 | The perfect record for a typical rainy day in London?
That would be “The Velvet Underground & Nico”. It’s so strange and woozy and it just really takes you into another world.
9 | Is there a song you would never play or sing?
I would never sing any of Bjork’s songs as I feel that her voice is actually an essential part of what her songs are. It’s something that I could never even attempt to replicate and I think she does Bjork better than anyone else anyway.
10 | Do you have a significant memory of London that you’d like to share?
I remember when I was a teenager and going to Soho with my friends, when it was still a cool and interesting place for us. It was a really exciting time, just discovering bars and seeing live music.
11 | Is there a place in London that you find particularly inspiring or relaxing?
The place that inspires me most in London is Richmond Park. It’s seven miles long and when you’re there you don’t even realise you’re in London. It’s so peaceful and I spend a lot of time there. I find it very relaxing.
When I’m working on a record, I walk a lot as it gives me many ideas. So I spend a great deal of my time in the park, just walking and thinking, just being within nature.
12 | Do you have any secret passions or hobbies?
When I’m not playing music I like to draw because I find it relaxing. It’s also a way of being creative that is different from what I do for a living. So, whenever I have a day off, I take a sketch pad, sit in the park and just draw.
DesignRON GILAD
DRAWER UNITS | SINGLE UNITS
The Teorema project is the solid part of a void. It is the flip side of Grado°, the collection that explores the form of a void. It is the mould as design, the template transferred and shifted that becomes micro architecture, and exceeds all disciplinary boundaries.
DesignNICOLA GALLIZIA
SMALL TABLES
In his search for stylized forms and characterful materials, Nicola Gallizia develops a series of versatile and complementary units that can fit into each other or be set side by side, such as small oval tables, benches and poufs. They are made using and alternating steel, wood, stone, textiles and leather. Color, matter and form are the inspiration and the synthesis of the collection.
Anna Calvi
Anna Calvi is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 2011 and earned her the European Border Breakers Award. Furthermore it was nominated for the Mercury Price as well as for British Breakthrough Act at the 2012 Brit Awards. She has been called a virtuoso guitarist, although her first instrument is the violin, in which she has a university degree and is noted for her powerful, wide ranging operatic voice.
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