Anna Calvi
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'Hunter', the third long player from from the BRIT Award and double Mercury Music Prize - nominated Anna Calvi, will be released on 31st August 2018 via Domino.
Produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Grinderman) at Konk Studios in London with some further production in LA, the album was recorded with Anna's band - Mally Harpaz on various instruments and Alex Thomas on drums - with the addition of Adrian Utley from Portishead on keys and Martyn Casey from The Bad Seeds on bass. It has a new rawness, a primal energy into which Calvi pushes the limits of her guitar and voice beyond anything she's recorded before.
'Hunter' is the embodiment of the feeling of truly letting go. For the songwriter and virtuosic guitarist, it was a catharsis, an opportunity to be more truthful than ever. The first new music since 2014's collaborative release with David Byrne, 'Strange Weather' EP, her self-titled debut album and the 2013 follow-up 'One Breath', 'Hunter' is a visceral album exploring sexuality and breaking the laws of gender conformity. A queer and a feminist record, it is galvanising in its hunt for freedom. It was important to Calvi that it was as vulnerable as it is strong; as beautiful as it is harsh; as much about the hunted as it is about the 'Hunter'. But she's careful not to characterise any of these traits as "masculine" or "feminine" - the whole point is that one person, of any gender, can be both. The power is in the contrast itself; in the way she oscillates between extremes, sounding freer than ever before. She wanted to express herself while being "free from the story that either gender is given, free from worrying how people would judge me on what I want to do with my body and myself. For me, that's quite a utopian vision."
In conjunction with today's announcement, Calvi shares a video for the album's first single, 'Don't Beat The Girl Out Of My Boy'. A battle cry with a rousing chorus, the song was partly written while thinking about how young children are when they're conditioned to follow gender roles - in particular, the "heartbreaking" process through which small boys are taught not to cry or show emotions. Speaking about the track, Anna said the following: "It's a song about the defiance of happiness. It's about being free to identify yourself in whichever way you please, without any restraints from society."
Directed by rising star and recent Kendrick Lamar collaborator, William Kennedy, and choreographed by Aaron Sillis (FKA Twigs).
Anna Calvi said the following about 'Hunter':
"I'm hunting for something - I want experiences, I want agency, I want sexual freedom, I want intimacy, I want to feel strong, I want to feel protected and I want to find something beautiful in all the mess.
I want to go beyond gender. I don't want to have to chose between the male and female in me. I'm fighting against feeling an outsider and trying to find a place that feels like home.
I believe that gender is a spectrum. I believe that if we were allowed
to be somewhere in the middle, not pushed to the extremes of performed
masculinity and femininity, we would all be more free. I want to explore
how to be something other than just what I've been assigned to be. I
want to explore a more subversive sexuality, which goes further than
what is expected of a woman in our patriarchal heteronormative society.
I want to repeat the words 'girl boy, woman man', over and over, to find
the limits of these words, against vastness of human experience.
I believe in the female protagonist, who isn't simply responding to a man's story. I go out into the world and see it as mine - I want something from it, rather than just being a passive product of it. I'm hungry for experiences. Sometimes things seem clear, and other times I feel lost. I feel strong and yet vulnerable; I wear my body and my art as an armour, but I also know that to be true to myself is to be open to being hurt.
The intent of this record is to be primal and beautiful, vulnerable and
strong, to be the 'Hunter' and the hunted."
- Anna
'Hunter' will be available on DIG, CD, LP and via all DSPs. It will also be available on limited edition deluxe LP 180g red vinyl with exclusive signed print, encased in a high gloss gatefold sleeve (with download code).
Anna will perform her captivating new live show on an extensive UK and European headline tour this autumn and winter kicking off in Belfast on 27th September 2018. The tour will culminate in her biggest show to date at The Roundhouse in London on 7th February 2019. These dates will follow her first live shows in four years this month with three special performances in Berlin (Berghain), Paris (La Gaite Lyrique) and London (Heaven) on 19th June, which are now all sold out.
Photo by Maisie Cousins
Anna Calvi
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19 Oct, 2019
Q Awards 2019: The Winners
At this week's Q Awards, Primary Talent International artists won eight of the fourteen awards.
BEST ACT IN THE WORLD TODAY
...The 1975BEST SOLO ACT
...StormzyBEST BREAKTHROUGH ACT
...Pale WavesINNOVATION IN SOUND
...Dizzee Rascal!CLASSIC ALBUM
...Tricky: 'Maxinquaye'FENDER PLAY AWARD
...Anna CalviOUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC
...KanoSONG OF THE DECADE
...Lana Del Rey: 'Video Games'
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14 Aug, 2019
Anna Calvi: Inside The Music Of 'Peaky Blinders'
Anna Calvi and the music of 'Peaky Blinders' is featured in NME.
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02 Aug, 2019
The Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival
The Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival curated by the show's writer Steven Knight, will take place in Digbeth, Birmingham on 14th / 15th September and features Primary Talent International artists:
...Anna Calvi
...Martha GunnAs featured in the NME.
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31 Jul, 2019
Playground Festival 2019
Playground 2019 will take place in Glasgow this weekend, and will feature Primary Talent International artists:
Saturday 3rd August
...Anna Calvi
...DJ Format
Sunday 4th August
...Django Django
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31 Jul, 2019
Anna Calvi: 'Peaky Blinders' Season 5
The BBC have shared the new trailer for the 5th season of 'Peaky Blinders', which has a soundtrack by Anna Calvi.
This clip features 'Strange Weather', her collaboration with David Byrne.www.stereogum.com/2051785/anna-calvi-scored-new-season-peaky-blinders/news
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27 Jul, 2019
Anna Calvi: Mercury Prize Nomination & 'Peaky Blinders'
Anna Calvi discusses her Mercury Prize nomination for 'Hunter', and scoring the soundtrack for the BBC series 'Peaky Blinders', in Metro.
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25 Jul, 2019
Anna Calvi: Shortlisted For Hyundai Mercury Prize
We are pleased to announce that 'Hunter' - Anna Calvi's third long player - has been shortlisted for the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize, 'Albums of the Year'. Anna said of the nod: "I'm so thrilled to get shortlisted, this is such a personal record and I put everything I had into it. It really means the world to me".
Anna has now been Mercury shortlisted for each of her three albums, 'Hunter' follows 2013's 'One Breath' and her self-titled debut in 2011.
'Hunter' is a visceral album exploring sexuality and breaking the laws of gender conformity. For the songwriter and virtuosic guitarist, it was a catharsis, an opportunity to be more truthful than ever. Produced by Nick Launay, it has a rawness and a primal energy into which Calvi pushed the limits of her guitar and voice beyond anything she's recorded before. Talking about the record upon its release last year, Anna said: "I'm hunting for something - I want experiences, I want agency, I want sexual freedom, I want intimacy, I want to feel strong, I want to feel protected and I want to find something beautiful in all the mess".
Calvi also recently shared the news that she has written and performed the score for the entire new season of BBC One's 'Peaky Blinders' which is due to air later this year.
(Domino Records)
www.mercuryprize.com/2019-shortlist
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25 Jul, 2019
Hyundai Mercury Prize 2019
Several Primary Talent International artists have been shortlisted for this years Hyundai Mercury Prize. The winner will be announced at an event at London Eventim Apollo on 19th September.
...Anna Calvi: 'Hunter’
...Dave: 'Psychodrama’
...The 1975: 'A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationaships’www.mercuryprize.com/2019-shortlist
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18 Jul, 2019
Anna Calvi: 'Peaky Blinders' Soundtrack
Anna Calvi has collaborated on the musical score for the 5th season of 'Peaky Blinders', which premiered tonight.
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11 May, 2019
The Great Escape: Saturday 11th May
The third and final day of Brighton's The Great Escape festival in Brighton, again features many artists from the Primary Talent International roster.
Saturday 11th May:
...Gaffa Tape Sandy
...Alfie Templeman
...Charly Bliss
...These New South Whales
...Swimming Girls
...Sullii
...Amahla
...Awate
...Big Heath
...Just Banco
...Jaykae
...Talk Show
...Aitch
...Can't Swim
...Injury Reserve
...Anna Calvi
...The Intergalactic Republic of Kongo
...Saint Agnes
...Pixx