Thursday 25th September 2014 by Elliot Mitchell | Photos by Richard Gray

A quick five minutes with Anna Calvi

The two-time Mercury nominated singer discusses fans + new songs

Photo: Richard Gray

Few artists receive one Mercury Prize nomination in their career, let alone two for consecutive albums. But then again Anna Calvi isn't like her contemporaries.

Breaking out in 2011 to immediate critical acclaim, her self titled debut wowed audiences with its calculated charm, held together by stunning vocal work and jawdropping instrumentation, something that was replicated in her ferocious live shows.

Taking things to new heights and further developing her already mature, defined sound, 2013's One Breath was equally well received, defining her place as a force to be reckoned with both as a songwriter and a performer.

Her upward trajectory has continued in recent months, with Calvi set to support Morrissey at the O2 Arena later this year, and collaborations with David Byrne and Marianne Faithful under her belt.

Needless to say, Anna Calvi is having a very good 2014, so Gigwise caught up with recently to find out how it's all going.

We saw you last at Green Man Festival this year. Is it odd or liberating playing shows when you're not immediately promoting anything?
I guess I don't really think about my performance in terms of promotion, instead I just put together a collection of songs that feel right for a particular audience, and I really enjoyed today because of that. With festival shows like this I gathered a lot of your set was built around improvisation and expression, and your performance today felt free and loose in the best possible way.

Do you find it tough condensing everything you want to do with a live show into the time restrictions of a festival slot?
You do have to cater it to an audience with less of an attention span, and it's a challenge to get it right, but when you do and you get a good response from an enthusiastic audience it's incredibly rewarding.

When shows like this are going well and an audience seems receptive is there perhaps a temptation to test out new ideas?
No I don't think now would be the right time to do that, I think you want to do that on a tour in a club-like space with your own fans, because you don't really know who this audience is.

Where would you say you're at in terms of new material at the moment?
Well I've just started writing so I'm kind of at the beginning stage, then after all the festivals I'm going to concentrate on it all properly. I think that's the way I work, it's a matter of just being on my own in silence to reflect on things and work from that.

Any indication of what direction you may take in the future?
Oh it's too early to say definitely. Once the festivals are done I can then just take my time with it all.

Anna Calvi's second album One Breath has been shortlisted for The Mercury Prize 2014 alongside the likes of Jungle, Royal Blood, FKA Twigs, Kate Tempest and others. The winner will be announced on 29 October.

Below: 13 stunning, exclusive photos of Anna Calvi at Green Man Festival