BY LESLEY HASTINGS

London born singer/songwriter Anna Howie is set to release her sophomore album “Good For Roses” on 18th April via the Absolute Label (Universal/Sony). The follow up to 2022’s well received “The Friday Night Club” which began life via online sessions during lockdown, this new eleven track project was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios with her band plus a few guest musicians, and was produced by Kris Wilkinson Hughes (aka the artist My Girl The River).

The associated UK tour is already underway (details below) and I was fortunate enough to chat with Anna last week in between her busy schedule to find out a bit more about her new music (I had received a preview of the album) and much more besides!

We had a lot of fun (I’d like to think, anyway!) .

Anna was chilling at home after a relaxed, lazy day, and my first question was about her feelings in the lead up to release day…excitement? Nervousness? Trepidation?

“All of those for sure! It is exciting and it feels it’s been a long time in the run up. So I’m going to be very happy just to get it out. I’m very proud of it and it was so great to make, especially the studio time which was so much fun! I hope people can hear that” 

So what does she hope people will take away from the album?

“Joyfulness as I just mentioned, there’s a bit of silliness on there for sure! In the writing process I realised that a lot of songs that were making it out into the air were about good things coming from a dark time, there was a bit of a theme which is where the title ‘Good For Roses’ came from (aside: you’ll understand when you hear the opening track!). I’d like people to hear it and feel that hopeful sense of when times are crap they are going to get better”. 

I told Anna I definitely found it a very uplifting album, so she hit that brief as far as I’m concerned! 

Compared to her debut album the songs she’s written this time round are more personal, drawing inspiration from life-defining moments. I wondered if that made them easier or harder to write than telling others stories through her songs? 

“That’s a really good question. Some of them were quite hard to write, even before putting anything on paper you have to think that you’re going to share this bit of your life, and quite a lot of the stuff happened quite a while ago. Things you maybe want to forget but you are bringing back up. And you’re not just going to write a song about them but sing it to the people in your band and then in front of lots of people! So you first have to make that decision, and those bits are quite tricky I think. It’s like a process. 

But on the other side of that, already when we are doing some of the songs live people come up to me afterwards and say ‘I absolutely felt that song’….so crossing that line and being a bit bold about it and sharing is often what makes a connection with people. It feels scary but also positive”. 

So did Anna learn anything about herself through all this?

“I think maybe just that I’ve come a long way! That I’m so much better at making good choices now (I’m touching wood as I say this!). I’m so much smarter! I’ve got a teenager and two children in their 20’s and they’re so much smarter than I was at their age, more savvy. I’ve also learned it’s ok to share stuff, which is quite liberating. I sometimes think my gigs are a bit like therapy (laughing). As long as it works both ways that’s good! “

I didn’t have the writing credits for the album, but I gathered that the eleven tracks were all solo writes …..quite unusual these days….

“There’s two that had input.  ‘Gatekeeper’ was written alone (listen via link below) but then in the studio Kris and I changed lots about it and she threw in so much that it became hers too. And ‘Opera House’  has had so many versions over time but I just couldn’t land on one I liked ….til Adam Hope and I sat down and thrashed it out and he definitely put some good bits it. But other than that …..all me! ” 

What (if anything) is Anna’s typical songwriting process? 

“Usually there’s something I can’t get out of my head, or a feeling that won’t go away, maybe something someone said or something I’ve done ….’Crazy’s For Horses’ for example was something an old uncle of mine used to say. He’s from the West Country and was a farmer, he didn’t say many things but when he did you listened. When he said it to me I think he meant he wanted me be braver and more instinctive like horses are when they kick out for example. That was 30 years ago and I’ve never forgotten it hence writing a song about it all this time later. He’s no longer around but I think he’d be very pleased he’s getting a look in! 

Also with some of the songs on this album inspiration comes from something about myself I feel annoyed about ….’Opera House’ is about all those times I lie awake at night. And when I wrote ‘Have It All’ I was absolutely furious, it was all to do with a music industry thing, I felt I’d been picked up and then thrown down again in the matter of a day. The song came out pretty much as a stream of consciousness which I spewed onto the page and didn’t change a thing. Which I think you can hear!!” 

(I said I liked ‘angry Anna’ and how it inspired her!) 

I went on to say I was very envious that she’d attended one of Gretchen Peters’ songwriting workshops in Nashville, and I also gather that she had recorded an EP there too…..what were those experiences like? 

“Gretchen was a force! She was brilliant and I learned so much from her, I literally sat and absorbed everything she said. She had a very ‘no nonsense’ approach to songwriting which I really liked, it was all about the lyrics and structure and getting your point across. And then the recording process of my EP was an eye opener! So different from here. It was very quick, and all set up for that. I really enjoyed it. I hadn’t worked with any of the musicians before, but knew the producer Bob Britt who was there and he’d brought the musicians in. It was like ‘hi, how are you doing, let’s record a song’. This last album was actually the first time I got to record with my band which was really lovely as we’ve done so much together …..the first album was made coming out of lockdown so we couldn’t all get together”.

Having already mentioned her producer Kris (in co-writer capacity) I wanted to know if working with someone who is both a friend and an artist in their own right in the studio was very helpful? 

“I think it is. She is first and foremost an artist, we actually met over Twitter during lockdown, did a few Zooms together when we basically just moaned to each other about the industry, what was going to happen, all that stuff! And found common ground there. Then we went on tour together with Kate Ellis as the Arc Songwriters, and I got to know her much better. It was only over that time that I realised how good her producer’s ears were. She listened to things and heard things I wouldn’t necessarily hear, and I remember thinking that she’d be great in the studio. And she was! We just had the loveliest time. She was very respectful and encouraging to everybody, got the balance right between letting people do their thing and giving them guidelines. I think being an artist does help as you understand. I hope she gets more producing work out of it”.

With such variety in the arrangements throughout the album’s tracks, how do they all evolve? Does Anna have ideas as she’s writing the songs, or do they tend to take shape more organically in the studio? 

“It’s kind of a mish mash. The first thing is me and my guitar, and then I take it to Andy Evans who is my long-time guitar partner having gigged together for about eighteen years now, and he generally puts a lovely little riff on top. Then I take it to the rest of the band who add their bits, and then as the songs evolve I think ‘ooh, I can just hear a bit of brass on there, or this needs a bit of fiddle, keys, organ’ or whatever. We were so lucky to have the players we had for the album, including a lovely guy called Daniel McConkey on sax, and the guy who plays keys in my band Harry Whitty also plays the trumpet and trombone, all sorts of stuff so going into World Studios was like a treasure trove to him!” 

At the time of speaking there’d been just one single released from the album, “Mind The Gap” a really catchy and quirky song that I really enjoyed immediately….on her social media Anna dedicated it to “people who doubt themselves”…..what’s the reaction been like? 

“It was played on Ralph McLean’s BBC radio show last night which was lovely….he described it as ‘ quirky’ too! I love that description! The reaction has been great! Bella (Collins) who sings on it as well is a friend of mine from Cardiff, a blues player/ singer and she came over to the studios for dinner one night and I grabbed her and put her on the mic and she put those wonderful bits on top. People probably start off thinking the title is a train reference so how is that a song, is it about trains? So it seems to get them interested, a phrase a lot of people hear in their lives on a daily basis, and then it expands into something else”. 

Are there any other particular songs Anna is excited to get feedback from when the album drops?

“That’s a real good question….I feel like ‘Opera House’ is a romp, we threw lots of instruments at that so I’m hoping that people will enjoy that . 

Then there’s ‘Crazy’s For Horses’ (I’ve surprised myself how much I’m loving doing that one live! ). ‘Bring Me Love’ because I think it’s very topical. I’m also loving playing ‘Start Again’ live, I always play it after ‘Crazy’s For Horses’ as they were two life events that chronologically followed on. 

‘Everybody Knows’ is one I think people will identify with ….and I hope it makes people smile! (Listen via link below). 

Anna had covered my next question, which songs does she most enjoy performing live, within that last answer so that led logically to me asking about the tour. Are there any venues she’s particularly excited about playing, either for the first time or ones she’s looking forward to returning to? 

“We are very excited to go ‘Up North’ which is new to us! We’re off to Manchester next Friday and very much looking forward to that. I’ve played at the Trinity Theatre in Tunbridge Wells before and really enjoyed it, so am very much looking forward to going there again, similarly The Fokelore Rooms in Brighton. But there’s lots of venues we haven’t played before so it’s going to be very interesting…it’s great to play new places!”. 

Could Anna describe one of her gigs in three words? 

“Oooh….laughing, crying  and singing….ok that’s four but hey!” 

I finished by thanking Anna for her time, and saying I was hoping to see her at The Bedford, Balham in July, three days after my birthday, and wishing her well with both the album and tour. 

“Ha I’ll sing ‘Everybody Knows’ just for you!” 

Catch Anna and her band on tour throughout the UK during the coming months https://www.annahowiemusic.com/gigs

Listen to ” The Gatekeeper” and ” Everybody Knows” from the upcoming album here  https://slinky.to/TheGatekeeper