Anna Calvi is an
English musician who plays in the band of the same name. On 6 December 2010, Calvi was announced as a nominee for the
BBC's
Sound of 2011 poll. Her self-titled debut album was released in the UK on 17 January 2011,where it debuted at number 40 on 23 January. The album was subsequently nominated for the prestigious
Mercury Music Prize in 2011.
Calvi has been compared to other female singers
PJ Harvey and
Siouxsie.
Calvi's style has been described as dark, romantic, atmospheric pop. The singer has stated that the powers of lust are an inspiration and her performances are deliberately sexually charged. Calvi has cited
Nina Simone,
Maria Callas, the rock of
Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones, the blues of
Captain Beefheart, the stage performances of
Nick Cave,
David Bowie and
Scott Walker as well as classical composers
Carlo Gesualdo,
Messiaen,
Ravel and
Debussy as among her influences.
Calvi has stated that the films of
Gus Van Sant and
Wong Kar-Wai and
David Lynch have also influenced her music. She has admiration for "people that make beautiful films where the cinematography tells the story" and tries to do the same in her own work.
Calvi was invited to play at the
Gucci dinner, hosted by
Vogue during 2011 Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week
. Since then
Frida Giannini, creative director at
Gucci has chosen outfits for Calvi to wear during the May 2011 US tour.
The fashion designer
Karl Lagerfeld has said he is a fan of her music, and has photographed Calvi for the Maison Michel Fall Winter 2011 lookbook.
Sir Paul Smith photographed Calvi for the cover of L'Express Styles.
Calvi was invited on the
Chanel table for the
Amfar charity event at Cannes Film Festival 2011.
