Words by Tina Edwards
Thrice Mercury-nominated singer-songwriter and vocalist Anna Calvi is a law unto herself.
Not many artists would follow a critically acclaimed album (Hunter, 2018), by entering the world of TV scoring. But not many people are Anna Calvi. And not many shows are Peaky Blinders. The Victorian crime drama became a phenomenon, and so when director Anthony Byrne offered Anna the chance to score a scene, it was an unexplored and exciting prospect.
“I really wasn't expecting the offer and it felt overwhelming, but at the same time, it was such an amazing opportunity that I couldn't possibly say no”, says Anna, speaking over the phone on a rainy, Wednesday evening. That initial scene turned into an offer to score the entirety of series five, followed by series six; both series’ soundtracks were released via Domino Recording Co at the start of 2024.
Anna Calvi mothers a distinctive sound world; flamenco, goth rock, classical and operatic influences with elements of dark, sultry drama. One that she drew from for Peaky Blinders, as if from a well of unending ideas; Anna’s sound, it turned out, was a match for Tommy Shelby’s underworld in Victorian Birmingham. The trick for Anna was not to overthink it.
“It's very much about capturing your first feeling when you watch it”, says Anna, explaining her scoring process. “The more you watch it, the further you are from that first feeling and that's what you're trying to capture”, she explains in her surprisingly gentle and quiet voice. “I would watch a scene with my guitar and record lots of ideas. Usually, the first couple of takes would be the best and then it would be about sculpting that initial idea. At that point, I’d send it to the director to get feedback…”.
Scoring is very much about capturing that first feeling.
That was an unusual experience for Anna, as a solo artist. “Usually the only one that matters is me! I actually found it really freeing; it's such a relief to not always have to be the one who knows”, says Anna. “I don't know how common this is, but [Anthony] always had good ideas. I would write something I thought was really amazing, And he would say, “Get rid of all of it—apart from the drone note underneath”. I'd be thinking, “Oh, that's so frustrating!” but then I would watch it back and I'd be like… “Oh… he's right”.
"It’s a completely different mindset, which I guess took a while to embed in me. The basic rule, really, is that less is always more when you're scoring. You’ve got to leave room for the actors and the cinematography to do the talking. They’re the main characters and you're the supporting role”.
Composing for series six marked a particularly challenging time in Anna’s career, one that she’s proud of seeing through. “I wouldn't recommend the coming together of pregnancy, a pandemic and scoring a TV series. It was a bit much”, she confesses, half laughing but not convincingly, as if to avoid diving into difficult memories.
The basic rule, really, is that less is always more when you're scoring.
“But you know, I'm really glad I got through it. If I learned anything, it’s that you can always do more than you think you're capable of doing”. The experience, thankfully, hasn’t put her off of composing for screen. “I'd love to score a film for Sofia Coppola; I’d be really interested to see what that's like compared to doing a TV show”.
You can always do more than you think you're capable of.
As we speak, Anna’s in the middle of writing her hotly-anticipated fourth album. Plenty has changed since she released Hunter in 2018; the world has been through unimaginable shifts in the six years since, and Anna has become a mother for the first time.
[This album’s] got a different energy about it; it's my most accomplished”, she says, without hesitation. “It’s everything that I've learned, partly from doing Peaky Blinders; it helped in a sense of going with your instinct—not thinking that if you spend a really long time on something, it must mean it's better; that's not necessarily the case. Sometimes the opposite is true. Being in a different stage in my life, having had a child… it enables me to be braver with the music that I create”.
Anna’s fans will have considered her brave since the release of Jezebel in 2010. Whilst shiny production values and polite pop in the name of Olly Murs and Scouting For Girls were topping the UK charts, Anna Calvi introduced herself as being against the grain from the off; her debut single was a moody, Spaghetti-Western tinted spin on Frankie Laine’s 1955 hit. Anna reflects on the decade and a half since her first release.
If you just let the music lead you, then you can't really go wrong.
“There's been some really amazing highlights, you know. I'm still exploring and still interested in learning. If you just let the music lead you, then you can't really go wrong. Where it could go wrong, is if you start trying to make music for another goal that isn't just to please yourself. I feel that even more now; it's kind of like a star in the sky that keeps you knowing where you are… all that really matters is that you're making music that you love, and then the rest will follow”.
Fans of Anna’s will already know that she takes no shit. On Hunter, Anna wrote about gender identity and stereotyping, sexuality and queerness. Whilst several publications commented on her “new, queer energy”, Anna told The Evening Standard in 2019 that her music had always been queer—”I think everyone who follows me knew anyway”. She’s often been quoted for speaking on LGBTQIA+ issues and gender equality.
“On the face of it, things feel better, but I still encounter situations that shock me”, says Anna, reflecting on the landscape that female musicians work in today. “For me personally, it’s not to do with assault; it's much more micro than that. It's how people talk to you or how even if you're a composer in the room, the musicians might look to the man in the room for guidance, even though they're not the composer. And you're like seriously!?”, says Anna.
“But then I do feel at the same time, there's more awareness than when I started out. When I think about some of the questions that I got asked? I don't think I would be asked now. Things like “When are you going to start your family?”. Now that she’s a mother, Anna has been facing different kinds of challenges. “Some people assume that you're not gonna want a career anymore. Which I'm sure doesn't happen to male artists that have children. But then there are other people that are very supportive, so it's a combination”.
I feel very excited and encouraged by the female composers doing great work.
Whilst Anna approaches her fourth album and, hopefully, a stream of enquiries about further scoring projects, she’s optimistic for women who are coming up in the industry today.
“The technical side of creating is still quite male dominated; [having] more engineers and producers who are also female is going to really help. I feel very excited and encouraged by the female composers that are doing great work” says Anna.
“I got lucky doing this gig. I’m not the kind of person that would go into a room and be like, “Hey, you need to hire me, because I'm fucking great!”, she laughs shyly, as if even pretending to exclaim it was far too embarrassing in itself. “I’m not that kind of person — but I don’t think women should be afraid of being like that, even if I can't do it. Because you probably are fucking great”.