Anna Neale

Woking

Anna Neale is a multi-talented singer/songwriter, composer, producer, session vocalist, and lecturer in music. Anna's worked professionally in the music industry for twenty years. In that time she's toured the world, released three albums and two EP’s independently to critical acclaim, written songs for other artists, radio and TV advertising, and provided vocals for many TV animations, songs and adverts. Anna is an elected member of The Ivors Academy Songwriter Committee and The Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Committee (EID) (formally the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors / BASCA) and a member of the Writers Committee for the Musicians Union. Annas 2018 album 'Wide Sky', co-produced with Jez Larder (Amy MacDonald, Estelle, David Bowie) was released independently in 2018 and received a 5 star review in national music magazine RnR. (Rock n Reel). The album features performances from Syrian musicians, as well as singers from English National Opera (ENO). Fusing together Middle Eastern music with Western pop, and continuing the world music theme featured in her pervious album 'River Man'.'Wide Sky' has been funded through Pledge Music, the campaign reached 275% of its target funding in three days. Her previous EP 'Free Falling' was also crowdfunded. The title track 'Free Falling' was chosen as BBC Introducing: The South's 'Track of the Day' twice in 2016. Anna's previous album ‘River Man’, also produced by Jez Larder, took the listener on an epic musical odyssey through Roman history and heralded a change of musical direction. Voted one of RnR (Rock n Reel) Magazine’s albums of 2012, River Man features guest performances from Gary Brooker (Procol Harum), Patch Hannan (The Sundays, The Audience), and world-renowned Senegal virtuoso Jali Fily Cissokho. Influenced by the life, times, loves and legacy of Pompeii, Anna Neale’s ‘River Man’ enthralled listeners with songs that chronicled universal themes of love and knowledge, as well as the eternal question of the human spirit and human identity. Part of the 'River Man' tour in 2013 saw Anna and her band performing at The British Museum as part of their 'Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum' exhibition, and at the University of Cambridge with Classics Professor, Mary Beard. Internationally Anna's headlined at the world renowned Canadian Music Week festival (CMW) in Toronto in 2009, and at the sell out BPI showcase as part of Canada’s NXNE festival in 2006, where she was the highest rated solo artist in the Canadian press. She has also performed as part of SXSW in Austin, Texas and at the NEMO Music Festival in Boston USA in 2005. Anna’s Boston appearances resulted in her track ‘All For Nothing’ topping the Starbucks download charts across New England. "One of the UK's leading acoustic artists". London Live Review, UK "Imagine, for a moment, what it must have been like to hear Kate Bush for the first time, and know for sure that tectonic plates are shifting beneath you? Wide Sky may have started at a sunset, but it ends at infinity. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review, Andrew Darlington, RnR Magazine, UK “It reminds me how I felt the very first time I heard 'Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd. Like then, I feel this is a very special piece of work. Many congratulations." On 'Wide Sky' - Dan Chisholm, BBC Broadcaster “With River Man Neale has delivered a tour de force recording. It’s a sumptuous musical statement. Inspired by a visit to Pompeii it explores historical and metaphysical issues in a beautifully accessible way.” RnR Magazine, UK "Unlike the typical fare of thin, airy-voiced female folksters, Neale surprises by breaking away from the pack with a gutsy vocal style that’s both sensual and soulful." Metro, Toronto, CA “At certain points Neale looked like what Christina Aguilera would look like if she could write songs and play the guitar.” Chart Attack, Canada