How should one feel about British singer Anna Calvi?
Calvi is undeniably talented and classically interesting; having spent much of her childhood in and out of hospital due to the fact she had a deformed hip. As is sometimes the case with ill kids, she lived in her own world, one that was riddled with conjured styles and sounds. Her passion for creating sounds meant that she would tinker with instruments and rudimentary recording equipment at home (karaoke machines and cassette recorders). Being a quick learner, Calvi mastered several instruments at an early age, while also raiding her father’s extensive Baby Boomer record collection for inspiration.
As admirable her story is, Calvi is now teetering on the brink of becoming too cool. The danger of being too cool is that you become un-cool. Brian Eno has described Calvi as "the biggest thing since Patti Smith". Interpol, Arctic Monkeys and Nick Cave personally invited Calvi to support them on tour. Fashion powerhouses like Collette, Fendi, Vogue, Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld have commissioned her to collaborate with them on projects, with Gucci designing Calvi’s entire US tour wardrobe and paying the singer to open new stores for them. Calvi is becoming an industry, it seems. Everyone wants to take a bite.
Talking Heads’ front man David Byrne is another high profile fan of Calvi, so much so he’s actually partnered with her on a haunting cover of Keren Ann’s excellent Strange Weather. With songs sung this well, it’s hard to question why Calvi’s popularity keeps ballooning.
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