Tuesday 10 February 2015 Singer, songwriter and actor Annalie Wilson (OG97) has started the New Year on a high note with a third album in production. This follows a successful 2014 for Annalie who won the national music competition Rock the House with a self-penned love song, released a charity single and launched her second album Open Heart Circus, which was mastered by Ace from the band Skunk Anansie. Annalie is still working on her new album – as yet untitled. She began recording it in Gdansk, Poland, at the end of last year and it is due out in the spring. She said: “I recorded my third album with a Polish drummer I met through working on the second album. We have toured together a few times, including one notable performance at Seven in Leeds as part of our Northern Lights Tour in April 2014. “We chose Radio Gdansk to record as it has a beautiful old Steinway grand piano and top quality microphones and sound equipment. We like to record all instruments – voice, piano and drums – together so as to capture the live energy of the music.” Annalie, who studied English at University College London (UCL) when she left Leeds Girls’ High School, has also completed a diploma in acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. She said: “Since then I have worked as an actor, and continued to develop my craft as a songwriter, singer and musician, as well as doing a whole host of other jobs in order to survive. I’ve certainly had to be quite entrepreneurial in combining my various skills to find work opportunities that are flexible and paid enough to keep me going and fund some of the more ambitious artistic projects I want to do.” Last year saw Annalie achieve musical recognition when she was named Best Solo Artist at Rock the House. This is an annual competition run by Parliament to raise awareness of intellectual property rights and the importance of live music. She heard about the competition through Leeds MP Greg Mulholland who had written to his constituents inviting them to enter the competition as a band or solo artist. She entered both categories, uploading some of her original music to a website to be considered. She said: “Only one song per category was allowed so I had to choose carefully. For the solo category I chose s a song called Skin that had previously been played on the BBC Introducing radio show so I felt it had some potential.” From there, the MP selected Annalie to represent him in both categories and she was picked to be one of five solo performers at the finals at The Bedford in Balham in front of judges: Jon Keats, Cavern Club; Dave Monks, BBC; Tony Moore, The Bedford; Ace from the band Skunk Anansie; Adam Perry,of BandApp (and Bloodhound Gang); and Pablo Ettinger, Caffe Nero. Each contestant was asked to perform an original song and – again – the pressure was on to make the right choice. Annalie said: “This time I played a song called The Astronaut which is on my recent album Open Heart Circus. It’s another favourite with audience members and essentially it is a love song about how we can be inspired by the little details of another’s humanity to let go of some of the grander illusions we might have about life and come back down to earth.” Annalie’s performance of the song won her the top solo prize and the chance to play at the after-show party in the House of Commons. A few weeks after winning Rock the House she released a charity single We Will Be Heard, in aid of Médecins Sans Frontière, and performed at a benefit concert called Gather for Gaza in aid of Medical Aid for Palestine which raised over £5000. To keep up with all of Annalie’s news and to watch her winning performance at Rock the House, visit www.annaliewilson.com Alumni News
