Anna Pancaldi

The path to making and performing great music doesn’t always run smoothly even when, like Anna Pancaldi, you have the kind of voice that tends to stop people in their tracks. When you first listen to her brilliant debut ‘Black Tears’ EP, or watch one of her gigs, you wouldn't believe that her career was almost destroyed before it started by debilitating stage fright.

From the age of 8, Anna’s family and teachers knew she had something special in her voice and encouraged her to perform. A string of school plays and concerts led to Anna entering a singing competition at the local town hall. But up on stage, alone, she froze with fear and found the words wouldn’t come. Anna broke down in tears, unable to carry on.

“I adored singing but I just found it unimaginably hard to overcome the fear of performing in front of people after that experience,” says Anna now. “I used to play to my best friend in my bedroom, but I would make her turn round and close her eyes."

The family moved from Colchester to South Africa with her father’s work when she was 12. Anna took singing lessons and used to take her little acoustic guitar to the nearby beach to play and write. Those who knew how talented she was would ask her to perform at concerts and shows but her extreme stage fright would often get the better of her.

For the teenage Anna, it was devastating. “I always wanted to be a singer,” she explains. “There is nothing else.”

On returning to England three years later, she successfully auditioned for a music course at Colchester College and committed to singing at every opportunity, determined to overcome her fear.

The breakthrough finally came when, after college, Anna went travelling for nine months. “I found the anonymity and freedom of travelling very inspiring and I began writing a lot of songs. I was in New Zealand and came across an open mic night happening in a bar. I got a slot and played some of my own songs, the first time I’d really done that. I got an incredible reaction, it was a very special night for me.”

Buoyed by her new found confidence and the reception to her own material, Anna carried on through Hong Kong, South Africa, South America and the US, finding gigs and enthusiastic audiences everywhere she went. “I was getting paid to play my own music and lots of people were coming out to support me,” says Anna. “At the end of the trip, I knew that it was time to go home, relocate to London to kickstart my career with my own music.”

Proof that her determination was paying off came when she won a place in a band put together by Huw Stephens and O2 Think Big. “Ten musicians were chosen and we had three days to write a set from scratch. Then we went straight out on the road around the Academy venues, supporting Rita Ora, Rudimental, The Noisettes and Tinchy Stryder.”

"Playing in venues of that size and supporting the acts that we did was quite something, terrifying, but exhilarating. It put me in a situation where I had to push myself, which is imperative for me, to constantly demand more of myself in order to succeed. "

Grammy winning music producer Simon Gogerly (Paloma Faith, U2, No Doubt) had helped them put the music together for the O2 project. He loved what Anna was doing and ended up producing “Out Ahead”, the lead track on the ‘Black Tears’ EP.

Anna also worked with up-and-coming producer Carassius Gold (Laurel, Jack Garratt) on ‘Promise We’ll Never Grow Old’ and Huntsmen (Foals, Scott Matthews) on ‘Black Tears’ and ‘Steal Away’. The EP is completed by the stunning acapella track ‘Nightingale’.

Luckily for us, Anna Pancaldi’s fear is gone, leaving just her beautiful voice and a blossoming song-writing talent.