Anna Calvi

Anna Calvi, a performer who pairs an operatic vocal range with masterful command of the guitar, produces intense and emotionally charged work shaped by flamenco, goth rock, and the classical approaches of composers like Ravel and Debussy. Her first two albums, the self-titled release from 2011 and One Breath issued in 2013, relied on the sheer force of her singing and playing to convey primal longing and sorrow. By the time of Hunter in 2018 she moved toward a freer, more exposed manner while questioning established ideas of sexuality and gender. Even after her catalog broadened to encompass scoring duties for the television series Peaky Blinders—material later assembled on the 2024 album Peaky Blinders: Seasons 5 & 6 [Original Score]—the urgency of her music stayed undiminished, as did the consistent critical recognition that brought repeated Mercury Prize nominations.

London-born to an English mother and Italian father, Calvi was raised in a household that valued music and absorbed classical and operatic pieces along with pop and rock from childhood onward. Violin instruction began at age six; guitar followed at eight, and she started capturing her own performances on tape shortly afterward. At 18 she disclosed her identity to her family, coinciding with her enrollment at the University of Southampton where she pursued violin and guitar studies. There and independently she forged a singular guitar technique informed by the impressionistic methods of Ravel and Debussy as well as her longstanding admiration for Jimi Hendrix.

Upon receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Southampton in 2003, Calvi taught guitar in London, performed with several bands, and documented her compositions on an eight-track machine housed in her parents’ attic. In 2006 she met multi-instrumentalist Mally Harpaz, later adding drummer Daniel Maiden-Wood for live presentations of her material. Former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones caught one of her Manchester shows and introduced her to Domino Records founder Lawrence Bell, resulting in a label deal signed in December 2009. Her initial Domino single, the October 2010 release “Jezebel,” offered a striking reinterpretation of the Frankie Laine and Edith Piaf classic.

Calvi recorded her debut album at France’s Black Box studio alongside co-producer Rob Ellis, whose prior work with PJ Harvey echoed Calvi’s own intensity. Employing vintage analog gear, she shaped a dense yet commanding sound for Anna Calvi, issued in the U.K. and Europe in January 2011 and reaching the U.S., Australia, and Japan that March. Contributions from the Invisible’s Dave Okumu and from Brian Eno, an admirer since her earliest demos, helped the album reach the U.K. Top 40 and the French Top 20. Subsequent recognition included a Mercury Prize nomination, the 2012 European Border Breakers Award, and a Brit Award nomination for Best British Breakthrough Act.

In 2012, while serving as a Mercury Prize judge and guesting with Noah and the Whale on the title track of their album Heart of Nowhere, Calvi began her follow-up record. Returning to Black Box and adding Texas’ Elmwood Recording Studios, she collaborated on production with John Congleton. Finished in six weeks, One Breath emerged in October 2013, drawing from Steve Reich and John Adams while processing personal loss. The set reached number 32 on the U.K. Albums Chart, secured a second Mercury Prize nomination, and marked her U.S. chart entry at number 30 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. After touring, she issued the July 2014 Strange Weather EP, a collection of covers featuring David Bowie and FKA Twigs material plus a duet with David Byrne. That year also saw her appear on the title track of Marianne Faithfull’s Falling Back and conclude with a concert alongside the Heritage Orchestra at London’s St. John’s Church.

Subsequent projects multiplied. In 2015 Calvi supplied “The Heart of You” to the science-fiction film The Divergent Series: Insurgent alongside Portishead’s Adrian Utley and again judged the Mercury Prize. Following David Bowie’s passing, she joined John Cameron Mitchell and Neil Gaiman on the February 2016 tribute EP Strung Out in Heaven, lending vocals and guitar to a rendition of “Blackstar.” March brought a performance of “Me and the Devil” at Pieces of a Man: The Gil Scott-Heron Project during London’s Convergence Festival. In May 2017 her rock opera The Sandman, adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story, premiered at Germany’s Ruhrfestspiele Festival in Recklinghausen before additional dates in Düsseldorf.

Hunter, her third album, arrived in August 2018 after sessions at London’s Konk studio. Produced by Nick Launay and featuring Utley, the Bad Seeds’ Martyn Casey, Harpaz, and drummer Alex Thomas, the record confronted gender conventions with unprecedented freedom. It charted across Europe, peaked at number 22 on the U.K. Albums Chart, and earned a third Mercury Prize nomination—the first time any solo artist had achieved that distinction. In 2019 she contributed “Julie” to Joanna Hogg’s film The Souvenir, performed on Jeff Goldblum’s I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This, and composed the score for season five of the BBC One series Peaky Blinders, whose soundtrack also featured her original track “You’re Not God” and a cover of FKA Twigs’ “Papi Pacify.” The 2020 release Hunted revisited Hunter through more intimate arrangements that incorporated Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julia Holter, Courtney Barnett, and Idles’ Joe Talbot.

Further work with Hogg on 2021’s The Souvenir Part II included both a cameo appearance and the song “Drive.” While pregnant with her first child, Calvi composed music for the sixth and final season of Peaky Blinders in 2022, again enlisting Launay. That commitment yielded the EP Tommy, containing songs inspired by the series’ protagonist Tommy Shelby and her version of Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand.” Domino issued Peaky Blinders: Seasons 5 & 6 [Original Score] in January 2024.