Being a female vocalist and pianist, Lincolnshire solo act Annie Collett is bound to draw comparisons to signed acts such as Regina Spektor and Kate Nash, something that dumbfounds Annie: “I can’t understand why. I think it is because I pronounce very clearly when I sing, which to me is a good thing.”
Though her confusion is justified. Although Collett does have a similar tone to those acts, she lacks the cockney accent that defines Kate Nash. Of course, this works in her favour as her sound is far more accessible for it.
Despite receiving comparisons to national artists, Annie Collett is going it alone when it comes to a local perspective: “My sound is unique for Lincoln, as you rarely get pianists and singers that are female, it’s usually guitars and singers. I try very hard to make my sounds my own, especially the style of piano that I play. Regina Spektor is a great influence on me as she goes to extremes with music. It’s what I love about her.”
As it turns out, Collett is a distinctive prospect in the Lincolnshire music scene. Her decision to approach music head-on with a piano, as opposed to another instrument, has become her unique selling point, one that has gained her status in such short amount of time.
In little over twelve months, Collett has built up an impressive back catalogue of songs, played numerous gigs and collaborated with several of the Lincolnshire scene’s most prolific acts, such as Dancing Lotus and Dark Mantra. In the last couple of months however, Collett has put her performances on the back burner, instead concentrating on the production aspect.
“At the moment, I am writing trip-hop/dub step. It sounds a lot like Portishead and is really easy listening, can’t wait to do a gig later on this year to show everyone what I’ve been getting up to,” she says. “I am going to get some demos done for this new style, and hopefully do a launch gig somewhere mid April.”
A change in direction tends to be quite a daring move, but while Annie remains in the local spotlight there is no better time to do it. What could be the first introduction for some to Annie Collett, could also be the beginning of a something new for her. Watch out for Collett’s new material on her MySpace.