Annie Woodward

Annie Woodward – Wicked
Publisert 2 april, 2014 | av Magne Fonn Hafskor

HISS!G falt for den oslobaserte folkrockmusikerens låt «Wicked» tidligere iår. Nå har den fått på seg videodrakt, filmet i et gammelt kunstnerhus i Upland nord for Los Angeles.

– Wicked er skrevet av min indre djevel i en tid da jeg ikke ante om jeg virkelig var gal eller om det som skjedde virkelig skjedde, forteller Annie Woodward.
– Jeg tror alle kan relatere til en skarpere side. Vi er ikke engler, og de som tror det er ofte de verste, fordi de tar sin kreft for godhet.

– Hvem husker livet slik det egentlig var?
Hva var virkelig
Låten handler om fortid, fremtid og nåtid; der hun spør seg om noe virkelig skjedde slik hun husker det eller om det var en illusjon malt med følelsene.
– Hvem husker livet slik det egentlig var? spør hun, med retorisk snert.
Videoen ble til som et felles konsept mellom henne og Morgan Barajas, en gammel venn som hun møtte da hun jobbet på en teaterskole i Los Angeles som tenåring. Den gangen var han nettopp ferdig med regi-utdannelsen.

– Ideen er å jakte etter sin indre galskap og prøve å forstå den, fremfor å undertrykke den og la den ta over.
– Ideen bak videoen er å jakte etter sin indre galskap og prøve å forstå den, fremfor å undertrykke den og la den ta over, forklarer hun.
– Slik sett handler den mer enn noe annet om det indre sinn, og den har fått et psykedelisk preg.

Filmet i LA
Deler av videoen ble filmet ute i et gammelt kunstnerhus i Upland, nord for Los Angeles. Huset er bebodd av såkalte «squatters», og har musikkrom og visuelle kunstnerrom, masse gamle instrumenter og psykedeliske malerier.
– Bakrommet, hvor vi filmet mesteparten av denne seksjonen, blir brukt til kunst-festivaler, forteller hun.

Resten av videoen ble filmet i Griffith Park; der hvor det berømte Hollywood-skiltet er.
– Vi filmet faktisk en av scenene i hulen som var «the original batcave» i Batman-filmene, smiler hun.

– Dette er en video skapt av venner og kolleger, som alle fikk sin kreative frihet.
En venne-video
Skuespillere i videoen er svenske Johan Badh og Marcus Karlsson, som begge er studenter ved American Academy of Dramatic Arts i Los Angeles.
– Johan er en gammel skuespiller-kollega av meg fra vi studerte i Stockholm sammen, sier hun.
– Alt i alt er dette en video skapt av venner og kolleger, som alle fikk sin kreative frihet. Det er derfor jeg er så stolt over resultatet! - HISSIG- Norwegian music magazine

Annie Woodward: Folkrockmusiker med baller
– Jeg vil gjerne tipse om min egen musikk, siden jeg sjeldent gjør ting slik det skal gjøres, sier Annie Woodward, som typisk nok beskriver uttrykket sitt som «folkrock med baller».

Foto: Konstantinos Kaloch (Oslo)

Annie Woodward bor i Oslo, men har også en «base» i New York. I tiden fremover kommer hun i tillegg til å oppholde seg en del i London. Hun er nettopp hjemme igjen etter å ha vært på turne i England, med opptredener blant annet på London-scenene The Water Rats og The 12 Bar Club og The Zanzibar Club i Liverpool.

– Jeg har hørt at jeg må ha en booking agent, fortsetter hun.
– Det har jeg aldri hatt, men så startet jeg også med å jamme i New York. Så jeg er kanskje ikke så veldig norsk av meg.

Helt norsk er hun heller ikke. Hun er født i Stockholm tidlig på 90-tallet, og oppvokst i Sverige og Norge. Som 18-åring flyttet hun til New York for å studere drama. Det ble et kort opphold.
– Jeg trodde jeg skulle bli den neste store, sier hun, og tenker seg litt om.
– Jeg tror fortsatt at jeg skal bli den neste store. Men det får du meg aldri til å innrømme. - HISSIG- Norwegian music magazine

New York City draws the best talent from all over the world, luring them here with its bright lights, tall buildings and flourishing art world. Then it spits its harsh truth in their faces and sets about separating those who have it from those who don’t. Annie Woodward doesn’t seem too worried.

Woodward doesn’t have a story from long ago about how she got into music, mostly because she’s only been a musician for three months, but she will soon have a story about a move across the globe to find a nurturing environment for her newfound creative outlet.

Born and raised in Norway, Woodward’s first residence in New York was as a student at Long Island University last year, where she was trained in acting. After following this path for nine years, Woodward has found that her passion now lies in a different form of art, music, and is determined to follow this inspiration until the end.

“I’ve been acting for nine years,” she explains, “but I just feel like my passion is towards music right now. I don’t know why, but it’s changing. Right now, I know I want to pursue music.”
After attending her first New York open mic at the East Village Bare Burger, Woodward has decided that our city is just the place for such a journey. Though she is also considering a move to Los Angeles, discussing New York’s music scene with me at the Union Square Whole Foods seemed to be changing her mind as we spoke.

“I’m so surprised by the music industry here,” she admits. “People are so supportive. I’ve never met a group of artists so supportive.”

That support will be a key deciding factor for Woodward, as she is well aware that she will be a struggling artist for some time following her move. Rather than let that fact scare her from a life-changing decision, she clearly chooses to embrace the opportunity to harness creative inspiration that she has not yet been privy to.

“I think I wanna be a small fish in a big sea,” she explains. “Norway is a little too small and stable. The art scene in Norway is so stable and confortable and there is no struggle because we get so much funding from the governement. I feel like the struggle—that’s what brings out the real art. “

New York City is ready for more real art, and we welcome Woodward and her Knife-like voice with open arms. Well, kinda. We have to give her a little resistance too. It’s the NYC way and just the way she wants it. - NY Social status

Annie Woodward
Two Faces On A Clown
Independent
2015

Annie Woodward’s gentle and rhythmic guitar playing lilts in on the opening track ‘The Drifter’- a melancholic songs that carries feelings of empty middle-country American back-roads and journeys on-foot. Her clear, crisp voice carries across the top of her music lightly, but on the second track of Two Faces On A Clown the “rock” in alternative folk rock really comes through, with strong melodies and stronger vocal harmonies from both singers of the track.

Woodward’s vocal stylings are reminiscent of Katy Steele of Little Birdy, and the poetry of her lyrics is apparent in ‘Bluebird’, which is just as heartfelt as it is sad. Two Faces On A Clown has a very wintery feel to it, as though it would be best played sitting against a snow-blocked window. There is energy to it too, though, and it has some strangely invigorating tracks to it, such as ‘Madman’, a song that changes speed a few times without warning, to a wonderfully sporadic effect. The vocal recordings make use of reverb to give the songs a big stage feel, which no doubt stems from Woodward’s beginnings, and current company ‘Playroom’, in stage performance and production.

Her lyrics effortlessly flow in and out of choruses and verses, giving the songs a feel of constancy and rolling conversation. The standout track is definitely ‘Bluebird’ because it’s gentleness and quietness creates a sort of mental area of silence in which the song can be properly appreciated. The last time a song created such a space (for this reviewer at least) was in indie-folk-rock legends Neutral Milk Hotel’s ‘Two Headed Boy’. The album as a whole presents a unified front of lyricism, musicianship, and vocal craftwork, bringing together a truly outstanding alternative folk rock album that is a must-hear for fans of the genre.

Standout Track: Bluebird. - Casual band blogger

Annie Woodward is a grunge folk-rocker born and raised in Scandinavia who originally set out to write lyrics for other bands. Through her projects in theater Annie found her own voice in music and has been performing ever since.

She has played two independent tours, one European and one in Northern America. Annie spent most of 2014 couchsurfing and taking trains and buses across the US playing shows and making her first album.

This album, 2 faces on a clown is released on AmpÆr records, a small independent label founded by Annie and one of her childhood friends. Half of the record was produced by Mike Davidson in Boston and half by Sean Bloom in Los Angeles with the title-track produced by rock-singer Alexa Melo and mixed by Christian Hand who was the man behind the first Mowglis record. Annie’s first album is the result of crowd-funding, luck and “really good friends”.

The first single from 2 faces on a clown, Eager to talk debuted on Norwegian national radio summer of 2014. As of 2015 Woodward is again based in Oslo, Norway working with a full band and also writing and directing theater for her company Playroom. Easter 2015 she’s playing a few shows across Europe (and a show in London April 4th) with a longer European show planned for this summer - Hellound Music