Annie Goliath

Annie Goliath is a singer-songwriter with a very promising future. Her music has been played on many a podcast, is frequently blogged about and has also been broadcast on the Tom Robinson BBC Radio Show. So the buzz is building, and rightly so! There's lots of influences that can be heard here, but the thing that's so interesting about Annie Goliath is that it's a fresh blend all of her own. 'Damaged Valentine’ is a corker of a song taken from her debut EP 'Push On Through', and shows just a glimpse of the great talent that is Annie Goliath!


- Young Rebel Webzine

With all the British girls of late like Lilly Allen, Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Adele, Ellie Goulding and Marina there was bound to be more. Annie Goliath may come from similar territory but her sound is all her own. Her raspy vocals and sound sets her apart. - Dancin With Your Mouth Open

Everyone, meet Annie Goliath. Way back in November last year, we launched a competition to become a Featured Artist on Tunited and now we’re fully open, we are introducing them all to you. After hearing Annie’s entry track, Damaged Valentine, we were really taken by her voice and as you will see from our interview with Annie, the girl has brains too. Here, she lets us in on her world as an artist and how she writes about inner city living and rollercoaster love.



How did you get into making music?

I was listening to artists such as Joni Mitchell, Bjork, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Beck, Jeff Buckley, Billie Holiday and Portishead in my teens that inspired me to start making music. I've always loved singing from a very early age and in my teens began to write songs on the piano and acoustic guitar. The magic really began though when I discovered the electric guitar, keys, programming and Protools and when I started interacting with other musicians especially the multi talented Digital Freakswing who I often collaborate with.


What’s your song Spill about?

Spill is a reflective and emotive piece for me. The verse asks a lover the question, 'Can we lose our judgement, egos and baggage and surrender?' The chorus and c-part is about living with a sense of adventure and recklessness and the price one can sometimes pay for this. It also contemplates the great unknown and our crazy place in it all...



What other electro female vocalists are you into right now?

Santigold and Kudu are on fire.


What do you think is the biggest opportunity facing new artists today?

The greatest opportunity facing new artists today is the ability to have a more interactive and dynamic relationship with their fans through the many online tools and an independence to steer their creative vision.



What do you write about or what influences you?

I write about the adventure, adversity, humour and mystery of being human in this dazzling modern day equation. I am influenced by electric passion, inner city living, travelling, questions, memory, the many art forms, stillness, dreams and rollercoaster love.



In this blogged-up world, you can’t hide from online reviews. So what’s the best thing you’ve read about your music and what’s the worst? How do you respond to the comments you read?

I've only been blogged about twice. The best comment was, "Her raspy vocals and sound sets her apart." The worst comment was, "If The Recommender is a proverbial weatherman for all your new music needs then you will appreciate we occasionally get it wrong and this is one of those artists that hovers over the delete button, but thankfully she hangs in the mind long enough for us to slide into appreciation." It is disheartening at first to hear a negative comment but then I quickly tend to put things in perspective as it's just one person's opinion. There's 6 billion of us on the planet so realistically there will be those that love your sound and those that don't. The important thing is to focus on the ones that do.



If you could review your latest track or album in one tweet, what would you say?

Imagine what urban poetry exploding might sound like engulfed in rock and electro undercurrents in a sea of rich, vocal driven electronica.



What are your views on illegal downloading and more people expecting music to be free?

In an evolving music industry, streaming music for free and giving away a track to say build up a mailing list is a way to share and promote oneself. But I know how much time, emotion and work goes into each track and there has to be a point where the musician can sell his music as it is one important way of generating an income. Like every other profession, musicians need to earn a decent living from what they do. Music needs to be more valued again so that a diversity of artists can have a sustainable future.



What are the three things you wish you’d known before getting in to the music industry?

I feel that I'm still learning but if I had to pick three:

1. Find a unique voice and keep exploring.

2. Focus on the positive and persevere.

3. Evolve with the changing times and think outside the box.



What’s the most inspiring thing another artist has said to you?

"Our clouds just turned silver lined listening to the beatin' pulse of the city in 'Rollercoaster Ride' then abseilin' down the valley of Electro Rock brilliance in the infectious 'Your Zone' then slippin' and a slidin' to the delectable and catchy 'Spill'. 'Damaged Valentine' opens my mind like a parachute, like a diamond starifying the darkest night with its swirlin' trippy art of sound and lyrical imagery worthy of Dali. These tracks groove with fractured drum beats, pulsin' bass lines and dazzlin' vocals that rewrite electronica rock vocabulary zoomin' into the realm of intergalactic, glistening pop, gold majesty!" The Fed Up Fridays.



Stop and search – what’s the last track you listened to?

'Pray for Rain' by Massive Attack. - Tunited