Anna Coddington
About Anna Coddington from Raglan
Anna Coddington released her critically acclaimed
sophomore album Cat & Bird in Feb
this year, firmly establishing herself as an artist of note in her homeland.
Described by critics as “a balanced set of exceptional indie pop” (Waikato Times),
“breathtaking” (Yahoo Entertainment), and “captivating, creative, thoughtful,
harmonious and sophisticated” (M2 Magazine), Cat & Bird was mostly written during mornings
spent on the back deck with guitar, pen and paper, scribbling ideas and
thoughts that arose in a pre-coffee, early morning haze, and dreams she didn’t
want to forget. It was a ritual of sorts, and one that would usually be
followed by afternoons in the dark of her home studio, developing and realising
these new ideas.
Recorded between Roundhead Studios and her home studio in
Auckland, Anna co-produced the album with her guitarist Ned Ngatae. While a lot
had changed in her life and songwriting approach since the release of her 2008
debut The Lake, Anna’s voice and the
melodies she has created for Cat &
Bird continue to glide throughout the ether in splendid fashion.
“A lot of these songs are me imagining what it would be like
to be someone else, or taking a small emotion or thought and amplifying it,”
Anna says. “A lot of them are celebrations and assurances and assertions.”
Combining a quirky pop style with elements of acoustic
balladry, throughout Cat & Bird
we hear guitar driven indie songs and stories with the meaning just slightly
out of complete grasp. But there lies room for the imagination of listeners as
to what Anna is or isn’t saying. The results are songs like the upbeat two
minute blast of first single ‘Bolt’, the haunting folk ode of ‘Lights Ahead’
with lyrics ‘Write your name on my arm, so I don’t forget who you are…’, and
the irresistible title track ‘Cat & Bird’ which tells the story of
unrequited love.
Cat & Bird boasts crunchy guitars and big
dynamics, and shines with the talents of Anna’s band: guitarist and co-producer
Ned Ngatae, drummer Riki Gooch (Eru Dangerspiel, Trinity Roots), bass player
Mike Hall (Nightchoir, Pluto) and keyboardist/vocalist extraordinaire LA Mitchell
(Dave Dobbyn, The Dukes).
Anna grew up in the small surf town of Raglan, but has
established a reputation as one of New Zealand’s true songwriters and
performers. She was recently named for the second year in a row as a Top 20
finalist for the prestigious APRA Silver Scroll Award for songwriting, this
time for the single “Little Islands”, and was also named Best Māori Female Solo
Artist at this year’s Waiata Māori Music Awards. The last few years have seen
Anna Coddington touring, performing with NZ’s favourite collaborative
super-groups Fly My Pretties and Eru Dangerspiel, supporting the one and only
Tom Jones, and appearing at NZ’s leading music and arts festivals including
Rhythm & Vines and WOMAD. Anna recently toured with Fly My Pretties 4,
and performed in Australia to promote the recent release there of Cat & Bird. 2012 will see her spend
another summer touring her beloved homeland Aotearoa.
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