Ana Laan
Encyclopedia
Ana Serrano van der Laan (the complete name for Ana Laan) is a singer-songwriter
born in Madrid, Spain, although she has led a nomadic, multicultural life that has transformed her into a person beyond nationality.
Her creations are soft and suggestive. Her warm voice draws the listener in the first moment. She composes in English, Spanish and Swedish, with a smattering of French.
, Sergio Dalma
, Jorge Drexler
, Diego Vasallo, Christina Rosenvinge
and David Broza
.
In her first two CDs, she appeared under the pseudonym Rita Calypso for Siesta, an independent label in collaboration with producer Ramón Leal. With Siesta she participated in other projects, among them as part of the pop duo Magic Whispers. Rita developed a certain following in the indie scene after her first CD, "Apocalypso."
In her first solo CD, Ana Laan recorded her own songs with Juan Campodónico
, Luciano Supervielle (Bajofondo Tango Club) and Jorge Drexler
(her ex-husband), and coproduced the album with Leo Sidran. The CD was published in the United States in 2004 and in Argentina in 2005, to rave reviews in both countries. The response prompted a series of concerts in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Buenos Aires, along with a showcase in the 2005 Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York.
In December 2004 the Chicago Tribune lists her album Oregano among the top 10 best Latin recordings of the year.
Her song "Para el dolor" (For pain), the second track in "Oregano," was included in "Music From the Wine Lands" a compilation by Putumayo World Music, a New York City
-based record label. The album also won the Independent Music Award for the best Latin album.
In 2005 she separated from Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler
.
She spent the summer of 2006 in New York recording her second disk, "Chocolate and Roses", also produce with Leo Sidran
. Although her Latin roots are still evident in this collection, her compositions include more songs with lyrics in English, a little French, along with several bilingual English-Spanish songs and a Swedish pop song. She is accompanied by Phil Mossman (LCD Soundsystem
, U2
), Matías Cella (Kevin Johansen
, Jorge Drexler
), Michael Leonhart
(Lenny Kravitz
, Steely Dan
), Ramón Leal and Javier Álvarez
.
This album was presented at the South By Southwest
festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2007 and in August she went on a brief tour throughout the United States.
, Erik Satie
, Björk
, Rufus Wainwright
, Les Luthiers
, Camille, Keren Ann
, Fiona Apple
, Shawn Colvin, Joni Mitchell
, Harold Arlen
, Kevin Johansen
, Aterciopelados
, The Beatles
, João Gilberto
, Caetano Veloso
, Gal Costa
, Marisa Monte
, Gilberto Gil
, Paul Simon
, Henri Salvador
, Maria Albistur, Heitor Villa-Lobos
, Bebel Gilberto
, Brazilian Girls
, Blue Nile, Bulgarian Voices, Radiohead
, Portishead, PJ Harvey
, Arvo Part
, Sade, Manzanita, Morcheeba
, Nouvelle Vague, Benjamin Biolay
, Elvis Costello
, Mercedes Sosa
, Misa Criolla (Ariel Ramírez), Billie Holiday
, Chet Baker
, Bill Evans
, Blossom Dearie
, Emilíana Torrini
, Imogen Heap, Marvin Gaye
, Bruce Springsteen
, Astrud Gilberto
, Javier Álvarez
, Fernando Cabrera...
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
born in Madrid, Spain, although she has led a nomadic, multicultural life that has transformed her into a person beyond nationality.
Her creations are soft and suggestive. Her warm voice draws the listener in the first moment. She composes in English, Spanish and Swedish, with a smattering of French.
Biography
Born in Madrid, Spain, in 1967, she grew up in Stockholm, Sweden, in a trilingual (English, Spanish and Swedish) home. She moved to England during her adolescence and later to Spain, where she studied Philology of English. She also began her musical career in Spain, taping and performing with a wide variety of Spanish-language artists, among them Javier ÁlvarezJavier Álvarez (songwriter)
Javier Álvarez is a Spanish songwriter.His musical influences come more from pop music than fro traditional songwriters...
, Sergio Dalma
Sergio Dalma
Sergio Dalma is a Spanish pop singer. He was born as Josep Sergi Capdevila Querol on September 28, 1964 in Sabadell .-Professional career:...
, Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler is an Uruguayan musician and actor.In 2004 Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan ever to win an Academy Award...
, Diego Vasallo, Christina Rosenvinge
Christina Rosenvinge
Christina Rosenvinge Hepworth is a Spanish singer and songwriter born to Danish father and English mother.She was a member of the Spanish group Christina y Los Subterráneos, and previously Alex y Cristina, before she started a solo career with help from Lee Ranaldo, the guitarist of Sonic Youth...
and David Broza
David Broza
David Broza is a multi-platinum Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:The son of an Israeli–British businessman and a folk singer, Broza was born in Haifa, Israel. He was raised and educated in England and Spain, where he was schooled at Runnymede College, in Madrid...
.
In her first two CDs, she appeared under the pseudonym Rita Calypso for Siesta, an independent label in collaboration with producer Ramón Leal. With Siesta she participated in other projects, among them as part of the pop duo Magic Whispers. Rita developed a certain following in the indie scene after her first CD, "Apocalypso."
- “Rita is a femme fatale, with lush pouty lips and dark hair, a man-devourer given to ravishing multimillionaire lovers in the Costa Azul (Mexico). She sings them her versions of songs from the 60s and 70s in their yachts. She has a frivolous and glamarous persona," recounts Ana Laan in an interview.
In her first solo CD, Ana Laan recorded her own songs with Juan Campodónico
Juan Campodónico
Juan Campodónico, sometimes working under his stage name Campo, is an Uruguayan musician and producer, and former member of El Peyote Asesino. He produced albums by Jorge Drexler, and also creates Bajofondo project alongside iconic producer and two-time Academy Award winner for Best Original Score...
, Luciano Supervielle (Bajofondo Tango Club) and Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler is an Uruguayan musician and actor.In 2004 Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan ever to win an Academy Award...
(her ex-husband), and coproduced the album with Leo Sidran. The CD was published in the United States in 2004 and in Argentina in 2005, to rave reviews in both countries. The response prompted a series of concerts in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Buenos Aires, along with a showcase in the 2005 Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York.
In December 2004 the Chicago Tribune lists her album Oregano among the top 10 best Latin recordings of the year.
Her song "Para el dolor" (For pain), the second track in "Oregano," was included in "Music From the Wine Lands" a compilation by Putumayo World Music, a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based record label. The album also won the Independent Music Award for the best Latin album.
In 2005 she separated from Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler is an Uruguayan musician and actor.In 2004 Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan ever to win an Academy Award...
.
She spent the summer of 2006 in New York recording her second disk, "Chocolate and Roses", also produce with Leo Sidran
Leo Sidran
Leo Sidran is a musician, composer, performer, and producer whose credits include producing the Oscar-winning soundtrack for the movie The Motorcycle Diaries.Sidran began his career in music early...
. Although her Latin roots are still evident in this collection, her compositions include more songs with lyrics in English, a little French, along with several bilingual English-Spanish songs and a Swedish pop song. She is accompanied by Phil Mossman (LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
), Matías Cella (Kevin Johansen
Kevin Johansen
Kevin Johansen is an Argentine-American rock musician. Born to an Argentine mother, Marta Calvet, and an American father, he lived most of his childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area, but moved with his family to Buenos Aires at the age of 12...
, Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler is an Uruguayan musician and actor.In 2004 Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan ever to win an Academy Award...
), Michael Leonhart
Michael Leonhart
Michael Leonhart is a noted trumpet player, producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and singer-songwriter. He has performed with such diverse artists as Steely Dan, Yoko Ono, Bobby McFerrin, and Mos Def....
(Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
), Ramón Leal and Javier Álvarez
Javier Álvarez (songwriter)
Javier Álvarez is a Spanish songwriter.His musical influences come more from pop music than fro traditional songwriters...
.
This album was presented at the South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2007 and in August she went on a brief tour throughout the United States.
Musical Influences
Ana Laan recognizes a variety of influences in her music, among them: Jorge DrexlerJorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler is an Uruguayan musician and actor.In 2004 Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan ever to win an Academy Award...
, Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, Les Luthiers
Les Luthiers
Les Luthiers is an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several other Spanish-speaking countries such as Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela. They were formed in 1967 by Gerardo Masana, during the height of a period of very...
, Camille, Keren Ann
Keren Ann
Keren Ann Zeidel is a singer-songwriter-composer-producer and engineer based largely in Paris, Tel Aviv and New York City. She plays guitar, piano and clarinet, engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements.-Life and career:...
, Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Apple met international acclaim for her 1996 debut album, Tidal, which was a critical and commercial success...
, Shawn Colvin, Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
, Kevin Johansen
Kevin Johansen
Kevin Johansen is an Argentine-American rock musician. Born to an Argentine mother, Marta Calvet, and an American father, he lived most of his childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area, but moved with his family to Buenos Aires at the age of 12...
, Aterciopelados
Aterciopelados
Aterciopelados , also referred to as los Aterciopelados on some albums and other promotional materials, are a rock band from Colombia. Led by Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago, they have been one of the first rock bands from Colombia to gain international notice and is among the country's top...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, João Gilberto
João Gilberto
João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira, known as João Gilberto , is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. His seminal recordings, including many songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, established the new musical genre of Bossa nova in the late 1950s.-Biography:From an early age, music...
, Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
, Gal Costa
Gal Costa
Gal Costa is a Brazilian singer of popular music.-Early life:...
, Marisa Monte
Marisa Monte
Marisa de Azevedo Monte is a Brazilian popular singer. As of 2011, she has sold 10 million albums worldwide.- Biography :...
, Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira , better known as Gilberto Gil or , is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known for both his musical innovation and political commitment...
, Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Henri Salvador
Henri Salvador
Henri Salvador was a French Caribbean singer.-Biography:Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of a native Indian from the Caribbean, were both from Guadeloupe, French West Indies...
, Maria Albistur, Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
, Bebel Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto is a Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is singer/composer Chico Buarque...
, Brazilian Girls
Brazilian Girls
Brazilian Girls was a band from New York City known for their eclectic blend of electronic dance music with musical styles as diverse as tango, chanson, house, reggae and lounge. None of the members are actually from Brazil and the only female in the band is Sabina Sciubba. Other members include...
, Blue Nile, Bulgarian Voices, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Portishead, PJ Harvey
PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey is an English musician, singer-songwriter, composer and occasional artist. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments including piano, organ, bass, saxophone, and most recently, the autoharp.Harvey began her career in...
, Arvo Part
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
, Sade, Manzanita, Morcheeba
Morcheeba
Morcheeba are a British band, mixing influences from trip hop, rock, R&B, and pop.They have produced 7 albums since 1995, two of which reached the UK top ten.-Biography:...
, Nouvelle Vague, Benjamin Biolay
Benjamin Biolay
Benjamin Biolay is a French singer, songwriter, musician, actor and record producer. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément, whose two albums he wrote and produced, and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni.His low-key vocal style is...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Mercedes Sosa
Mercedes Sosa
Haydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout South America and some countries outside the continent. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both...
, Misa Criolla (Ariel Ramírez), Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
, Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
, Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
, Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie was an American jazz singer and pianist, often performing in the bebop genre and remembered for her girlish voice.-Early career:...
, Emilíana Torrini
Emilíana Torrini
Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single Jungle Drum, 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" for Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.-Early life:Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of...
, Imogen Heap, Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She is well known for the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanema".-Biography:...
, Javier Álvarez
Javier Álvarez (songwriter)
Javier Álvarez is a Spanish songwriter.His musical influences come more from pop music than fro traditional songwriters...
, Fernando Cabrera...
Albums
- Apocalypso - 2002 (pseudonym Rita Calypso)
- Sicalyptico - 2004 (pseudonym Rita Calypso)
- Orégano - 2004/5
- Chocolate and Roses - 2007
- Sopa de Almendras - 2011