Spare Room Be our guest…

NZ singer-songwriter Anna Coddington joins us to talk about her forthcoming debut solo album, touring with friends Tim Guy and Anika Moa, and planting veges…

I finish mixing my album next week. That means it’s nearly finished! Yesssssss. I started rehearsing and recording with the band back in July but the songs have actually been simmering away for one-three years (some longer, I think). They’re nearly done.

Throughout the recording process I had moments of confidence and vision and also a few of “I have no idea what I’m doing”. I’ve learned a lot but the best thing is, having finished recording everything, I don’t have any feelings of “if only there’d been time to add a…” or “I wish I’d thought to…”. It sounds good, it’s finished and I’m very happy with it.

I just put the first two mixes up (as mixed by Neil Baldock) on my “space” so go have a listen and let me know what you think. Probably won’t release the album till Feb or something next year but I’m hoping to get the first single “Hold You Here” out asap. So hopefully soon I’ll make a video and a website (one day, one day — I am a total technotard, though) and think about putting it out and all that business shit. I’m no businessman but I’m sure it’ll all come together. If nothing else, I am a control freak so at least I’ll get what I want. Is that a bad thing?… surely not. Surely everyone’s like that in their hearts of hearts. Surely.

Also, I’m finally going on tour again. Yaah! Happy. I haven’t tiki-toured around playing shows since I got back from Bic Runga’s UK tour over a year ago. But yes — as you may or may not know or care, I play drums in my friend and flatmate Tim Guy’s band (and our other flattie Anika Moa plays bass — we’re pretty much the best band ever except for my band) and we’re off on his album release tour.

We just did four shows up in Northland last week and they were awesome. We met lots of crazy locals in Whangarei, Dargaville, Kerikeri and Russell, who were lots of fun. I’ve been playing a solo set in support also so it’s double fun for me. My hot Raro guitarist, Ned Ngatae, joined me for my sets up North and will hopefully make most of the tour, but we’ll see. He’s hot property so I have to take what I’m given. There are a couple of shows in Tim’s tour I can’t make (sorry Coromandel and Thames!) but they’ll still be great. Tim’s album is called Hummabyes and it’s really good. It has been said that Anika and I are the Maori version of Sly and Robbie. I’m not saying I concur. I’m just throwing it out there…

What else?.. It’s officially springtime and I’ve been getting stuck into my garden. Dug it over, put in some compost, planted some tomatoes and spinach and pak choy and some seeds for some other stuff. Half of it’s in shade for most of the day though, so I’ve been thinking about constructing something out of tinfoil to reflect the sun back into the other half of the garden. Is that too crazy? I don’t know. It’ll sure look ugly but come summer I’ll be stuffing my face with homegrown veg and who’ll be laughing then? Probably everyone but that’s good. I like a good group laugh.

www.myspace.com/annacoddington
Video: Duchess featuring Anna Coddington — “Raglan City”