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Saturday 21st November 2009
New gig added on the gigs page! (Seemed like the best place for them...) Go go go! More gigs will be booked very very soon as my band and I are now ready to be unleashed on the world. Be afraid, be very afraid!!
 Wednesday 21st October 2009
Well travellers, I have a couple of bits of news. Firstly, in addition to iTunes, I am now on Last FM and Jango (both internet radio stations). Secondly, I now have a band. Shhh, don't tell anyone yet, it's a secret. But they're really good, and soon we will be able to unveil our fabulous musicality and take over the world. In due course all will be revealed, but for now, rest assured that you will be the (collectively) first to know when we're set to perform for the first time.
That's really it for now, except to say that I also have a cold and no voice, which is hugely upsetting because without a voice I can't sing, and without singing, life is rather dull. Still, I'm sure it will be back from its vacation soon...
Hugs to you all, my darlings. Keep checking back!
Love and dodgy notes that don't come out the way they're supposed to,
Wednesday 17th June 2009
I've been meaning to post this for like two months, but better late than never: I am now on iTunes! You can download the whole album (or any part thereof), so you can bypass the postage costs - which is good news for overseas fans and also for miserly English ones. :)
I also have a new/old song on the music page, which you can download for free if you become an annaJo fan on ReverbNation. Click on it and it'll prompt you to sign up if you haven't already, dead simple. I'm going to try and change the free song every few weeks so download it soon if you want it.
And that's all I have to say, except, IT'S SUMMER! But I shouldn't say that really, I'll scare it away...
Love and sunshine,
News Archive: click for past entries below.
09/02/09 - Youtube
17/12/08 - The Album!
27/10/08 - Song Clips
19/10/08 - Updates
04/10/08 - Next Big Thing
24/09/08 - 'For Freedom'
01/09/08 - UK Songwriting Contest
02/06/08 - Album Cover
25/05/08 - Recording
20/03/08 - Band Search
29/12/07 - Happy New Year!
28/11/07 - Welcome!
Monday 9th February 2009
Well hello, and a very happy new year to
you all. You'll be very excited to learn that I now have my own
Youtube channel, complete with videos from my gig at the Clapham Grand
a couple of years ago. The live version of 'Long Enough' on my album
is from that performance, and I actually can't believe it's so long ago
now... Anyway, you can watch a couple of the videos on my website here (a
non-album song called 'All In All' and a fairly random concoction of
footage from the dressing room), and the rest are all on Youtube here. They're awesome, I assure you.
That's all for now! Toodloo my lovelies.
Wednesday 17th December 2008
The Album Has Arrived!!!
Yes folks - you can now buy 'Just Me' for the princely sum of £8.00 from the store. SO exciting!!! I cannot WAIT for the moment my first album gets sold. Make it happen!!!
If you know me personally and are likely to see me in the near future, you can choose the 'Collection Only' option and save yourself a massive 78p on postage. Hey, every little counts in the credit crunch...
Alternatively, if you fancy buying two copies you can buy them together for £13.00 - that's a saving of £3.00, for those who are mathematically challenged. Which I feel is a pretty good offer. :) So, if you have friends' birthdays coming up, get yourself a bargain - you know it makes sense.
Thank you all for your wonderful patience, and for actually still caring after the zillion years it's taken to actually get this thing ready. I love you all. :)
With baited breath and too many exclamation marks,
Good evening travellers.
Just to let you know I've uploaded clips of the remaining album tracks - these are rough mixes but they only need a spot of tweaking, so you can get a real taster now of what it's all going to sound like. Very exciting.
I also have a gig on January 17th, details aren't confirmed yet but I'm playing at the opening of the new library in Crawley. Yep that's right, they're having a band night to open the library - a tad ironic I know but I love the idea! I'll put up more info as soon as I have it, and hope to see many of you there!
Take care my pretties.
Sunday 19th October 2008
Well, I didn't win the Mercury competition, but thank you all so much for voting - one of these days I'll get the recognition I deserve. (Mwahaha, cue sinister organ music, etc.)
The album is so near completion now. I doubt you'll believe that after the false hope I've been dishing out for so long, but it's actually true this time. There's one track left to mix, then we just have to tweak them all and master them and bam!!! - it'll be done. So, it should only take a few more evenings to finish everything off, which, due to busy schedules will translate to a few more weeks, but still - not long now. I can't wait to unleash it on the world, it is worth waiting for, I promise.
And I shall take this opportunity to say that Dan (le co-producer extraordinaire) has spent nearly as much time and effort and energy on this project as I have, which makes him trés fabulous in my book. Even though after a year and a half of listening to them, he still can't remember what any of the songs are called or how they go. What does that say about my ability to write a catchy tune? Hmm.
Mailing list subscribers will get a discount on the album, so if you want in on that, sign up now! If you wait 'til after it's released, you'll miss out. And if you haven't noticed that I have an artist page on Facebook, become a fan!
In other (somewhat random) news, I dressed up as Wonderwoman on Wednesday. There was a good reason, but I can't be bothered to explain it right now. Point is, I looked awesome, and you'll have to trust me on that 'cause there ain't no photos. Thank goodness.
For now, adieu.
Saturday 4th October 2008
VOTE FOR MEEEEEE!
Bonjour mes petits filous...
I have more exciting news to impart! I'm one of the five finalists in Radio Mercury's 'Next Big Thing' competition! The five artists and their songs will be featured on Adam O'Neill's Drivetime Show each day from Monday to Friday next week (my day is Thursday) and the public will be able to vote for their favourite on Mercury's website. The winner will be announced on air on Friday 17th October.
In case you miss Thursday's show, I have uploaded the whole song ('Just Me') to the music page. REPEAT: You can hear 'Just Me' here in its entirety, for two weeks only! This is the first time I've uploaded a whole finished track from the album, so enjoy it while it lasts. :P
Voting opens on Monday - please vote for me and hassle everyone you know to vote for me as well!
Much love and a healthy dose of competitiveness,
Wednesday 24th September 2008
Two things to report:
1) Italy is amazing.
2) I have added a very rough demo of a new song to the music page, free to download. I now have the ability to record files small enough that the website uploader doesn't eat me alive, so you can expect more free tracks in the future. At the moment, the song is 'For Freedom', lyrics are on this page.
If you download it, leave a comment in the guestbook! I'm feeling lonely. :(
Ciao bellas,
Monday 1st September 2008
ANNAJO - FINALIST IN UK SONGWRITING CONTEST 2008!!!
Bonjour my lovelies. I'm here to bring you the mighty fine news that my song 'Gideon' got me a finalist position in the Christian/Faith category of the UK Songwriting Contest, and 'Just Me' made me a semi-finalist in the pop category as well - one of the most popular categories in the competition.
The UK Songwriting Contest was formed in 2002 by the BRIT Trust and is supported by BBC Radio, the Guild of International Songwriters and Composers and the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, among others. The competition is judged by experienced songwriters and producers and other industry experts.
The judges' score of 8 for 'Gideon' puts it in the top 5% of entries across all ten categories (more than 6,200 songs), and means it was considered for a winning position. So I reckon I did pretty well. :)
To see the official results and hear the winning songs (which are pretty damn good, it has to be said), click here.
In case you've missed it, I'm also in the final of a local singing competion called 'Star for a Night' - the event is this Wednesday at the Chequer Mead Theatre (see the gigs page for more info) and it'd be lovely to see lots of you there. Maybe I'll win this one!
Mwah,
Looky looky:
Beauteousness by Debs Brown, who rocks muchly. Can you feel the album launch getting closer? I can! All that remains is a little bit of fluting and a lot of mixing. The finish line is so near!
Other music to check out in the meantime:
* Fascination by Alphabeat: summer encapsulated in a three-minute record.
* Panic at the Disco's new album, Pretty Odd: goodbye strip clubs and dance rock, hello Sgt. Pepper-esque horn sections, pretty string parts and songs about moons...
* The Shins, who make me smile a lot (Chutes Too Narrow is brilliant).
*Bosh, whose album I obtained at the weekend and am REALLY liking (you'll have to go see them play if you want a copy too!), and whose keyboard player Grant also played on my album.
* Sara Bareilles, because I simply can't plug her enough.
That should do you for now. Soon you'll have me to listen to!!!!
Peace and goodwill to all...
Good morrow, fellow travellers.
I'm recording some double bass this afternoon! That's right, I nabbed me another willing genius to lend his many talents to my beauteous album of joy. And then my friends, we will be on the home stretch. You will DEFINITELY see my album for sale on this site by the beginning of July. It's been a loooong time coming, but I'm really happy with it and I trust you will be too, if indeed you buy a copy, which of course you will. Plus loads more for all your friends and family. Right? Right.
Oh by the way, I'm playing at Godstonebury on June 21st, and you will be able to either buy or pre-order the album there, and get a pretty little discount to boot. See you there!
Love, sunshine and smooth jazz,
 xx
ANNAJO IS SEEKING A BAND!
Right, I've had enough of solo gigs, I want to put together a band. My problem? Most of the musicians I know are already in bands. So, this is as good a place as any to advertise I feel. If you're reading this and you're a guitarist, drummer, bassist, or any other kind of -ist that you think I might benefit from, read on.
First thing's first, this will not be a band to take over the world with. I don't need a band for that. I mean, er, I'm doing lots of other stuff already and this really would be a side project. So I'm thinking regular gigs but not with the intention of getting a record deal blah blah blah.
So if you are:
a) good!
b) a Christian
c) based not too far from Crawley (it's up to you what you consider 'not too far'!)
d) interested in finding out more
then email prettysongs@annajo.co.uk and I'll send you more information. :)
I live in hope.... 
Sunday 29th December 2007
New download people new download! Try to contain your excitement. :D
I'm off to Prague today (not on tour, sadly, but y'know...) so I'll take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new year and an awesome 2008. See you soon my lovelies!!
Wednesday 28th November 2007
Welcome to my website!
It's been a long time coming and it's still not quite finished, but it has a pretty banner and everything, isn't that cool?! I'm still getting to grips with it at the moment, but soon my pretties, soooon.
For those of you who don't know me: hi, I'm annaJo, I write songs, and sing them, and play them on the piano, and people often seem to like it so hopefully you will too. :)
For those of you who DO know me, and who have been awaiting the album almost as long as I have, it's nearly ready, I promise! The artwork is being created and the acoustic tracks are being mixed, and the moment it's all put together in a magical display of brilliance, you will be the first to know. You, plural.
For all you loyal fans that visit this site, there's a treat in the music section. If I could put chocolate online I would have done that, but I can't, so you'll have to make do with the next best thing: that's right, a free song! I will change the download every month, the tracks will mostly be demos of old tracks and occasionally new ones, so keep coming back and you can build up a collection of rarities to sell on eBay when I'm world famous, which will be never, but we can dream, right? Man, that was a long sentence. I think I'm done.
Love and high notes,
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