London Town - Anna MacDonald
Our LCM featured artist today is originally from Glasgow, but is now London based. Anna MacDonald is a very talented multi-instrumentalist singer and songwriter whose celtic roots shine through her songs whether sung in Scots, English or Gaelic. She naturally understands her musical heritage and this is beautifully reflected in her voice and music. Anna is also the co-founder of the charity Play for Progress. Our LCM #TrackOfTheDay is Anna's sublimely written ode to London, 'London Town', the title track from her 2013 debut album.
If you would like to see Anna live in London she is playing at Folk In The Cellar, Camden on 26th September and the back to Camden on 10th October for a gig at the Green Note.
Anna was raised in Glasgow but spent every summer on the Isle of Skye where her family’s roots run deep. Her Highland connections had a strong influence on her from an early age and in 2003 Anna spent a year studying at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland’s Gaelic College, which cemented her love for the language.
After an incredible year in 2010 which saw her EP ‘You held out your hand’ released to fantastic reviews, she also completed successful sets at a number of festivals including the Colonsay Music Festival, Douglasdale Music Festival and Celtic Connections. In the latter part of the year she embarked on a UK wide promotional tour that saw her perform at clubs and venues of all sizes and support Kathryn Tickell to media acclaim.
Ever the innovator, March 2010 saw Anna will be performing alongside London’s Portobello Orchestra for a very special night that will be combine her own compositions with a full orchestral backing. The arranger and conductor is Anthony Weedon (who has orchestrated for BBC’s Sherlock and movie composer David Arnold) who invited Anna to perform after hearing her debut EP.
2011 Anna return to the studio to record her debut second EP under the guidance of Fraser Fifield. A busy year full of support slots, folk clubs and festivals in both Scotland and England followed. The EP was released at the end of 2011 topping off a brilliant year.
2012 saw a re-location to London which produced numerous new writing challenges one of which brought her right back to where she started. A song commissioned for the anniversary of the Thread Mill Museum in Paisley meant home sickness was never allowed to take hold. This song was written along side a book of poetry and will be taken on the road as part of ‘The Mill Girls’ tour in 2013. The move to London also meant playing in some slightly more glamorous venues than normal. Suffice to say she behaved herself…. just.
2013 started with a flying trip back to London before heading to Sardinia to start to record the new album with Roberto Diane, Christian Marras, Outi Smith and Enrico Sotgiu. Back to London to play a few gigs before again heading to the studio. The rough mixes went to LA (!) to be finished. December saw the release of her ten-track debut album 'London Town'.