Anna Smyrk plays indie-pop songs about far-flung places, long-distance love and trying to figure out what it means to be a human. With her exceptional voice, an eye for exquisite detail and a penchant for epic production, she uses her own inimitable sound to bring a fresh perspective to the questions we all ask.
Since leaving the small, central Victorian town where she grew up, travel has been a big part of Anna’s life- she spent about five years living in Cambodia and then the Solomon Islands. In pre-COVID times, Anna split her time between her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, and her adopted city, Manila, Philippines, where she works as a consultant for the World Health Organization. With a life shared between places, it’s no wonder many of her songs are about long distance relationships, loneliness and trying to connect.
Anna was raised on a sonic diet of 60s and 70s folk music, which informed her early style. She released two folk-flavoured EPs that were applauded by critics; ABC Radio National called her first record “exquisite,” while her second release was featured as ‘Album of the Week’ at the AU Review, who described the record as “a glorious piece of musical storytelling.”
She toured widely for several years, performing at folk festivals throughout Australia. In 2019, Anna toured the UK for the first time. Playing to packed out venues earned Anna invitations to return to UK in 2020 for festival and headline appearances.
Then, of course, everything changed.
Anna found herself in Melbourne with all touring and work travel plans cancelled. Between existential crises and the sourdough bakes, she wrote a lot of songs. Perhaps prompted by the huge changes happening in the world, she felt compelled to break away from her previous acoustic-driven sound and try something new. Anna’s new songs explore her love of indie rock and pop music- artists like Middle Kids, Lucy Dacus and Sharon Van Etten were big influences.
She brought producer Joel Quartermain (Eskimo Joe, Meg Mac, Oh Pep) on board to bring her new material to life. The result is an indie-pop bombshell, equally satisfying for word nerds as it is for pop obsessives.
Anna will release this new record in September 2021. The first single, Human Condition, is out May 13.