Musician, clothing designer and mother to five, Anna Cordell is a seriously impressive individual. We sat down for a chat with Anna in the wake of her first full album release.

Writing songs has always been a self-soothing mechanism for Anna Cordell. Alongside being a mother and a clothing designer, playing music is part of her daily life, and whether that means using a tiny gap in the day to jot down music ideas, or practicing guitar in the car, Anna continues to make space for her music. 

Having just released her first full album release, Nobody Knows Us, we took the opportunity to chat with Anna about her music, her routines and why the laundry can sometimes be the go-to practice space in a busy home.

Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself.

Well this question comes at an interesting time! I'm up to day 10 full time in my house with my 5 daughters isolating in this pandemic. It's hard to say who I am exactly—but some of the things I do with my time are well, number one, mothering. I'm also a musician, I recently released my first full album—just a few weeks before the coronavirus hit. I am also a clothing designer. 

For the past 15 years I've had some kind of blend of these three things going—I try to let them ebb and flow with time. Right now I am trying to use the tiny gaps in my days to write new music, because that has always been my lifeline.

Who else lives in this house?

My husband Jake, who built most of this house. It was a tiny 1950's place when we got it - somehow he managed to build all of this around us while we were still in here! And our beautiful daughters; Lucia, Matilda, Ruth, Etta and little Grace. Grace is 6 years younger than Etta so she has 4 little mothers bringing her up. People ask how it all works with 5 kids, but it's true that my older daughters really help—Lucia loves cooking and Matilda is an expert nanny which is a massive blessing. While we've been stuck inside it's been amazing seeing them finding ways of entertaining themselves together. (mostly ha!) 

What does a typical day look like for you?

Before the lockdown... I'd like to say I get up at the crack of dawn but I never do. I'm a night lady, mornings are not for me! Things would go better if I did. But somehow we manage to get everything done and out the door... the kids have music lessons at 8am a couple of times a week so those days start with me driving them to school in my PJ's while drinking my coffee and either leaving that on the roof and driving off or spilling it down my front. I also have a great neighbour who drives them for me with his daughter who's the same age a lot of the time. 

Once the kids are at school I get myself organised and take Grace to childcare and then into my studio which is around the corner from there. Lately most of the days there have been filled with meeting customers who come in for custom made suits. Suits for men and women have ended up being my number one design, especially since my friend Lucy (from Marda the label) has been working with me. She's a tailor and is brilliant! After all that I’ll pick Grace up, head back home, dinner, help with homework etc... once everyone is in bed I'll do another hour or two of work online—either for music or clothing, and most of the time end up getting to bed at midnight or 1am which is the worst routine ever! I'm working on that. I also drink about 8 coffees a day. 

What do you love about your home?

I actually love that it's a work in progress. I love that it's a little quirky in its design because Jake had to work around us living here—and also work with the original house. I also love that it has the history of the original house which was built by its owner in the 50's and never changed. They had 4 sons grow up here and lived here until we bought it from one of those sons.

Do you have any daily or weekly habits or rituals around music in your home?

I've always tried to lock in a rehearsal with a band pretty regularly when I've had one, it keeps me practicing. And then when playing solo—I make sure I have a gig once a month for something to work toward. I don't have a regular practice routine at all—I just have to fit it in whenever possible. And then it's just messing around on the guitar quietly in a corner somewhere, recording little bits and pieces on my phone and then slowly piecing songs together like that. 

What spaces of your home do you play in?

At the moment it's mostly the laundry! It's the place I get the most fed up—I've experienced a lot of intense emotions in that room! So somehow it works—it's tucked away from the rest of the house a little bit—although at night it's no good—it's next to a bedroom. I've even taken my guitar into the car at night because it's the only indoor place I have at night that won't wake people up! 

Tell us about a time when playing guitar has positively impacted your life, or a highlight of your guitar ‘career’?

Well, it's probably good to remind myself of this now—my guitar originally saved me when I was feeling the most isolated I had been in my life.

We'd just moved house, I had 4 kids and I was at home full time without a lot of connection to the outside world. Writing songs has always been a bit of a self-soothing thing for me I guess, the words are a way of processing feelings I didn't understand through imagery and metaphor, and the melodies... it's hard to describe what a beautiful melody can do for your heart. I think that's why people say to me my music did something for them when they were down or struggling with something—because that was its original purpose for me! It makes me so happy when I hear it has also soothed someone else. 

Do you feel like your taste in music has changed over the years?

Not really. Perhaps because I've alway been interested in a pretty wide range of genres—I listen to rock, hip-hop, classical, blues, folk... although I don't like jazz and I hate musicals. Maybe that will change one day?

You’re at a party and get corralled into playing your guitar for the crowd—what do you play? Do you have a go to song?

What a horrible scenario for a melancholic folky singer-songwriter to be thrown into! hahaha. I think I'd just have to flat out refuse. I'd end that party so fast with my songs! 

Tell us about your guitar—where did you get it and what do you love about it? What makes it special to you?

Well... the reason I mostly play nylon is because I taught myself to play on my grandmother's old Hoffner guitar which I found in a cupboard she gave us when I was 14. It happened to be in my room, I don't think I was meant to touch it—but I did—and I claimed it too. It was pretty cheeky. I still have that guitar but it's very fragile, so the nylon I play at shows is the closest I could find to that. It's not an expensive guitar—I couldn't afford much—just a second hand Admira I bought from the swap shop in Carlton. It had a really warm but lively tone to it and has written me a lot of songs! 

What's an album you never get sick of?

Every Aldous Harding.

And your favourite album cover?

Oooh... Nick Drake, Way To Blue. It's nothing fancy but just full of atmosphere.

Any great resources, lessons, books or tips and tricks for learning guitar?

Honestly, it's a bit of guesswork for me. I learnt piano growing up and guitar was something I always just messed around with. I learnt the basic chords, then bar chords. From there I learnt a lot of my favourite songs printing guitar tabs online—and probably learnt a few unusual cords in the process. I do wish I understood more about the guitar... the next thing I plan to do is learn some scales but I'm a bit lazy and time poor in this department and probably won't—but if you have time, do that! 

Do you write songs and if so can we link to some of them?

Yes, I've released an EP and an Album which are available on all the usual platforms under, "Anna Cordell" 

What keeps your musical spark alive?

Strangely it seems the more deprived I am of music to listen to or see—the better! It makes me hungry for it, and then hungry to make something.

You can purchase Anna’s new album, Nobody Knows Us, here www.annacordellmusic.com, or learn more about her clothing here https://www.instagram.com/annacordellclothing/. 

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