Ana Laan
The startling, romantic voice of singer Ana Laan was born in Madrid and matured in Stockholm, Sweden. The daughter of a Spanish professor of literature and an American mother, Ana was raised in a home where learning was revered and multi-culturalism was the norm.
As a teenager who spoke several languages fluently (including English, Spanish and Swedish) she returned to Spain to finish her secondary education and then went on to University in Madrid, where she studied English Literature in earnest. To this day, Ana remains a great reader of books and a woman deeply involved in the cultural movements of the world. She is particularly taken with the plight of the outsider, perhaps because she, too, has felt what the outsider feels as she has traveled from country to country.
She does not come by this artistic sophistication lightly. Upon graduating from the University, she decided to develop her remarkable singing voice by joining a wide range of Spanish-speaking artists both on tour and in the studio. Her list of credits includes supporting the likes of Javier Álvarez, Sergio Dalma, Jorge Drexler, Diego Vasallo, Christina Rosenvinge and even David Broza.
Ironically, Ana Laan has recently become something of a celebrity in Spain, not for the quotidian truths she writes about, but for her ability to craft convincing musical characters with her voice: she regularly records for the Spanish indie lounge label Siesta under the pseudonym Rita Calypso and, in 2002, her CD called Apocalypso enjoyed rave reviews and strong sales. (Spain's major daily El País voted Apocalypso CD of the week and awarded it 4 stars.)
Ana Laan’s first true solo release, Orégano, featuring her gifts as a singer-songwriter and co-produced by Leo Sidran, was released in 2004 on Sidran’s Nardis Music label. Subsequently, Ana performed in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Buenos Aires, and was a featured showcase artist at the 2005 Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York. Orégano was named one of the Ten Best Latin CDs of 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.
Laan spent the summer of 2006 in New York recording her sophomore album, Chocolate and Roses, also co-produced by Leo Sidran. On Chocolate and Roses, Ana sings in English, Spanish, French and Swedish to tell tales of a waning marriage, dangerous liaisons and the sex appeal of middle age. She appeared at the SXSW Music and Media Conference in March 2007 and will tour the US with the new CD in August.