DIGGING DEEPER
ANNA VINCENT THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND THE MYTH OF YOUTH...
I’m a singer and songwriter from London. Until now, I’ve always been in bands, but during the pandemic, necessity prevailed and I ended up writing and recording an album at home.
In the process, I’ve had to consider how I present myself as a solo artist. Being in a band felt safe, but now I’m ‘Anna Vincent’ and there’s nothing and nobody to hide behind. These songs are the most honest and personal I’ve ever written, so it felt right that I should also be honest about who I am. Part of that includes embracing the fact that I’m now in my thirties. Age is a scary thing for a woman in music; there’s this myth that you need to stay young and beautiful Words by Anna Vincent
to stay ‘marketable’, and we are constantly defined and confined by that little number. I’ve been in bands since I was a kid, but even then I was already aware of the ticking clock. As the years passed, that ticking became a deafening clang, and every time I’d do an interview, or meet a manager or a label, I’d brace myself for the inevitable question. Initially, I thought I could just be vague about my age; change the subject when it arose, re-write my own history to edit out large chunks of my life. But that started to feel very hollow. All those adventures, triumphs, mishaps - and all that music - are what made me who I am as an artist, and I wanted to be able to celebrate that, not hide. 34
The music industry is a very misogynistic place, and there is such a fetish about youth, and such a taboo about ageing. Of course there are young musicians who create incredible work, and we all understand the magnetism of this, but there’s something ghoulish about that obsession too. Youth is not a talent in itself, and age brings with it experience, perspective and a whole lot more to write about. We’re young for such a brief moment in our lives, so why shouldn’t we champion music which reflects and speaks to us at every stage of the journey? ‘Under the Glass’ comes out via Ultimate Blends on 29th October 2021 with a headline show in London at The Waiting Room on 1st November. Photography by Max Bloom
