Annie has given her first interview since parting ways with Island Records. She spoke to www.billboard.com and told of her plans for the coming year.
It looks like she’s going to be releasing music herself, via her own label, as so many artists are doing these days. She doesn’t say how exactly, but our bets are that’ll come out via Pleasure Masters – the record label that she has set up with her longtime producer and friend Richard X. It’s Pleasure Masters that are releasing her new single ‘Anthonio’, which is coming out over the next few months.
Speaking to Billboard, she said “I own the masters, so I can do whatever I want to do. I might do it myself, on my own label. We’re talking to people too. There’s so much happening in the business right now. In a way, I feel to do things on your own, you’re in control. I’ve always been this sort of artist that people don’t know how to categorize me and what to do with me.”
Annie then confirms that she left the label because their UK president, Nick Gatfield also parted ways with them. It was Nick who signed her and obviously he shared Annie’s outlook and ideas. “It’s just difficult, when you first work with someone and you have a vision and an idea of what you want to do, and suddenly you’re working with someone who doesn’t care about anything at all,” she says.
The never ending ‘Don’t Stop’ debacle is also touched upon. Fans have long since managed to acquire the album since it was leaked online. Opinions on, and discussions about the various tracks, have all but exhausted them in the eyes of many. And it’s been expected (and hoped) that when she does finally release her second album, it’ll have different songs on there. She says, “It’s sort of a template. I actually have enough for two albums, so I don’t know if I’m going to put out the one as it is, and one right after, or just some songs as ‘Don’t Stop’ with a couple that no one’s heard. But I want to release a lot this year.” She admits to having completed almost 60 songs!
So it looks like we will be getting ‘Don’t Stop’, or its latest incarnate, at some point this year. With complete creative control at that! It’ll be interesting.
