Ana Laan

Biography
by Steve Leggett
With a multi-cultural approach to international pop that finds her singing in English, Spanish, French, and Swedish, often accompanying her own electronically looped voice, Ana Laan has been compared to singers as diverse as Bj?rk, Bebel Gilberto, Juana Molina, and even Radiohead's Thom Yorke, among others. Born in Madrid, the daughter of a Spanish literature professor and an American mother, Laan spent most of her childhood in Stockholm, Sweden, returning to Spain to complete her secondary education and then remaining to attend the University of Madrid, where she concentrated on English literature. Following her graduation, she began singing professionally, working with artists like David Broza, Javier Alvarez, Christina Rosenvinge, Sergio Dalma, Diego Vaallo and Jorge Drexler, among others. During this time she also regularly recorded for the Spanish indie lounge label Siesta, releasing an album, Apocalypso, in 2002 under the name Rita Calypso. Laan then turned in a more contemplative direction for her debut album under own name, Oregano, which appeared in 2004 and was co-produced by Leo Sidran. Calling her style "Latin-Baltic divorce pop," Laan recorded a follow up album in New York, Chocolate & Roses (again co-produced by Sidran), which was released in 2008.