Anna Calvi: "The world needs introverts as much as they need extroverts"

Inspired by having some breathing space between records, and in somewhat of a serendipitous way, Calvi found herself being drawn to the primitive origins of what has since become an entirely different kind of beast. 'Hunted' is all at once a quietly alluring dive into sensuality, and the intoxicating power that comes in reclamation of the self. Throughout the album, her voice contains a deliberate power of address that radiates through the great expanse of the universe, almost as though she is seeking you out with her words.

As with most introverted people, such a bold expulsion of energy often comes a desire to reign it all in, as is most natural and comfortable for the way that they inhabit the world. Calvi's choice to release the demos of 'Hunter' didn't exactly come from this kind of internal urge. "I came across these records that I'd done as soon as I had written the songs, and I liked the rawness and the vulnerability that they had. It felt very different from the album that I had fully recorded." She continues, "'Hunter' was very much a galvanising, strong record, but the whole idea of my record was that we are multifaceted and we don't just have to be strong or vulnerable."

So what follows is a body of work that takes on a kind of clandestine form – unearthed from the confines of quiescence. While going through the demos, Calvi thought hard about the artists she was most inspired by, who would help elevate the magic within these recordings. "I just sent them the songs, I didn't get them any instructions. I like the idea of being surprised just seeing what the artists would do with the material. That was the most exciting part – to not give them any instruction."

Enlisting help from the likes of Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julia Holter, Joe Talbot, and Courtney Barnett, 'Hunted' is an intimate take on the intensity that exudes from Calvi's creative outlet. Based on a paronomasia of opposites, there is a kind of equilibrium that permeates through the art. Speaking of the collaboration with Courtney Barnett, Calva reflects: "There's something really interesting about how her voice changes the dynamic of this song. It was interesting as well because the first single I released in 2018 was 'Don't Beat The Girl Out Of My Boy' and I like the symmetry of this being the first song to come out on 'Hunted'."