Recreation

Bachelorette aka Annabel Anders

Christchurch born Annabel says that there was always a guitar, auto harp, or piano to be played at home and according to an interview with NZ Musician, she spent her childhood listening to her mum’s Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Diamond and Beatles records. Their influence is clear in her music which has a strong 60’s sound.

Early career

While she was just 17 she formed a group called Mouse with her boyfriend in which she played bass and keyboards and then later, guitar. Mouse was short-lived and in 1998 she did some gigs under the name of Bedazzler.

Her first professional band, for which she played keyboard, guitar and vocals, was Hawaii Five-O with Paul Ward and Caleb McCullough. Their unreleased album We came from Coal won an award for best unreleased single in the 99 b-net awards.

She also played organ and guitar in underground noise specialists Space Dust and The Hiss Explosion.

She was now moving towards a solo career and getting more into recording and at the same time began her degree in composition at the University of Canterbury. This was followed in 2005, by post-graduate studies in computer based composition at Auckland University. The same year she released her first EP End of Things.

Bachelorette is formed

She formed Bachelorette in 2005. By using a collection of vintage synthesisers, drum machines real drums, bass and guitar she produced a psychedelic pop music/60s girl group sound, with quirky lyrics. Her ‘band’ consisted of 3 CRT monitors.

By the end of 2006 she had produced her debut album Isolation Loops which she produced, engineered and mixed herself, then released under her own label. This was released in New Zealand in late 2006 and in Australia on Mistletone Records in mid 2007. The recording resulted in her being the support act for alt-country band Bonnie Prince Billie at his Auckland show in 2006.

Moving to America

She met a manager at this time who subsequently returned to America and offered to represent her there. Finding no luck with sending out recordings, she set up a self funded tour of America and this resulted in her being signed by Drag City. They wanted her to produce a completely new album and in 2008 she returned to New Zealand and worked on My Electric Family. My Electric Family was released in May 2009 by Drag City Records in the USA and Europe and Mistletone Records in Australia and Particle Tracks in NZ.

She toured USA and Europe in 2010 and her third, self named LP was released in May 2011. She is currently based on the West Coast of the USA.

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