Diana Anaid

Early life and career

Diana Anaid was born as Diana Gosper, in Newcastle, on 8 April 1976. Her mother died when Anaid was one year old. With her father and two older brothers, she "lived the archetypal hippie commune life, travelling around the northern part of the state". Anaid later recalled "my dad was travelling around the country trying to escape from his inner demons... It was a gypsy lifestyle and it was quite poor." She had "a long childhood involving children's homes, foster parents, charity organisations, food vouchers and freaks – often on the run from authority but with nowhere to go."

By the age of 15 Anaid had settled in the Lismore-Nimbin area, with her two brothers – their father had moved on. She turned to music, "I picked up the guitar... and taught myself how to play"; and performed in "folk / blues clubs and cafes of the region". Anaid undertook a year of education in Canberra, and with her then-partner, returned to Lismore. At the age of 16 Anaid had a son, Stone, and, for three years, she dropped out of the music industry to look after him. She used the moniker, Diana ah Naid, as an almost palindrome, "a reverse of her first name – except she added the letter 'H'" The 'H' was added for numerological effect, as it "represents the number '8' which signifies 'power' and 'forcefulness' and 'infinity'."

1997–99: First albums

Anaid recorded her debut album, Diana ah Naid, in Byron Bay for the cost of AUD$10,000, she had 500 copies pressed and launched it at the Nimbin Bush Theatre on her 21st birthday, 8 April 1997. Her sponsor was a Greenpeace activist from the Netherlands. She sent a copy to Triple J's radio presenter, Richard Kingsmill, who played its lead track, "I Go Off". Anaid signed with Origin Records, an independent Sydney-based label. Graham Bidstrup (of GANGgajang) remixed and, with Anaid, co-produced the album, which was re-released in September. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described it as "a restless, funky brand of acoustic guitar folk with urgently charged vocals (akin to Ani DiFranco) backed by an emotional, primal energy." Tom Schulte of AllMusic found it was "promising and deserving of attention from those that like hyper-individualist/feminist folk-rock with the emphasis on rock."

"I Go Off" was issued as a single in June 1997, which peaked at No. 35 on the ARIA Singles Chart. McFarlane felt it "highlighted ah Naid's confident and passionate delivery over sparse yet adept guitar work." Anaid had written the track after the father of her then-boyfriend, who had seen her perform at Bluesfest Byron Bay in 1996, had told her she would never succeed, "because you just don't go off." It received extensive airplay on Triple J; where it was listed at No. 58 on the annual listener's poll, Triple J Hottest 100, 1997. It was included on the various artists compilation CD for that year, the Triple J Hottest 100, Volume 5. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 she was nominated for Best New Talent and Breakthrough Artist – Single for "I Go Off".

Early in 1998 Anaid supported concerts by Cake, Wendy Matthews and The Whitlams. She followed with an appearance at SXSW in Austin, Texas and gigs in New York and Los Angeles. Anaid developed a cyst on her vocal cords, which she had surgically removed in 1998. Her recovery prevented performing for about a year. Nevertheless, two singles were issued during the year, "Leaving the Country" (April) and "Oh No" (October). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999 "Oh No (Curbside Lullaby)" was nominated for Best Independent Release.

Anaid's second studio album, I Don't Think I'm Pregnant (September 1999), was produced by Ashley Manning. It was released on Origin and distributed by Shock Records. McFarlane opined that it "was a convincing follow-up." The album provided three singles, "Perfect Family" (August 1999), "Love Song for a Girl" and "Don't Believe in Love" (February 2000). Her backing band were Natt Prang on guitar, Doug E. Styles on drums and Jed Venus on bass guitar. "Perfect Family" was listed at No. 55 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1999, and was used on the related various artists album, Triple J Hottest 100 Volume 7 (2000). At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000 I Don't Think I'm Pregnant was nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Female Artist.

Australian music journalist, Ed Nimmervoll of In-Site, felt that "Don't Believe in Love" showed Anaid was "One of the most interesting performers and recording artists working on the Australian music scene over recent years. She's still a work in progress. Her songs don't quite match her ambition." Fellow singer-songwriter, Ella Hooper (of Killing Heidi) declared I Don't Think I'm Pregnant as her favourite album of the year, "She's cool, and she rocks!"

2000–10: Third and fourth albums

During 2000 Anaid toured Australia with Monique Brumby and Deborah Conway. Anaid and Brumby became friends; Anaid recalled, "although we haven't seen much of each other, we get along so well that when we do hang out we get along like a house on fire."

In 2003 Anaid modified her performance name, dropping the 'H', so that it is a complete palindrome: Diana Anaid.

Her third studio album, Beautiful Obscene (20 April 2004), was produced by Kalju Tonuma. Further production was made by Ted Hutt (No Doubt, Bush) and Paul Palmer in Los Angeles. Anaid was the first artist Palmer signed to his own label, Five Crowns Records. For the album her backing musicians include Hutt on bass guitar, Nathan Correy on electric guitar, and Florian Reinhert on drums. Billboard's Christie Eliezer noted that the album's "outspoken lyrics reflect a traumatic childhood"; she related that "early Faith No More, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Nirvana helped me a lot."

"Last Thing" (October 2004), first single released in America from the album, received airplay across the USA. Anaid toured and promoted her material in the United States. It became her first international hit, when it appeared on the Billboard component chart, peaking at #26 Top 40 Tracks. In Australia it reached No. 14 on the ARIA Hitseekers Singles Chart. During this time, Anaid took another hiatus from the music industry – her father died from cancer – and she was raising her adolescent son.

Anaid issued her first live album, Live at the Bush Theatre, on 20 February 2007, via her own label Forola Music. It was recorded in Nimbin in July 2006, with Anaid performing alone on guitar and vocals. Glen Humprhies of Illawarra Mercury felt her lyrics provide "a real portrayal of love and life – warts and all – whether it's about the harsh reality of break-ups ('Perfect Family') or waking up after a one-night stand to have the guy confess he has a girlfriend ('Piece of Me')." "Cheatin' on Me" was released as her first single, on 27 October, on her label.

On 25 September 2009 her next single, "Cynical on Waking", was released ahead of her fourth studio album, Diana Anaid, which appeared in February 2010. She undertook a tour of the east coast of Australia during October 2009. During August to September in the following year Anaid co-headlined a national tour with Brumby, each promoted their respective fourth albums. The pair co-wrote and performed a duet on a track, "Love Is a Weapon", which provided the name for their tour.

2011 to present

In January 2011, Diana Anaid was nominated in the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards for her song "Charity" in the Sing Out for Social Action Song category. It was recorded by Anaid on lead vocals and acoustic guitar; Correy on electric and bass guitars; and Dean Belcastro on drums and keyboards. The track was written by Anaid and Correy.

In February 2017 Anaid announced that she had recorded her fifth album, titled My Queen. Its first single, "Can't Apologise", was released in July 2017 with an accompanying music video, directed by Nick Egan.

Albums

Singles