Once in a while, out of the blue, a new musical multi-talent emerges on the scene. From the very first notes of her impressive debut album Away From Here, it becomes clear that 20-year-old Stevie Ann is not just a great singer, but a talented musician and songwriter as well. Stevie Ann started playing the piano at a very young age. At fourteen, she swapped her piano for a guitar and a notepad and eagerly started to write her own songs. Inspired by 90’s pop icons Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morrissette and the likes of 60’s singer/songwriters Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell and Ricky Lee Jones, Stevie Ann wrote all the songs on her debut album herself in a three-year period. The influence of the above-mentioned artists does not only come through in her music, but is also manifested in the sincerity of it. As she herself explains: “What I love about these artists is their honesty. They are what they sing.”

Away From Here is a blueprint of Stevie Ann’s dreams and desires, caught in dreamy pop songs with traces of country, folk and jazz. The songs are little, poetic stories, performed with a unique and beautiful voice with no signs of a foreign accent. Her songs will appeal to a wide range of people: many young girls will relate to the somewhat fragile lyrics, whereas more serious and experienced music fans will appreciate the well-composed songs on Away From Here.

What sets Stevie apart from other young female singers is her musical versatility: the album combines pop with country (‘Johnny’), folk rock (‘One Way Street’) and loungy jazz (the sultry and stunning ‘Sweet Surprise’). She finds the climax of a song not in a certain genre, but rather in a sophisticated and crafty arrangement. And instead of catering to what is currently in fashion in music, she rather follows her own musical taste. Stevie Ann: “Many people think it’s weird that a young girl like me loves country and folk music. I do listen to contemporary music as well, but I often find it too clinical for my taste.” First single ‘Away From Here’ is a catchy pop tune with melancholic lyrics, a song you hum to all day after hearing it only once. It is one of the many highlights of the album, just like the very personal and gentle ‘Blue’ on which Stevie Ann accompanies herself on acoustic guitar. ‘Leaving Next Time’ hints at gospel, but is mixed with folk and country, whereas ‘Poetry Man’ has an entirely different atmosphere because of its string arrangement. But the real sting is in the tail: just listen to the fragility of ‘Ten Minutes of Sleep’ and the sophistication of ‘Overdone’, and you know this girl is destined to become an international star. The album is produced by Tren Enckevort (accordionist in famous Dutch band Rowwen Hèze) and singer/composer Arno Guveau. They discovered Stevie Ann when a mutual friend – who happened to be Stevie Ann’s music teacher – handed them a demo tape. Both Tren and Arno were very impressed by her talent and decided to invite her in their studio to record a professional demo. They sent the demo to a number of labels and got many excited reactions, including from Hans Kusters Music, who eventually signed Stevie Ann. In between the recordings of her debut, Stevie Ann travelled to London, where she successfully took part in several open mic nights, gaining stage experience. Back in the Netherlands, she supported Paul Carrack for four consecutive nights in April 2004. She took classes in vocals and songwriting at the Dutch Rock Academy and travelled to Kenya for a performance in view of one of their musical exchange programmes. The coming months, Stevie Ann will focus on promoting her album, do a possible theatre tour and make further plans to conquer the rest of the world.