Anna Calvi announces a new EP ‘Is This All There Is?’ arriving March 20 featuring collaborations with Iggy Pop, Laurie Anderson, Perfume Genius, and The National’s Matt Berninger. The EP’s electrifying opening song “God’s Lonely Man” pairs Calvi with Iggy Pop, who embodies the voice of her destructive internal monologue. “He’s disruptive, raw, and honest — a singular force. His presence was so perfect for the narrative of this song,” Calvi explains. The track pulses with daring defiance and furious guitars alongside galvanizing drums, standing as a rallying cry against emotional inertia and hopelessness. The video, directed and produced by Luigi Calabrese and Dominic Easter, was shot in Miami and offers an intimate portrait of a real connection between the two musicians as they sing out in unison “I wanna be somebody tonight.”
‘Is This All There Is?’ marks the first installment in a trilogy of records exploring identity as a metamorphosis, shaped and reshaped through the experience of falling in love. Inspired by Calvi’s own perspective shift after becoming a parent, the EP dives into existential questions of modern existence. “Having a child was so transformative it made me consider the possibility that everything in life could potentially shift, and that is scary but incredibly freeing,” Calvi says. “I didn’t want to take anything for granted any more. I want to exist in the best way for my child. I wanted to ask the most basic human question: is this all there is?” The EP reimagines Kraftwerk’s classic “Computer Love” with Laurie Anderson, featuring Anderson’s iconic voice and Calvi’s eerie choral arrangements creating a reflection on digital intimacy and emotional absence.
Calvi has previously collaborated with David Byrne, Brian Eno, Marianne Faithfull, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Courtney Barnett, and Julia Holter. The artist has been shortlisted three times for the Mercury Music Prize, nominated for a BRIT Award, and established herself as fearless in examining identity and passion. Following her work scoring Peaky Blinders and composing an opera with visionary director Robert Wilson, the EP plays like a cinematic soundscape. “Scoring the final two seasons of Peaky Blinders really altered how I create music. I always used to imagine my songs as mini films, but with this EP I wanted to explore a narrative which could exist throughout all the songs,” she explains. Calvi will also release a new song on War Child’s collaborative album HELP(2) titled “Sunday Light” featuring Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell, Nilüfer Yanya, and Dove Ellis, arriving March 6.