Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Barattin.
Anna, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Julia Furgiuele and I started Shantih Shantih in 2013. Since we did not have a proper rehearsal space, we practiced our first three songs in her living room. It was very exciting and we clicked right away. Shortly, Anna Kramer joined the band on lead guitar. We really liked Anna’s style and taste, so we didn’t think twice about asking her to play in Shantih Shantih. Nikki Speake joined us a few years later. We saw her perform with her band, Midnight Larks, we loved her music and her personality and thought she would be a perfect fit.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I would say it has been a pretty smooth road. We play music because it makes us feel good and we want to keep it this way. This being said, it can be a little rough on the road sometimes: you don’t always know where you’ll end up sleeping, you spend a lot of time crammed in a van, and there’s a lot of equipment to load in and out everyday; so naturally, it can get overwhelming. We definitely have collected a bunch of stories from these experiences and we often laugh thinking about them.
What else should our readers know?
We are a rock’n’roll band. People often describe us as an all girl group but we are not particularly fond of this definition. We prefer to be considered a band with four women in it.
What were you like growing up?
Writing and performing music are among my favorite memories from childhood. My dad used to have an old guitar sitting around and I remember playing it even though the strings were hard and rusty. I think that not having an instrument for a long time (I always wanted a guitar and finally got my own when I turned 13) solidified my interest in music and taught me about perseverance.
Image Credit:
First Picture: Giancarlo Brunelli
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