A Sounding Comeback with Gail Anderson

From the USA to the Innsbruck region, singer and songwriter Gail Anderson sings at the top of Haus der Musik and tells us why she moved here 25 years ago.

Just like most of the whole globe, events and live performances here in Innsbruck have been locked-up for what seems like a life-time and are itching to get back to business. Innsbruck city is beginning to get back to normal with restrictions easing further. Clubs, bars and other venues for live music can unlock their doors and welcome in the general public. In celebration of this, we recorded Gail Anderson and her keys player Rita Goller on the roof terrace of Haus der Musik, in the centre of the city.

Listen to Gail’s glorious voice, accompanied by Rita Goller on keys, sing out from Haus der Musik in Innsbruck:

As the cultural hub of western Austria, Innsbruck has a way of drawing artists and creatives in – people just like Gail! After growing up in Connecticut and Virginia in the US, she never expected that she’d end up living in Austria, yet now she calls Innsbruck and Tirol home. Get to know Gail and how she ended up in Innsbruck in this interview – this is her story!

Situated opposite the Hofburg and next to the state theatre (Landestheater), Haus der Musik is a house for institutions and individuals in the fields of music and theatre – a place where musicians and performers of all genres can practice, record and perform. With several rooms, a couple of terraces, a grand hall and a restaurant, it is an open space for audiences to enjoy, as well as those within the industry.

Gail Anderson moved to Tirol over 25 years ago and has been in the Innsbruck region for over ten years. She told me off-camera that her singing career began later in life and happened more accidentally, rather than something that she had worked towards from a very young age. Now it is the source of her energy and you can definitely feel that.

Gail told us that the Innsbruck region is home for her, freedom at heart.

From Gail’s website: “Gail Anderson’s musical spectrum ranges from jazz, blues, soul, R’n’B, through wonderful gospel to popular music for whose stylish interpretations she gets a standing ovation on every stage.”

Rita Goller is Gail’s keys player. Being a jazz pianist, she can adapt her hands to almost anything and won the Tyrolean Classic Composition Prize in 2019. Among many projects, she has the Rita Goller Trio which is a timeless band with Rita as the front woman, Henri Sigl on bass and Chris Unsinn on drums.

More impressively, she created Austria’s first professional all woman’s jazz orchestra called the Frauen-Jazz-Orchester FJO, fantastic!

Photographer and production assistant Martin Kink and myself set everything up nice and early. We had several camera angles to capture along with a gimbal and drone. We recorded two songs a few times through, so that Gail and Rita could warm up and we could get the correct levels for both film and music.

I brought along my magic box – the SSL Alpha Channel which is a mic preamp that adds warmth to vocals, giving them a 1930s vibe. This perfectly harmonised with Gail’s natural brilliance, lovely stuff!

Gail’s vocals blew me away, it was difficult to concentrate on filming as I was in awe. Gail and Rita work so well together, you can really feel the gel in their performance.

Once we captured the perfect takes, we cleared all the kit away and put the drone in the sky.

Drone shot from outside Haus der Musik with Patscherkofel in the background. Flying a drone in the city is massively restricted. Not only are the correct permissions and insurances needed, but also extra permission from the airport is required because of the restricted airspace.

I had a lot of fun with Gail, Rita and Martin on this shoot. Being involved with music since the age of eight, I always love it when I can combine music and film together, especially recording great artists such as Gail and Rita.

I am looking forward to the next event / video that I am producing for Innsbruck Tourism: Sending Love to the World with DJ Richard Judge!

We will be high above the city with my mate Richard Judge for a very special event with Innsbruck Tourism. Also, supporting Richard is another mate and fellow DJ, Anemone See. Check out one of my fav mixes from her.

For all the upcoming events in Innsbruck (not just music related), there is a webpage dedicated to keeping you informed.

All photos © Ashley Wiggins unless otherwise stated.

Follow more of my filmmaking and music production adventures on Instagram and Facebook