ARTIST Annette Mencke

To listen to Danish Songwriter Annette Mencke you’d think she was born by a piano and given a blank lyric book and pen as a christening present. Annette’s many and varied interests began with ballet at the age of three, after which she discovered horse riding aged 6, began playing piano at eight and then fell in love with the sport of horse vaulting at the age of 10. Vaulting became Annette’s major passion until she moved to London in 1991. Inspired by a singer-songwriter’s performance at a weekend music workshop, Annette remembered her love of poetry, and how at school she had displayed a natural gift for analysing what it was that made certain pieces connect with people. She decided to resurrect her piano skills and start writing her own songs, finding the whole process so fulfilling that she went back to college – enrolling in a Diploma In Music at the Powerhouse Music School. Fast forward a few years and 35-year-old Annette is now a fully fledged songwriter of rare quality and consistency. She spends much of her time writing music and lyrics at home in her London flat. Her tightly woven tunes are always shot through with sentiment but never overpowering and always rich in compositional craft but never overblown. “Great songs are simple,” says Annette. Recently, her work has been recognised by the judges of the 2006 International Songwriting Competition where two of her compositions – ‘Wanna Be With You’ and ‘She’s Gonna Fly’ have advanced through to the final stages. In 2007 both reached the finals at the UK Songwriting Competition. “Writing songs is magical,” she smiles. “It’s like being an architect designing a beautiful building. My dream is to write and co-write songs with great singers. There are amazing voice out there who need amazing tunes, I hope my songs finds them.