Annie Lin

New York-based Annie Lin has been charming audiences across the country with her thoughtful lyrics and her low, lustrous voice since 2000. She has released three CDs on Ariadne Records and has toured nationwide, appearing with indie bands like The Reputation and Bonfire Madigan, and notable songwriters like Sarah Harmer, Michael Fracasso and Tish Hinojosa. She has performed at clubs, coffeehouses and colleges across the country.

Influenced by the pop sensibilities of songwriters like Liz Phair, Annie's songs reflect both the wry, enigmatic delivery of bands like Pedro the Lion and the moody lyricism of slowcore artists like IDA.

Annie's latest release, Truck Was Struck (2004), deconstructs a car accident and puts it back together from the perspective of the people involved. Fascinated with narrative angles, Annie wrote the album in response to the roadside emergencies she experienced both behind the wheel as a musician and behind the scenes as law student, sorting out the legalities of disaster. Critics from the Houston Press, San Jose Weekly, Splendidezine, Giant Robot Magazine, and Hyphen Magazine and artists like Lisa Loeb have praised the record, which has been featured on NPR's nationally-syndictated Pacific Time program and various other radio stations. Tracks from Truck Was Struck have been selected for inclusion in various compilations, including the Ladyfest Texas 2004 sampler, the Houston Association of Acoustic Musicians compilation, and the Dry Bones Coffeehouse compilation. Annie was also one of six artists honored by the North America Taiwanese Women's Association in 2005.

Born in Taiwan, Annie moved to Nebraska at the age of three and then to suburban Orange County, California, at the age of six. As a child, she grew up listening to Chinese soap opera soundtracks and preferred writing her own songs to practicing for piano lessons. Eventually Annie moved to attend college in Houston, where she taught herself guitar and quickly established herself as a bright newcomer in the Houston music scene. The first two CDs she released on Ariadne Records, Kicking Stars (2001) and East Coast Songs (2002), garnered favorable reviews from critics at the Houston Chronicle and Houston Press, as well as the Village Voice, Orange County Register and Boston Phoenix. Annie also channeled her passion for music and community activism into the Asian-American Songwriters Showcase, an event she created to spotlight Asian-American talent. The Asian-American Songwriters Showcase toured nationwide from 2001 to 2003 and featured artists like Jenny Choi, Emm Gryner, Vienna Teng, Kevin So and Francis Kim.

After finishing her law degree, Annie moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she currently lives and makes music. She often performs live as a duo with cellist/guitarist Henna Chou. Annie is working on a new record, due for release in 2006.