Anna Oxygen

Quirky electro-dance girl Anna Oxygen first made a name for herself in the late '90s as a member of the Space Ballerinas. The keytar-driven synth pop act was briefly popular in its hometown of Olympia, WA. They released two EPs on Yoyo, made their debut as a trio at Ladyfest Olympia, and eventually played one date with Peaches before disbanding in 2001. From there, the Evergreen State College music grad self-recorded an EP and prepped herself for a solo jaunt. Before Oxygen landed in the middle of the West Coast indie rock scene, she went to high school in Tacoma and participated in various choirs and musical productions. When she wasn't listening to local folk artists, Oxygen was gushing over the work of Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Jonathan Richman, and Leonard Cohen. Frequent trips to the local library to check out their eclectic music section opened Oxygen's eyes and mind to various genres. Klaus Nomi's new wave classic "Total Eclipse," from the 1981 soundtrack Urgh! A Music War, blew her away. From there, Oxygen aimed to make music her life. Oxygen moved to Seattle in 2002 and learned that Murder City Devils bassist Derek Fudesco liked her homemade EP. Months later, she and engineer Justin Trosper (Replikants, Unwound) tweaked Oxygen's new wave bits for the making of All Your Faded Things. The cheeky debut album appeared on Cold Crush in August 2003. Oxygen moved to Kill Rock Stars for her second album, This Is an Exercise, which was released in early 2006.