For years, Marisa Anderson has lived a double life of sorts, as both one of the most skilled and adventurous solo guitar players on Earth, and also as a relative secret, hidden away in her longtime hometown of Portland.
Even within the solo guitar scene—which has grown over the past decade—Anderson’s work often feels overlooked by all but the most committed enthusiasts for dusty, six-stringed sounds. But that’s changing; with the thrust of the mighty Thrill Jockey Records behind her new album Cloud Corner, Anderson can feel an increase in interest and attention for her music.
“I’ve just been me doing me my whole life, and things attach or fall away,” Anderson says. “Honestly, I don’t know why it’s happening, [but] it is happening. It’s fine. I like doing what I do. It’s not the reason I do it. But I don’t want to think about that too much. I just want to do what I do.”