SHE'S the singer/songwriter from over here, that's now doing rather well over there.

In fact since completing a mini-tour of the US last year, Colchester's Anna Pancaldi has been signed by a record label in Los Angeles and continues to tour over there.

"I was in LA for three months in all," she says, "showcasing for various labels and publishers. Getting my first deal with the LA label, having people investing money in me because they believe in what I'm doing, as well as building my fanbase over here in the UK, has been incredibly encouraging.

"For a long time people have been saying I could do well in the States and when I went out there last year for a tour, there were a lot of people who came to see me play.

"All that aside I still never feel that my work is done. There's plenty still to do."

Which at the moment is touring the UK promoting her latest EP, Sweet Charity.

"The last one was named after my brother," she explains, "so this one is named after my sister. It's a bit of new venture for me, accompanying myself on the piano and in terms of reaction it's had the biggest response on-line and in the press."

Born in Maldon, at the age of 12 Anna and her family moved to South Africa for her dad’s work and it was there that she first dabbled with music, taking her “tiny” guitar to the beach where she would tentatively write songs.

Moving back to England at 15, Anna enrolled at the Colchester Institute where she took a music diploma, but it wasn’t until she took nine months out travelling that her musical career really got going.

Starting off in New Zealand, she travelled to Nepal and Hong Kong, as well as the US and back to South Africa.

At the end of the trip she relocated to London to kickstart her career.

Now still based in the city, Anna is currently on a tour of the UK, which includes the launch of her EP at the Victoria in Dalston, London, tonight.

With dates in Amsterdam, Hamburg and Berlin in May, and then a return to the States at the end of the year, Anna is hoping to build on 2015's Black Tears, which made number six in the iTunes singer-songwriter charts, with one of her songs then used on an advert for Levi’s Jeans.

"I can't wait for people to hear the new stuff I'm doing," she tells me. "It's starting to get very exciting."

For more information go to annapancaldi.com