Ana Coutinho was born in Portugal and lived her first 18 months in a village
that, to this day, is found only on minutely detailed maps of the region.
The family emigrated to London, Ontario, but Portuguese remained her first
language until she started school at the age of five.
Ana grew up absorbing and filtering musical influences that ranged from her sister's Beatles albums and AM radio to the songs of her native Portugal - her father's mandolin and her mother's voice.
She first started performing in Toronto in the mid-eighties, shortly after returning from a year in British Columbia where she'd insulated homes, planted trees and shaved her head - beating Sinead to baldness by several years. Sight Un Seen, her first band, started out as an acoustic duo but Ana felt that her electric guitar was closer in feel to the chainsaws she'd been using in the BC bush and, with the addition of drummer Andy Stochansky, got raucous enough to "play all the scuzzy Queen Street bars."
Toward the end of the eighties, Ana again gravitated toward a more acoustic sound and began working with extraordinary guitarplayer, Ray Montford, releasing the largely-unheralded gem "On the Borderline" in 1990.
Again a duo evolved into a full band and by 1993 Ana was fronting an electrified four-piece. With John Switzer (Jane Siberry, the Waltons, Fat Man Waving) producing, her second recording, "Eyes Never Lie", was the culmination of this incarnation.
A published poet herself, her lyrics reflect a love of cinema, literature and art; spinning her experiences into visual vignettes that are powerfully sensual, quietly intense and highly evocative. To accompany these word pictures, Ana has created her own guitar language where open tunings dominate a strong sense of rhythm, resulting in melodies that are at once familiar and exotic. Add to that a voice remarkable for both its power and subtlety and you have a captivating performer and compelling storyteller.
Ana Coutinho is currently living in downtown Toronto and can be found in studio, with John Switzer producing, at work on her third recording.
with Ray Montford
released March, 1990, cassette
On the Borderline
Cass $12.00 ON SALE AGAIN SEPTEMEBER 8, 2003
On the Borderline is a mostly acoustic offering, with Ana on vocals and guitar and Ray on guitars.
1. Child of the Eagle
2. The Day We Rode Away
3. On the Borderline
4. Letter to Kevin
5. Light of the Moon
6. Late Last Night
7. Jean
8. City of Fire Dreams
Released 1993
Eyes Never Lie
CD $15.00 ON SALE AGAIN SEPTEMEBER 8, 2003
Eyes Never Lie
Cass $12.00 ON SALE AGAIN SEPTEMEBER 8, 2003
1. Eyes Never Lie 
2. Let Her Down Easy
3. I Woke Up Missing You
4. I Saw You Dance
5. The Well Was Dry
6. Refuge From the Road
7. The River's Edge
8. The Long Way Home