Anna Eiluned Saunders (born 20 October 1984 in Cardiff) is a Welsh-Cornish musician better known under her stage name, Ani Glass. She is also an artist, producer and a photographer and has studied for a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Economical and Regional Development at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

Biography

Her sister is the Cornish-Welsh singer

Gwenno Gwenno Mererid Saunders (born 23 May 1981) is a Welsh-Cornish musician, known mononymously as Gwenno. She has released three critically acclaimed albums as a solo artist: Welsh Music Prize winner '' Y Dydd Olaf'' (2014); '' Le Kov'' (2018), her ...

and her father is

Tim Saunders Tim Saunders is a Cornish poet and journalist primarily writing in the Cornish language who also writes in the Welsh, Irish, and Breton languages. He is resident in Cardiff but is of Cornish descent. He is a literary historian and editor of 'T ...

, the Cornish poet and journalist, known for his writing in Cornish,

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

, Irish and

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

. Saunders was raised speaking both Cornish and English at home.

Musical Career

Early career (2004–2011)

Before joining her sister in

The Pipettes The Pipettes were a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, ''We Are the Pipettes'', and ''Earth vs. The Pipettes'' and released numerous singles to support i ...

in 2008, Glass was a member of the group ‘Genie Queen’, a band whose former members included

Abbey Clancy Abigail Marie Clancy (born 10 January 1986) is an English model and television personality. She was the runner-up of ''Britain's Next Top Model (series 2)'' in 2006 and won series 11 of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2013. She presented ''Britain ...

and was managed by

Andy McCluskey George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded ...

of the group

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...

. As a member of The Pipettes, she wrote and recorded the second album of the group, '' Earth vs The Pipettes'' in 2010.

After The Pipettes (2011– 2020)

After The Pipettes disbanded in 2011, Glass returned to

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. She was a founding member of The Lovely Wars before releasing ''Ffôl'' (Foolish), her first solo single in 2015.''Ffôl'' was chosen as single of the week on

BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and BBC Sounds. The station broadcasts general factual and entertainment pro ...

and was also played on

BBC 6 music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

. Her first EP, ''Ffrwydrad Tawel'' (Silent Explosion) was released in 2017 and is a celebration of an art exhibition of the same name by Welsh artist Ivor Davies. Her first album, ''Mirores'' (Observer), was released in 2020 with songs in Cornish, English and Welsh. The album won Welsh Album of the year in the National Eisteddfod in 2020 and reached the shortlist for the Welsh Music Award 2020.

Ennill yn Barod and Phantasmagoria (2020 - now)

In 2022 Glass released the track ''Ennill yn Barod'' (We've won already) to celebrate the

Welsh national football team The Wales national football team () represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales. They have been a member of FIFA since 1946 and a member of U ...

participating in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. In 2025 Glass received a grant from the PRS Foundation. This funding is to allow her to complete her second album, ''Phantasmagoria,'' which draws inspiration from her diagnosis in 2020 of having a rare benign brain tumour.

Ordination as a bard

In 2013, she was ordained as a bard of the Gorsedh Kernow in 2013 under the bardic name 'Mirores'.

Discography

With The Pipettes

Albums as solo artist

Solo releases

External links

Ani Glass Instagram

The Lovely Wars - Brân i Frân
(Youtube video)

References

{{Reflist Welsh pop musicians 1984 births Living people Welsh-language singers Cornish-language singers Welsh-speaking musicians Cornish-speaking people Singers from Cardiff British people of Cornish descent 21st-century Welsh women singers Welsh pop singers Welsh women in electronic music The Pipettes members Bards of Gorsedh Kernow