Smells Like Pop

Interview by Alexander Laurence / Photo by Angel Ceballos

Anika aka Annika Henderson used to be a political journalist and travel back and forth between Bristol and Berlin. She also went to college in Wales at some point and organized shows there and was a DJ too. As she was booking and promoting bands for clubs in Wales , Anika decided to try out for a band Beak> that was looking for a singer. The fellows in Beak> decided to stay instrument and to create a whole new record with Anika. They recorded the Anika in twelve days with no overdubs. They picked a bunch of cover songs including “Terry” by Lynn Ripley, “End of The World” by Skeeter Davis, “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan, “I Go To Sleep” by The Kinks, and “Yang Yang” by Yoko Ono. There were a few original songs like “No One’s There” and more. The stark confrontational style was very apparent. Anika was in the US early this year as a DJ. But now she is touring with a full band and even playing some festivals like ATP and Moog Fest. I got to speak with Anika right before she started her tour in America.

AL: How are the shows going?
Anika: We had one so far at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. It has been going reasonably well. We are on are way to Princeton. We are playing with Factory Floor and Dirty Beaches. We added a show at Glasslands since we are coming back to NYC anyway. We have toured extensively in Europe. We played a lot of festivals in Spain, France, and Switzerland. It’s harder to come over here because you have to deal with visa issues.

AL: How has the response been to music? Is there much difference in playing France and America?
Anika: It depends on what people like. You get cultural differences across France the same way you do across America. It will be interesting to see what happens when we play different parts of America. It was a surprise to see how exciteable New Yorkers were the other night. We will see how the LA shows goes.

AL: I heard that people were yelling out between songs in New York?
Anika: Yes. It was mental. It was crazy.

AL: When many English bands come over here, it’s often singers like Coldplay and Keane. It’s like emotional English ballads…. When someone doesn’t do something like that….
Anika: Actually some of our songs are based on stuff that Keane and Coldplay do. We want that kind of atmosphere. It’s great. [...]

Gorillaz, the innovative music/art project led by Blur frontman Damon Albarn, offers its latest album as a free download from the Gorillaz website. Members of the Gorillaz Sub Division fan club (cost: $45 annually) received the album as a free download last Christmas. For everyone else, the album can be streamed at no charge.

‘The Fall’ is notable first and foremost for how it was produced and recorded. This was an album that was conceived, recorded, and produced entirely using an iPad while on the road during the band’s 2010 North American tour. The titles of the songs hint at the locales in which they were inspired:  ‘The Snake in Dallas,’ ‘Bobby in Phoenix,’ and ‘California and the Slipping of the Sun.’

The video for ‘Phoner to Arizona’ is chock full of images that Albarn captured during the band’s travels. The video captures the sensation of looking out the window of a train while traveling: fragmentary impressions, images out of context, and bits of overheard conversation.

This album has plenty of the signature electro-pop riffs and beats that we’ve come to expect from Gorillaz albums, not to mention Albarn’s moody vocals. It also has the Gorillaz singular brand of humor; the song ‘Seattle Yodel’ features the “yodeling” of a toy yodeling pickle.

This album has a sense of solitude about it. Its more thoughtful and introspective than any other Gorillaz album. This is no surprise considering that it was produced in lonely, impersonal spaces such as hotel rooms and train cars. The lack of live recordings is also plainly audible. Except for the vocals, some guitar tracks, and a few other notable exceptions this is a 100% digital creation, conceived and produced on a computer with a suite of software apps and a pair of headphones. This is not meant as a criticism; you’ve got to marvel at Albarn’s ability to produce an entire album while on the road. It is because of its production limitations that this album was built largely upon samples and drum loops.  As a consequence, this album has plenty of electronica groove. It ranges from dubby beats, to moody electro-pop, to dancy techno beats.

This album is well worth the listen, and ideal for your next road trip.

Smells Like: ★★★★★★★★★★