Anika (musician)

Anika
Birth name Annika Henderson
Genres Dub, electronic, avant-garde, post-punk
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals
Labels Invada Records UK

Anika is a British and German singer-songwriter and political journalist.

Life and career

Before she began her singing career, Anika was a political journalist who spent her time between Berlin and Bristol, England. She met producer Geoff Barrow (of Portishead), who was looking for a female vocalist to work with his band Beak. Anika joined the band in the studio and recorded nine songs, including a cover of Yoko Ono's "Yang Yang" in 12 days with no overdubs. The result, Anika, was released by Barrow's Invada imprint in Europe and by Stones Throw Records in the U.S. and Japan in October 2010.[1] Anika received positive reviews from contemporary critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 65/100.[2] The album also included covers of "Terry" by Twinkle, "End of the World" by Skeeter Davis, "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan, and "I Go to Sleep" by The Kinks.[3]

Geoff Barrow with editor John Minton directed the promotional music video for Anika's cover of "Yang Yang."[4] The song was later offered as the "Free MP3 of the Day" on Spinner. On her choice to cover the song for her album, Anika explained, "I loved the way the words sounded and as an ex-politics student and political journalist, I thought the song would make a great cover. Yoko Ono is renowned for her political views but I think there was a dark side to the lyrics that the original version had not fully explored. This is where we came in ..."[5] Drowned in Sound included "Yang Yang" on its list Singles of the Year 2010.[6]

Several of the songs on Anika found digital success on iTunes. "End of the World" peaked at number seventy-eight on the iTunes Japan Top 100 Alternative Songs,[7] while "Yang Yang" peaked at number sixty-four on the iTunes Spain Top 100 Alternative Songs.[8] Anika was chosen by Portishead to perform at the ATP I'll Be Your Mirror festivals that they curated in July 2011 at London's Alexandra Palace[9] and in September 2011 in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[10]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

References

  1. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Anika". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  2. ↑ "Anika Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  3. ↑ Phares, Heather (2010). "Anika – Anika". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  4. ↑ "Anika – Yang Yang". Antville. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  5. ↑ Mike, Spinella (18 December 2010). "Anika, 'Yang Yang' – Free MP3 of the Day Exclusive – Spinner". Spinner. AOL. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  6. ↑ Roby, Wendy (21 December 2010). "Singles of the Year 2010: Part the Second, A TOP 50!". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  7. ↑ "End of the World by Anika – Song Analysis". Music-chart.info. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  8. ↑ "Yang Yang by Anika – Song Analysis". Music-chart.info. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  9. ↑ "I'll Be Your Mirror London". Atpfestival.com. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  10. ↑ "I'll Be Your Mirror Asbury Park". Atpfestival.com. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  11. ↑ "Anika | Anika EP | Stones Throw Records". Stonesthrow.com. Retrieved 2013-10-13.

External links

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