Anika | |
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 Anika performing in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Annika Henderson |
| Born | 6 February 1987 Surrey, England |
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Anika (born Annika Henderson, 1987) [1] is a British and German singer-songwriter, musician, political journalist and poet.
Anika was born in Surrey, England and grew up speaking English and German. [2] [3] Before she began her singing career, Anika worked as a music promoter in Cardiff and political journalist in Berlin. [4] [3]
After meeting producer Geoff Barrow, who was looking for a singer to work with his band Beak, [4] they recorded an album in 12 days with no overdubs. [5] The album was titled Anika , with Anika explaining she chose the name by taking out one letter from her real name as a way to distance herself from it personally. [5]
Anika was released in 2010 by Barrow's Invada imprint in Europe and by Stones Throw Records in the US, [1] and received positive reviews from contemporary critics. According to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 65/100. [6] The album included a number of covers, such as "Yang Yang" by Yoko Ono, "Terry" by Twinkle, "End of the World" by Skeeter Davis, "Masters of War" by Bob Dylan, and "I Go to Sleep" by Ray Davies. [7]
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, [8] while "Yang Yang" peaked at number sixty-four on the iTunes Spain Top 100 Alternative Songs. [9] Anika's cover of the song I Go to Sleep was rediscovered by Natasha Lyonne in 2019, to feature in a prominent scene in her self created Netflix Series Russian Doll (TV series).
Anika later formed the band Exploded View, based in Mexico City, along with local musicians / producers, Martin Thulin, Hugo Quezada and Amon Melgarejo, [10] who released their self-titled debut album on Sacred Bones Records in 2016. [11] They later released a follow-up EP on the same label entitled "Summer Came Early," which was said to be a comment on global warming, in November 2017. [12] A second album Obey was released in 2018. [11]
She returned in 2021 with a new Anika album, Change. [2] It received positive reviews from contemporary critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 79/100. [13] . Aquarium Drunkard called it 'an album of subtle electronic pop, driving bass lines, and lyrics that veer from quixotic to inspiring‘ [14] . Mxdwn wrote ‚Quiet, sparse and intimate, Change is another lo-fi, emotionally stark release from Anika, complete with her trademark cushy textures and dreamy melodies’, naming 'Change' as one of their top 50 records of 2021. [15] 7th Level Music described the album as ‚Dreamy. Sexy. Mysterious. Alluring. Distant. Intimate. Psychedelic. Stylish.’ [16] . The album's first single, 'Finger Pies', was chosen by Fashion House Chanel, as the opening track for the 'Spring-Summer 2022 Ready-to-Wear' Catwalk show in Paris.
This was followed by an album titled Abyss in 2025 out on Sacred Bones Records. [17]
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