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Q&A: Annie
A sitdown with Norway's newest pop star
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
By Daphne Carr
Annie, born Anne Lilia Berge-Strand, is Norway's answer to Kylie. Her breathy vocals and mostly-self penned poppy electro-house put her debut album Anniemal on several critic's 2004 top ten lists, even before its U.S. release (the album is available now on Big Beat). The singles ?Chewing Gum? and ?Heartbeat? form a bookend to this coy chanteuse's wordplay and production ? one is a lip-smacking ode to disposability and the other, an intimate glimpse into the psyche of a girl whirling in love.
In late June, Annie returned to the States for a second round of tour dates supporting her burgeoning fame among the dance minded twee-kids. At New York City's Hiro Ballroom, she sang nervously while her producer mixed renegade beats sans computer. The audience mostly forgave her for her entry-level live performance. Her newest material ? including a track called ?The Wedding? ? seemed more natural, as she abandoned her wispy voice and moved to a more full-bodied sound. It was on the afternoon of this show that Stop Smiling caught up with Annie for a chat.
Stop Smiling: I was listening to ?Always Too Late? and thinking about how, there among the strings and the vampy vocals, are these funny little sonic squiggles. Is humor an important part of your music?
Annie: ?Always Too Late? is one of my favorite songs, actually, and really it's about me. I'm always running late and saying I'm sorry. I think it's boring if you write lyrics that are too serious. ?Chewing Gum? is a funny song, too.
SS: Are you a funny person?
Annie: Well, I consider myself funny. A friend and I once placed an ad in the newspaper saying, ?I would really like to buy a waterbed and I'm willing to pay up to 500 dollars.? We put another friend's phone number at the end. People were calling all day. That was pretty funny, I think. Things like that happen in Bergen.
SS: Bergen is a small town. What does it mean to be famous there?
Annie: It's really strange to be famous in Bergen. It's like the whole city is proud. It's a little bit absurd. It's like ?Annie, she's from Bergen, and that makes Bergen a great place to live! Or, ?If she can make it and be from Bergen, so can I.? People do tend to ask for my autograph. But there's this phrase ? jamte loven ? which is like, You shouldn't think that you are something. If you pretend you're a big star, people will think you're ridiculous. Like Marion Ravn, who used to be in M2M. She's really arrogant. People just won't take you seriously in Norway if you act like that. But here in the United States, it's accepted that if you're famous, you should act that way.
SS: If you weren't famous, what would you be doing?
Annie: I always wanted to be an archeologist. I'm really interested in history, and I think it's really important to understand the world. I would also just love to be out there, digging, and finding something ancient.
SS: People say that your music is disposable, but I think good pop music is timeless. Is Anniemal timeless?
Annie: I'd like to think it is. Maybe people will say, ?Anniemal, it's so 2004,? in a few years. I'm into a lot of things like electroclash, and I think that's connected to a certain time. You can listen and say, ?Oh yes, 2003,? or even ?January 2003.? But good pop music will stand outside of that, and still sound new many years later.
SS: What are your favorite pop songs of all time?
Annie: I like ?Thriller? quite a lot. And ?Popcorn.? ?Into the Groove? by Madonna. It sounds really '80s, but if that song were written today, I think it would still be a hit. It's great production, good melodies ? difficult to explain.
SS: Are you working on new material?
Annie: I just did three new songs with Richard X, because I've been really, really inspired, which is hard because I haven't been able to sit down and record. Hopefully in October I'll be back in the studio, and have an album out late next year.
SS: Hopefully your label won't wait forever to put it out in the States.
Annie: I know, I would like it to get here quickly, but they want everything to wait.
SS: What does the new material sound like? I read that you've been listening to a lot of MIA.
Annie: Yes, I love her, but musically we're really far away from one another. I was inspired by Prince's ?Kiss? and so I'm doing something like that, with really sexy guitar. I've been working really closely with Richard X this time. When I was working on ?Chewing Gum,? he came in with the instrumental and I didn't really have time to do anything on it because I was working on so many other parts of the album. In the beginning, I had a problem that I wasn't writing the songs, but I think it's still got a lot of me on it because I did sit down and give my input.
SS: What's the secret Annie production trick?
Annie: I can't go into that, because maybe someone will rip me off! Something I really thought about on Anniemal was timing. With the melodies, I would just hold the phrase a little longer, and it would sound completely different. I also think a lot about basslines, and put a lot of bass into my songs. I'm a big fan of Zongamin, this Japanese guy living in London. He makes the best bass lines ? really dark, sexy electronic disco.
SS: What's the difference between sexy and cute? Which is your music?
Annie: I would be annoyed if people said, ?Oh Annie, your music is so sweet.?
SS: So it's sexy? But not bad girl sexy.
Annie: A lot of people don't know everything about me.