If there’s one artist who has clearly benefitted from the ‘Pitchfork factor,’ it’s certainly Scandinavian electro-pop singer Annie, whose stick-in-your-head number “Heartbeat” topped the influential music website’s list of top 50 singles back in 2004 (while her equally catchy “Chewing Gum” came in at number 11). At that time, her debut record, Anniemal, hadn’t even been released outside Europe, and the nascent songstress was more used to dropping wax as a club DJ than performing live.
Since then, Anniemal’s ear worms have infected even the most jaded of indie hipsters, and the 28-year-old from Bergen, Norway, has found herself traversing the globe to bring the album’s twichy beats and icy vocals to life.
It’s only surprising it’s taken this long for Annie (known to her mother as Anne Lilia Berge Strand) to become a star. She wrote the breezy house-inflected “Greatest Hit” back in 1999 with producer boyfriend DJ Erot (Tore Korknes), but he died two years later from heart complications at the age of 23. Annie threw herself into music, starting up a club night in Bergen where she met many of the producers who would help her finish her debut.
And with clever little numbers comparing a disposable fling to chewing gum (“You spit it out when all the flavour has gone”) or true love to a smash song (“Greatest Hit”), what’s not to like? After all, it isn’t only the indie arbiters of P-fork who know an infectious tune when they hear one.
We caught up with Annie via transcontinental call last week prior to her show in town this Tuesday.
Tabassum Siddiqui: After touring extensively last year, you’ve had some downtime before this current string of North American dates-what have you been up to?
Annie: I’m writing new songs and melodies for a new record. We’ve already finished five songs so far. After Canada, we’re going to spend three weeks in New York, which is going to be very exciting. We’re going to do some work at James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins)’s studio down there.
TS: How did you cross paths with him?
A: I met him through the friend of a guy who works for [my label] VICE Records in New York. I think he was into my music, and made some suggestions. I also wanted to work with some different American producers this time around, and so it was perfect that we managed to hook up with him.
TS: You worked with a couple of different producers on Anniemal, and it was interesting how they each put their own sonic stamp on the songs. Are you aiming for a similar direction this time around?
A: I almost thought that I worked with too many producers last time (laughs), so we’ll see… But I’ve been writing lots of different material, so it’ll be interesting to see what sort of shape it all takes. It’s going to be different than Anniemal, but exactly how I’m not so sure at this point.
TS: Though you’ve been making music for some time, seeing as Anniemal was your debut record, were you surprised by its strong reception from both critics and fans?
A: Very much. I’ve been extremely surprised by the reaction we’ve been getting outside of Europe, especially. To me [the record] sounds quite European, so it’s been very surprising to me how well it’s translated everywhere.
TS: Do you think the Pitchfork angle has been overplayed, or do you feel that it played a legitimate part in your success?
A: I think Pitchfork helped me a lot, to be honest. That in itself was very interesting to me, because I always thought it was a great site with good journalism. When they put “Heartbeat” at number one, that really made people take notice.
TS: What’s your opinion of downloading?
A: The word about my music was spread on the Internet-I think a lot of people heard me on the Web for the first time. It’s not necessarily a bad thing-I think when people download, they or their friends will eventually buy something. I mean, Metallica shouldn’t be complaining, or Madonna, or all of those [artists]… I have friends who should be getting paid some money, but I think anything that gets people to listen to new songs is a good thing.
TS: You’ve played in Toronto previously opening for fellow Bergen band Royksopp-what did you think of our fair town?
A: Yeah, I’ve been there once before. I never get to see a lot of any city I’m in, but Toronto seemed really great, and the people I met there were really nice. I really hope I get some time to actually get to see the city a bit this time around.
TS: You’ve toured all over the place-are the crowds different depending on where you go?
A: It’s always fun. Some of the audience in Canada is a little bit like playing in Scandinavia. Canadians and Americans are quite different, I find-Americans tend to dance right away, while Canadians take a little bit of warming up! (laughs)
TS: As a DJ, you must be checking out new sounds all the time…
A: I’ve always been listening to as much music as I can-I try to buy as many records as possible when I’m out on the road. I’m just a big music nerd. (laughs)
TS: What’s your approach to getting a party started?
A: I always try to play stuff that people haven’t heard before. If you can get people to dance to something they’re not familiar with, at that time on that day, it’s such a great moment. Opening people’s minds-it’s a good thing.
Annie plays the Mod Club (722 College St.) March 21. Tickets ($18.50) at the usual suspects.
