Interview: Annie
Lazily, but somewhat accurately, described as Norway's answer to Kylie Minogue, electro-pop princess Annie has a fanbase ranging from tweens to tastemakers. One of those pop stars it's not uncool to like, she writes her own material, founded a Bergen club night, and has collaborated with countryfolk Röyksopp and Datarock. Annie's debut record "Anniemal" was released in 2004, and followed the tragic death from heart failure of her boyfriend and early collaborator Tore Kroknes. New album "Don't stop" steps up the electro-beats and is released internationally this month on her own label, Totally, and Oslo's Smalltown Supersound, after lengthy delays that saw Annie leave Island Records with the master tapes.
This month your album "Don't stop" is finally released in the US and UK, after a delay of more than a year. How does that feel?
It feels so amazing, I can't tell you. I don't know what it feels like to have a child, but it's that kind of amazing. I had to go through so much waiting around, with my old label [Island] saying "it's coming out now", then "it's coming out in a few months" and on and on. At this point I've already started to work on the next one. I'm on to the next level.
Why did Island delay the release at a time when Scandinavian music is doing so well internationally?
It was really annoying, it was typical major label stuff. I was signed by one person, who then left to go to EMI and the new person who came onto the project just didn't get the project at all. The people I was working with kept changing. It just doesn't work or feel right to make an album that way. You're working against a wall. But I'm really happy now that I have my own label, Totally.
And you're also collaborating with the Oslo label Smalltown Supersound?
That's right - Björn who runs the Smalltown Supersound label told me he had heard my record and he thought it was fantastic. He's a really cool guy. I'm really happy to work with them.Do you have any favourite new tracks?
I'm really happy with "Hey Annie", that's one of my favourites. I made that with Paul Epworth. And I have this song called "Marie Cherie" which is nice and relaxing. I was listening to a lot of French pop music at the time and I wanted to make something that had a cinematic feel.
With all the delays, did the title "Don't stop" begin to feel pertinent?
Yeah, it was very early in the project I called the album "Don't stop", and having done that, a lot of trouble came up with Island. The title kind of took on a new meaning. I couldn't change the title once I called it that! I had to keep going and it still had to be called "Don't stop".
Why did you take the single that had been released, "I know ur girlfriend hates me", off the final album tracklisting?
I was a bit annoyed because it was released in the wrong way. It was only supposed to be a small release but Island went ahead and did it the way they wanted, without asking me. I think it's a good song, but I took it off the album because a lot of people had already heard it and I had so many songs. I wanted to give people something new.
What have you learned about how to make music since the first album?
In the beginning I really concentrated on writing songs, on all the songwriting details. As time's gone, on I've become more involved in the production and in the whole process. I think the sound of this record is stronger and more direct than (previous record) "Anniemal". The first record sounded "nicer" somehow. It was a more innocent sound.
How have you achieved your status as a pop artist who is seen as having an edge and being credible?
My background is different from a lot of others, because it's listening to underground music and going to underground clubs and buying loads of vinyl. That will always stay with me. And I could never just lean back and let someone else do everything for me musically. I know what I want. When I was working with Brian Higgins at (British pop producers) Xenomania, he said he found me interesting because they work with a lot of artists who sit back and let other people do it for them, but I was really involved in the production and the whole thing.
(British girl group and Xenomania protégées) Girls Aloud sang backing vocals on your new track my "My love is better". Is it true their vocals have now been removed?
Yes, we were forced to take it away! It was record company business stuff. Girls Aloud were in the Xenomania studio as well -- it's a big place with lots of rooms -- recording their song "I don't speak French". Brian asked them if they'd sing and they said they love to do something, and they sang the backing vocals. They were happy to do it. But when we tried to clear it with the labels, we found we couldn't. People were worried in case our records came out at the same time.
In the 1990s you ran a club night in Bergen called Pop Till You Drop. Do you still DJ?
Yes, I still do it, I was just DJing just a couple of days ago in Istanbul. I'd like to do some kind of combination show that's a live gig and also DJing. I love to buy records, I buy new records every week, so it's good to get a chance to play them out.
Is the DJ scene and nightlife one of the reasons you've just moved to Berlin?
Well, the thing I like most is that it's so much cheaper here than in Norway, which is a ridiculously expensive place. And things are open late in Berlin and I work on my music until really late into the evening, so if I'm not too tired, I can still head out and go to a club and hear music, so I like that about it. I just got a new apartment here which I really love and I'm settling in. But I travel so much that I won't actually be here a lot of the time. I've also thought of moving to the UK, because I'm there so often and I really like it.
Has your famous cat Joey moved with you to Berlin? (Annie's cat, who she named after both Joey Ramone and Joey from New Kids on the Block, has been used by the press as a metaphor for her eclectic tastes).
No, sadly not. Joey got left in Norway with my mother. I'll always go back there to visit her. I'm not sure I'd be allowed to have her here in my apartment, but in any case where she is in Norway there's so much nature and it's beautiful. It's a much better place for a little cat.
Interview by Sophy Grimshaw