Anika

Anika — the British-born, Berlin-based musician Annika Henderson — announces her new album, Abyss, out April 4th on Sacred Bones, and shares its lead single/video, “Hearsay.” Abyss was born out of the frustration, anger, and confusion Henderson feels from existing in our contemporary world. Notably heavier than 2021’s Change, the 10-track album is raw, urgent, and fueled by strong emotions. Pulsing with a heavy guitar and rhythm section, Abyss takes Anika on a new sonic journey.

“There’s so much going on in the world, and you have to sit there and watch it through a screen that you’ve allowed into your home, like a vampire who had been preying at your door, then immediately digest it, have an opinion, and publicly comment on it,” Anika says. “The state of the world just feels like an abyss right now.” With this new album, she wants to create a place where people can feel safe to be themselves, and to unite in their diversity. “Abyss is like a call to action,” she says. “To come and figure it out together.

The thrashing, driving, lead single and album opener, “Hearsay,” hones in on the extreme divisions between the left and right in contemporary society. Anika sings: “And yesterday’s papers they line my bird cage. / And you’re telling me tales to get your own way. / And you’re making up stories to push your narrative./ And you’re making up tales to be provocative.” In Anika’s words, “This song is about media moguls – about the power of the media, whether social, tv or beyond – we are as much under its spell as we ever were and some nasties are exploiting it for their own gains. Parasites feeding off the blood of the public — PJ Harvey inspired for sure.” 

Laura Martinova who directed the accompanying video says it’s “inspired by vampire aesthetics and seeks to connect with the grungy essence of Abyss. We aimed to create a dark yet dynamic and surprising video. My collaboration with contemporary dancers and the use of raw camera movement transcends this imagery, while Zeynep Schilling’s creative direction elevates the video to another level—somewhere between evil and heaven. We worked with stylist Danny Muster and emerging designers to craft a timeless aesthetic.” 

Abyss was recorded live to tape at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin (where the likes of Depeche Mode and David Bowie also recorded) in just a few days. Recording live and with minimal overdubs was an important decision, Anika stresses, in order to capture the raw immediacy of the album. As before, she wrote the songs herself before fleshing them out with Martin Thulin (Exploded View), and then assembled a live band to join the pair in the studio – comprising of Andrea Belfi on drums, Tomas Nochteff on bass (Mueran Humanos) and Lawrence Goodwin (The Pleasure Majenta) on guitar, with studio engineering done by Nanni Johansson and Frida Claeson Johansson. “I always work with people I respect and admire,” Anika says. “It’s very genuine in that way.” 

 Anika consciously sought to make an album that was inherently physical— one that would take the listener out of their head and back into their body. The physicality of Abyss is emphasized by the androgynous bodies on the album’s cover, that are from a drawing by a teenage friend of Anika’s. This feels especially poignant, as teenage angst also plays a part in the album. “These days it feels like you have to have very catered opinions – like language has gone out the window,” Anika says. “It makes you feel very much like a restricted child again.” With Abyss, Anika was determined to break free from holding back genuine emotions – even if they might seem uncomfortable or too much: “It’s like I’m doing all the things that I never allowed myself to do,” she says. Anika hopes this pure emotion will position the listener to fully immerse themselves in the album. “There needs to be room for people to put themselves in this album, and put their own narratives on it,” she says. “This is a space for you.”