Annie

Annie

By Daniel Robert Epstein
Jan 6, 2006

Annie has been shooting up the pop charts with a multitude of singles from the album Anniemal. This Norwegian native’s pop sound started a groundswell of support from the internet that is now crossing over into major radio play. I got a chance to talk with Annie during a short visit to New York City.

Check out the official site for Annie

Daniel Robert Epstein: Where are you today?
ANNIE: I’m in Brooklyn at the office of the record company.
DRE:
Do you like New York?
ANNIE: I think it’s great! I really like it here. I’ve been here like only three times now but I’m considering moving to New York. I always have such a good time here.
DRE:
Where do you live now?
ANNIE: I live in Norway in a city called Bergen which is the second biggest city in Norway.
DRE:
How’s that?
ANNIE: It’s nice and really beautiful. But not so many people live there, like 370,000 people. I have to say it’s the rainiest city in whole of Europe.
DRE:
What inspired this new album?
ANNIE: I get inspired by so much different stuff. Sometimes I’m listening to another record like old Madonna stuff and I can get inspired by that. Also by my friends. Sometimes from the soundtrack of a film. It’s a lot of different things. It totally depends on where I am and what I am doing.
DRE:
Since you’re a big fan of pop music, do you think it gets a bad rap?
ANNIE: I think pop music used to be better a couple of years ago and some of the pop music now is boring. But it is definitely getting better, yeah!
DRE:
[laughs] Because of yourself?
ANNIE: Yeah [laughs].

I think the latest stuff Kylie Minogue has been doing is pretty good.
DRE:
Do you like the Idol programs?
ANNIE: I’m not very into that.
DRE:
No.
ANNIE: A guy from Bergen, named Kurt Nilsen, won the Top World Idol.
DRE:
How was he?
ANNIE: It’s not totally my kind of thing but he’s a nice guy. I met him a couple of times, but I’m not so into his music.

I really like the Scissor Sisters. They’re amazing.
DRE:
How did you come up with the title, Anniemal? I thought that was very clever.
ANNIE: [laughs] Yeah, a couple of years ago when I was working on one of my first singles with my boyfriend. He suggested we make a song called Anniemal and I thought it was a good idea. But sadly enough he died of a heart disease.
DRE:
I’m so sorry!
ANNIE: Yeah, but I kept on doing music and I still had that name Anniemal in my head. In the end we made a song called Anniemal and then I was trying to think of a name for the album and we just called it Anniemal.
DRE:
Was it a tribute to him?
ANNIE: In one way I guess it is, but I just thought it was a really good thing. It brings out the Anniemal in me.
DRE:
You get a lot of support from the internet, when did that start?
ANNIE: I guess it started when my song, Chewing Gum, came out in the UK last winter and Pitchfork said the single Heartbeat was the best one of last year. That’s when things started to happen and lots of people heard it on the web. It’s so funny because with a lot of people who do music in Norway it takes such a long time for their record to come out in the US but for me its out in the US almost before it’s almost anywhere else in Europe.
DRE:
Have you played much in the US yet?
ANNIE: I’m doing two gigs tomorrow and I played yesterday.
DRE:
What kind of people show up for your shows?
ANNIE: It’s a lot of young people, but I also have a lot of different fans. I tend to meet like girls who’re seven years old and then I also meet a few fans who are over 40. Also Bergen is a big student place, there’s always lot’s of students coming to the show.
DRE:
The song Heartbeats has a big Motown feeling to it.
ANNIE: Yeah. I’ve been listening to a lot of Motown and stuff like that.
DRE:
Did your parents play Motown for you?
ANNIE: No, they didn’t really. I think it was just I had a lot of friends who were much older than me who were listening to it and I started to go to a lot of secondhand stores for that kind of record.
DRE:
Do you still buy a lot of records?
ANNIE: Yes, in Manhattan I went to a great store called Other Music and bought this very weird disco compilation with songs from ’79 to ’84 or something like that.
DRE:
What do you do for fun?
ANNIE: I usually do things with music. I’m doing a radio show together with my friends. We just play music that we’re into and talk about interesting things. Then I just like to hang out at home and sleep because I don’t really have much time to do that when I’m not at home. Sometimes I just go up to my mother’s and play with my cat and just don’t do anything.
DRE:
What’s your cat’s name?
ANNIE: He’s called Joey. I think he might be a Siamese. He’s a really nice cat and he likes me very much.
DRE:
I read you named him after Joey Ramone.
ANNIE: Yeah and Joey from New Kids On The Block.
DRE:
Are you working on your next album yet?
ANNIE: I did actually record some new songs three weeks ago. But right now I’m just traveling around promoting my single Heartbeat. We’re going to Australia and Japan as well. But I hope that I can go into the studio before the end of the year.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck
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