Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
We’re super-excited to be speaking today with acclaimed vocalist and DJ Anané; greetings and salutations, Anané! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how has the freshly-minted autumn of 2023 been treating you?
It’s been gifting me with lots of work (laughs), lots of work in preparation for the release of the EP, back from an incredible summer in Ibiza and preparing now for the launch of Take a Ride on Nervous Records, soon to be released, January 12th.
Major congratulations on your amazing new EP, Take A Ride! What served as the inspiration behind one of the best EP’s we’ve heard in 2023?
Wow! One of the best EPs! The inspiration is a time of music when I was a little girl, it’s the era of disco. When I first arrived to the United States I remember this happy time of music, my family and my parents dancing. My dad was a vinyl collector, and he would play these records at home. Hearing this music, I didn’t know then how parallel it is to my life and how much it represents who I am as an artist in terms of the freedom of music, the glamour of music, the happiness and the unity of all people coming together. And so to be able to record an EP and remake some of the music that I remember hearing as a little girl, to remake it today and keep the integrity of the original songs, using live musicians and working with Two Soul Fusion (Louie Vega and Josh Milan) along with Leroy Burgess who conducted the live strings section, and bringing this to life today, for another generation of music goers, and sharing those experiences is amazing. It really is a blessing that I as an artist get to do music that touches my soul, that means something to me and to share it with the world.
We’re big admirers of the Get On The Funk Train tune off of the Take A Ride EP! What’s the story behind this gem, how did it find its way onto the new EP?
Get On The Funk Train, again it’s music, it’s a song that I remember as a little girl, a song that I sang along to you know, in the back of my dad’s big old Cadillac as we drove somewhere. It’s a song that’s still relevant to me today, that brings happiness, that’s still sexy and makes you want to dance. Music to me is either to inspire you and touch into your soul with the words and make you feel a certain way, or simply make you get up and dance, get on the dance floor, and Get On The Funk train is one of the songs that represents that to me.
Louie was actually working on another project at the time. I’d always wanted to remake this song and so I did the vocals first. Then I told Louie, listen I want to redo Get On The Funk Train, and he was like, are you sure? And I was like here, it’s ready, and I handed it to him (laughs). And when he heard it, he was like, yeah, ok, let’s finish this up and work on it and get the live musicians on board. And then we had some incredible remixers come on board, like Michael Gray, who did an incredible job as well. So yeah, music for me is always with the intention of making people happy and making the world dance.
Louie Vega – your blushing groom! – and Josh Milan produced the Take A Ride EP. What was your collaboration process like with these two gents while recording the new EP in the studio?
It’s a very amazing, funny dynamic that we have because we’ve been working together for a very long time, since Elements of Life. Josh is like a brother to me, the two of us are like the jokesters of the trio and constantly laughing and joking. Mr Vega, you know, he’s the serious, let’s-get-it-done type of guy, and Josh and I are like brother and sister. I mean the outtakes, I don’t know how many outtakes we have because I’m either cracking up or can’t get through it because Josh is making funny faces. You know we really need a camera in there, that would be amazing to film the process so people can see the behind the scenes of what goes on. It’s very lighthearted, familiar and a family atmosphere but at the same time very intense, get the work done. With Louie, however many takes is needed to get it right, we will do that many takes. Sometimes you know, the simplest note is the hardest one to get, and having to do it over and over and over again – I think actually, at the end of Tutto Previsto, one of the other songs on the EP, you can hear me laughing. We kept the laugh at the end of the song, because it really is, you know that’s what happening in the studio. There’s so much respect that I have for these two gentlemen, their work, what they’ve done for our music, and to be able to collaborate with them. At the same time, it’s also me bringing a lot. I have a lot of input into the project as to what songs I want to do, what I would like to portray, how I want to be seen, the artistic side of it. It’s me as Creative Director of the project in terms of the visuals, the sound, everything. Louie and I equally share a vision in terms of what we would like to hear, he comes up with his ideas and suggestions and I come with mine and it’s very interesting, the dynamic of the songs because he brings some things to the table and I bring some things to the table and once they’re fused together it creates a very interesting mix of music, an amazing soundscape of music.
In your humble opinion, what differentiates Take A Ride from the Distinguished Competition on the 2023 music scene?
I think the integrity of musicians, the live aspect of music, where we bring in musicians. I posted a video to my social media a few days ago of the recording of Tutto Previsto, we were in the studio and like I said we had a live string section – we’re talking musicians from the New York Symphonies and Orchestras that play classical music – and having Leroy Burgess conduct that, and hearing it come to life is really magic. Electronic music as we know is a lot of, well it’s electronic, produced on computers and different things, which is just as amazing, but to me the human touch is something that can never be replaced. The heartfelt magic that comes through the creation of humans playing instruments all together in unison, hitting notes together, feeling it, it’s just special. And so I think that’s one of the reasons that makes this EP different, it’s doing things in a way that is not being done that often anymore in our music, in our scene, and still being able to create music that works on the dance floor. Remember we get to play it out as well as DJs, and so to see the response and do an incredible set with all types of music, and at the end of the night end it with Fantasy, or with Get On The Funk Train, or Tutto Previsto, and for the audience to be able to feel it, that’s magic, it’s real magic.
Who inspires you musically?
So many artists. Jill Scott comes to mind straight away for a long time I’ve listened to her words, her stories and her power, you know the power in her words, of standing strong as a woman, her lyrics really made a big impact on me as a woman and as an artist. Of course Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Sadé, Gal Costa, Cesária Évora, it’s very broad and wide musically. A lot of women, because I look up to women and their journeys through the music industry and self-expression. If I’m talking about musicians today, then I can definitely appreciate what Beyoncé does as an artist, not just musically but also in terms of the level of production across the board, her devotion and dedication to her craft, of elevating things to the highest possible level, that’s truly inspirational.
You were born in Cape Verde’s capital city of Praia, located on the island of Santiago, to a Portuguese father and a Cape Verdean mother. How do those seemingly disparate roots inform you as both a musician and as a person?
Hmm (laughs) that’s an interesting question. You know, my goodness, the beautiful thing of having two different heritages is that there’s so much to appreciate, to take, to make mine. At the same time because of the political tension that I ended up leaving Cape Verde for – you know we left in exile because the Cape Verdeans wanted the Portuguese out, to become an independent country – there’s still a lot of unresolved friction. I think that there’s a sense of not belonging, but there’s also a sense of belonging; this is where I was born, but I don’t belong here, I was thrown out from here. It’s a very interesting dynamic that I’m finding today as an adult and where I am in my life, kind of digging into and finding my peace with it. It’s interesting that an interview like this, about my music and my career, taps into that and helps bring it forth. I was just thinking about this yesterday on the beach and meditating on it and thinking about it and it’s kind of a feeling that I’ve been having. I’m very proud of my Cape Verdean heritage and my Portuguese background but at the same time I’m accepting the fact that my Cape Verdean heritage didn’t want me there, and my Portuguese heritage didn’t want me either, because I wasn’t all Portuguese. So coming to terms with that and still embracing all of it and welcoming it and setting it forth, and putting it into my music, and still probably saying yes, I am a Cape Verdean woman, with a Portuguese father, and there’s so much beauty on both sides that I get to have and say that are mine. You know, music knows no colour and no boundaries and no creed or race. Being an artist and being able to share a musical message with the world is something that I imagined as a young girl and to be here today as a grown woman doing what I imagined, I still feel like that little girl I think. So there’s still a lot to pan through and understand and dig through the layers of generations and ancestors and understand my purpose in this life and what it is that I was chosen to do, and to break all those generational chains and liberate my future, my son and his future from these kinds of feelings that I have.
On the heels of the release of the new EP, can fans look forward to an LP release from you in 2024?
You know I haven’t talked about it, we haven’t discussed any of that, but it could possibly be, Louie and I have mentioned different ideas of what we’re feeling. We’re both very free spirited when it comes to creating music and really, what inspires us in the moment or what is happening musically in the moment is kind of the way we go. So I don’t know if there will be an LP, but it’s not a bad idea (laughs).
What does your touring/performing dance card look like in the coming weeks and months?
The Fall season is quite intense. I thought when we finished up the summer, I kept saying I need a time out, I need a break, but the break never came (laughs), the time out never happens. But I’m very grateful. You know, to be an artist today, a working artist let’s say, is truly a blessing. It’s not easy, I don’t take anything for granted and so to be able to work constantly and have a full schedule means they like what I’m doing, my fans like what I’m doing, the audience likes what I’m doing. It’s a good indication and a good sign of what I do, because at the end of the day as an artist you can create everything for yourself, and from the heart but if there’s no one to create it for then there’s really no work to survive.
So I’m in Miami now, I’m playing here tonight, I fly back tomorrow for Thanksgiving, and then Saturday I have my monthly residency called Nulu Music at Le Bain, which I’ve been doing for 7 years now in NYC. Then I’m back to Mami for the beginning of December for Art Basel for The Ritual with Anané and Louie Vega, which is the brand that Louie and I have together, and then off to Italy for a Christmas tour. I made it a point to close my calendar for New Year’s Eve as I wanted to spend it with family, with my parents and my son. I didn’t take any gigs so that I can start of the new year with them. You know, my parents are getting older and as much as we love this work, and want to take everything that comes, for me family time is very important and holds a number one spot right next to my work.
Take A Ride is being released via Nervous Records. What makes Nervous Records the perfect home for you and your music?
Because Michael Weiss, the owner of Nervous Records is someone that totally gets it, totally supports it, is 100% behind this project and the challenges that come with it. It’s a project that involved lots of finance to make happen: musicians, studios, videos. Mike believes in and loves this project so much so. In the world of Nervous Records where there’s so much music coming out daily, this is the one project that sits on its own for what it is, the integrity of what it is, what’s being conveyed. So that makes the perfect home when you have that support behind you, when you have the people behind you who believe in it as much as you do, who want to make everything happen, you know like the video release party, shooting videos and things like that. In the industry right now things like that don’t happen unless you’re a big label with big budgets. Nervous is an independent label on its own who are championing for the sound and for what we do. That’s what makes them so special, and that’s what made them the perfect home for the Take A Ride EP.
At the end of the day, what do you hope listeners walk away with after giving many-a-listen to your new EP Take A Ride?
I hope everyone walks away feeling happy, feeling good, wanting to dance, that when they get to listen to this body of work for that moment they can be trasported somehwere els,e into a happy place and just dance wihtout all the troubles of the workld right now That’s what music is, that’s my intention for makign music, playing music, is that for that amount of time that I can traponst my listeners with me and we can be in a happy place where we don’t see colour religion but just see happiness and joy and love and adnce.
