Despite taking a hiatus from her solo career during the 2010s, singer-songwriter Annika Henderson, better known as Anika, is back again with her third studio album, Abyss, out via Sacred Bones Records. In the early 2010s, the British-born, Berlin-based multi-hyphenate first made waves with her self-titled debut. The album was a combination of dub, avant-garde, and post-punk brought together with producer Geoff Barrow of Portishead, who was spearheading the band Beak> at the time.
While Barrow’s impact is heard through the album’s krautrock influences, what stood out the most was Henderson’s unique vocals, at times sounding like a modern-day Nico but with the sensibility of genre-bending artists that would follow her as the decade went on. Her cover of The Kinks’ “I Go To Sleep,” which happens to be her most popular song, hypnotizes through its electronic, almost decrepit-sounding pulses. But Henderson, who haunts the track through eerie vocals and ghostly reverb, remains the center of attention from start to finish.
After the release of Anika the album in 2010 and Anika the EP in 2013, she decided to form Exploded View, a Mexico City-based band that included herself, Martin Thulin, Hugo Quezada, and Amon Melgarejo. The project embodied a psychedelic, softer brand of dub music, similar to Henderson’s solo material, but with its own unique flavor that spanned two projects.
However, even in their two or so years of operating, it was clear Henderson had a distinct imprint that carried over from her time as Anika. Eventually, she would return to her solo career with the aptly titled 2021 album, Change.
The roots in dub and post-punk can still be heard on her latest effort, Abyss, but Henderson finds a way to polish it, transitioning her previously lo-fi sound into a more punchy, ‘90s-rock approach. At the same time, the blending of genres on songs like “Oxygen” does not stray away from her timeless quality, where her inspirations span decades and her style of music is equal parts homage and foundational for the future.
For someone who got their start as a political journalist, Anika knows a thing or two about how to make seamless transitions into the next step in her career. Abyss and the two albums she’s dropped since the start of the decade are proof that, even though artists are barely catching up, she remains ahead of her time.
Anika will resume her Abyss tour this September with dates in North America, including a Los Angeles show at The Echoplex on Sept. 19, which will surely make it an “Abyss Sommer.” Following North America, Anika will tour more European and UK cities.
“This is an album written for live,” Anika writes. “Come join us, come join the revolution.”
Follow Anika on Instagram and her website for more updates.
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