Annika Henderson is a musician, poet and artist who rose to fame as ANIKA with two highly acclaimed eponymous records (Recorded with Geoff Barrow of Portishead and his band Beak>, released on Stones Throw in the US), and was touring the world. She is well known as a DJ too, hosts a radio program on BCR – Berlin Community Radio, is seen and heard in experimental cinema and collaborates with a variety of Berlin, London, or Mexico City based artists and musicians among them Jandek, Shackleton, Michael Rother (Neu!), Dave Clarke (Skint BMG), Andreas Reihse of Kreidler, T.Raumschmiere (Sleeping Pills and Habits), Doireann O'Malley, Ricardo Domeneck, Stine Omar / Max Boss (EASTER), Phillip Geist (Live Video mapping project and soundtrack in Tehran, Iran) or Yann Tiersen. Last year, Anika released an album with her new WOLFYPIEHANDSMGMT | wolfypiehands.com | wolfypiehands@nym.hush.com Mexico City-based project, Exploded View on Sacred Bones (US). 

In 2017, Anika released a string of new material, comprising of two releases with new partners and a follow-up record with her Mexico-City based band, Exploded View. In July was the release of her new collaboration projection with bass outsider, Shackleton, in the form of a full length LP released on Shackleton’s own Woe To The Septic Heart! label and accompanied by a string of exclusive live dates. Next came another new collab with Techno legend, Dave Clarke, on his longawaited full-length LP The Desecration Of Desire, which came out in October (Skint BMG). The year was rounded off with a follow-up EP from Exploded View in November, released again on Sacred Bones (US) 

“Political Journalist” isn’t a credential we usually have in musician’s bios, but this is exactly what Anika was doing while living between Berlin and Bristol, when she met Geoff Barrow. The producer was looking for a new singer to work with his band Beak>, and it was immediately clear they shared the same musical vision, including a love of punk, dub and 60s girl groups. 

Just a week later Anika and Beak> (Barrow, Billy Fuller and Matt Williams) went into the studio to begin recording material. The resulting album was recorded in twelve days, live, with the four together in one room. Dub with no overdubs. The collaboration is political, trashy, dub, punk, funk … a cohesive sound, and experience in uneasy listening. 

In the tradition of short-lived but deeply infuential 99 Records and the NYC’s 80s No Wave nexus, the nine songs on Anika run the gamut from experimental rock (“Yang Yang”, “Offcer Offcer”) to covers of folk (“Masters of War”) and pop songs (“Terry”, “I Go to Sleep”), while showcasing reverb-drenched ancient drum machine rhythms.