Anika – Oxygen
Anika — the British-born, Berlin-based musician Annika Henderson — releases “Oxygen,” the final single/video from her new album, Abyss, out Friday on Sacred Bones, and announces a North American tour this fall.
Following the 90s alt-rock-tinged “Walk Away,” “Oxygen” gasps for air as we experience increased limits imposed on our bodies, be it reproductive freedoms or restrictions on trans rights. In Anika’s words, “Oxygen” “is about feeling trapped in your own body, in your own narrative, in your own society, within the norms and expected behaviours of this claustrophobic socially constructed world. It wants to break out of this cage, it wants to breathe, it wants to be in tune with its true self, its true feelings, sensations and desires – without restriction.”
Sonically, the track was “inspired by Breeders and Pixies, the way it creeps in slowly and then crashes with this weird chorus/part that only comes in once,” Anika explains. “I didn’t want to write things too rigidly, or by the book, more let them flow as they wished.” The accompanying video was directed by Laura Martinova.
EU & UK Tour Dates:
Sun. Apr. 20 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbühne
Thu. Apr. 24 – Cologne, DE @ C/O Pop
Fri. Apr. 25 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
Sun. Apr. 27 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
Mon. Apr. 28 – London, UK @ Omeara
Tue. Apr. 29 – Bristol, UK @ Strange Brew
Wed. Apr. 30 – Manchester, UK @ YES (Pink Room)
Thu. May 1 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Fri. May 2 – Belfast, UK @ Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
Sat. May 3 – Dublin, IE @ Whelans
Mon. May 5 – Brighton, UK @ DUST
Tue. May 6 – Paris, FR @ Gonzai Night @ Petit Bain
Wed. May 7 – Strasbourg, FR @ La Grenze
Thu. May 8 – Düdingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
Fri. May 9 – Zürich, CH @ Bogen F
Sat. May 10 – Frankfurt, DE @ Mousonturm
Thu. Aug. 7 – Hamburg, DE @ Kampnagel Sommerfest
Fri. Aug. 8 – Rees-Haldern, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival
Sat. Aug. 9 – Fahrenwalde, DE @ Detect Classic Festival
Sun. Aug. 31 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
U.S. & Canada Tour Dates:
Thu. Sept. 18 – San Diego, CA @ Whistle Stop *
Fri. Sept. 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex *
Sat. Sept. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop *
Mon. Sept. 22 – Portland, OR @ Holocene *
Tue. Sept. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project *
Wed. Sept. 24 – Vancouver, BC @ Pearl *
Sat. Sept. 27 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle #
Sun. Sept. 28 – Detroit, MI @ Lager House #
Mon. Sept. 29 – Toronto, ON @ Dance Cave #
Tue. Sept. 30 – Montreal, QC @ Sala Rossa #
Wed. Oct. 1 – Boston, MA @ Sonia #
Thu. Oct. 2 – New York, NY @ (Le) Poisson Rouge #
Fri. Oct. 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie #
Sun. Oct. 5 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong #
Mon. Oct. 6 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
Wed. Oct. 8 – Atlanta, GA @ The EARL
Thu. Oct. 9 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
Fri. Oct. 10 – Memphis, TN @ B-Side
Sat. Oct. 11 – Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves
Sun. Oct. 12 – Austin, TX @ The Ballroom
* with Lauren Early
# with Avishag Cohen
#annika.henderson