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Anaïs
The Love album
Paris
21/11/2008 -
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Anaïs kicked off her career as lead singer, lyricist and bassist with Opossum, but when the band split at the end of 2002 she reinvented herself as a solo act. It was at this point that she came up with her concept of the Cheap Show, performing entirely alone on stage with nothing but a guitar and her famous Jam Man foot pedal for company. The latter allows her to operate as a one-woman band, bringing in pre-recorded riffs, backing vocals and other bizarre sounds (including a bagpipe!) which she manages to produce with her mouth.
Anaïs is a highly theatrical performer live on stage, acting out parts and imitating accents so it comes as no surprise to learn that she has enjoyed a parallel career as an actress. In fact, she is due to appear on French TV screens in December, starring in a Canal + film alongside Emma de Caunes. Meanwhile, on the music front Anaïs's reputation has snowballed by word of mouth and record producers as well as TV and radio journalists have been flocking to her live shows.
Anaïs signed to V2 to record her debut album, The Cheap Show. But she has now been snapped up by Polydor for her second offering, The Love Album (available as a paying download from 3rd November and in record stores from the 10th). The 32-year-old singer, born in La Tronche, near Grenoble, found herself working with a much bigger budget the second time round. And she has pulled out all the stops, recording in studios between Paris and San Francisco and working with Dan The Automator (one of the world's leading hip-hop producers renowned for his work with Gorillaz).
The majority of songs on The Love Album are in French - although Anaïs does occasionally venture into English on tracks such as I Love You - while musically speaking, her second album taps into a strong 70s rock vibe. Interestingly enough, Si j'avais su que notre amour is billed on the tracklist as a "dream duet" with Chris Isaak. However, given Anaïs's extraordinary talent as a mimic, not to mention her off-the-wall sense of humour, one can justifiably wonder whether the American crooner actually joined her in the studio at all!
The Love Album has already created a big buzz on the internet, fans besieging chatrooms to debate the artistic merits of its soft porn-style cover. But will Anaïs's tales of passion, jealousy and sexual fantasy seduce the mainstream public? Watch this space!
Anaïs in concert at the Olympia, Paris, on 2 & 3 March 2009
Alain Pilot
