Having relocated to Barcelona via London and originally Portugal, darling of the electro scene Anah is by no means brand new into the music industry. Having originally cut her teeth in the world of Drum & Bass back in the early 00’s we could not think of a better artist to highlight that the Cymatix co-founder.
It is clear that Anah is not just your average electronic music producer and that all types of music runs deep within her. There is no template when beginning a life filled with music, but from an early age this was going to be an important aspect of Anah’s early years, “Although my parents were not musicians, they decided when I was five years old that I would attend an elementary school that was a music academy. There, I was introduced to music theory and piano classes. However, I didn’t develop significant piano skills because I only had one class per week and didn’t have a piano at home to practise. In my early teenage years, influenced by my brother, I started learning the acoustic guitar and began composing my own songs and lyrics. I only took up the drums later, in 2019, when I decided to resume my music education at the Liceu music conservatory. Around the age of 15, I discovered electronic music events and soon shifted my focus away from traditional instruments.”
While it helps that her parents are involved in the music industry it is not a requirement, what is far more important is the love for her daughter and their education, “My parents had no musical education or background, but I was fortunate that they were committed to providing me with a strong education in both music and languages. This support has been significant to my development in music.”
Anah continues to explain that she perhaps put her instrumental skills in a box, it was something that would not stay hidden for too long, “In 2019, I decided to pick up instruments again to become a better electronic music producer, despite having passed over 25 years since I last played an instrument. I remember my teacher telling me that all the information I had learned so long ago was still there. Learning felt so natural to me, even at an advanced age, and I soon fell in love with it. When the pandemic hit in 2020, we switched to online classes.”
Covid was a massive turning point for artists with an extended period of inactivity, Anah certainly made the most of this time, “During the three-month lockdown period, I stayed home alone and practised piano for at least five hours every day. I never expected to connect so deeply with the instrument, but it led me to dream of becoming a jazz pianist. After dedicating four years to learning music theory, ear training, piano, and drums, I felt my ability to compose significantly improved. I became capable of creating more dynamic chord progressions and melodies, and even changing scales within a track.”
As well as reigniting her love of the piano, Anah has also begun to nurture another instrument that is uniquely her – her voice. She explains her reasons for progressing this love, “Singing has always been a childhood dream of mine, although I believed it was out of reach because I didn’t think I had the voice for it. However, after a brief chat with some musicians at school changed my perspective; I learned that singing is a skill that can be developed like any other instrument. This new perspective inspired me to start taking singing lessons purely for my own pleasure.”
Being able to couple a love of instruments with a passion for electronic music is the perfect recipe for a rewarding career in music. This is a career that is currently blooming before our very eyes and with an EP recently out on one of the biggest hype labels of the moment 22Recordings and her upcoming “Floating” EP on her co-founded Cymatix imprint and it is beginning to bear fruit. The latter will see Anah taking charge of the second EP and as you might expect features larger than life basslines and equally impactful grooves. As far as she has come Anah has origins that would later inform her musical style, “In 1997, I was introduced to the rave scene when a group of English ravers brought sound systems mounted on their trucks to my hometown. Among them was the renowned Spiral Tribe, along with other crews. During my teenage years, I frequented techno and psychedelic trance parties in the forests of Sintra, a place historically favoured by royalty for its microclimate and indisputable beauty. She continues to explain her early explorations into the world of clubbing, “Occasionally, I would visit Paradise Garage in 1998 to listen to Magazino play. Although I never went to traditional clubs, these experiences deeply influenced me to travel to London and eventually led me to become a drum and bass DJ.”
Certain cities have an affinity with particular genres and as a lover of a lot of different types of music Anah made sure that she was there to soak up as much as possible. These adventures in sound would see her move from her home country across Europe, “From 1997 till 2001, while I still lived in Portugal, I mainly listened to Acid Techno and Psychedelic Trance. Then in 2001 in London I was introduced to Drum and Bass, Garage, Breakbeat, and Dubstep which became a huge part of my life. It was only in 2016 that I started to dig and play house techno and electro.”
She continues to recount her journey, “I’ve always knew in my heart i wanted to be connected to music and searched for various jobs around music other than being an artist.The main reason I moved to Barcelona in 2004 was to study sound engineering as i wished to pursue a career, but by the time I got my degree I was starting to be very active with drum and bass gigs and decided to pursue a DJ career instead.”
Anah is the next artist to present on our Free Download series and when we handed this over to her to explain her track and the meaning behind it, “ “Moving On” encapsulates how I was feeling about my life at the time. Due to unforeseen circumstances caused by a robbery in Chile I was forced to go through a lot of transitions due to having all of my music belongings stolen, therefore the term moving on…. ( overcoming ). All the lyrics in the song centre around the theme of “move.”
She goes on to explain further the production techniques she employed, “About the technical aspects of the song, I incorporated a 909 for the drum elements, layering them with samples of non-percussion sounds used rhythmically. Additionally, I incorporated elements from the Roland MC-505 and various plugins. In terms of production technique, I tend to employ a consistent approach. For instance, I typically use the same bassline throughout my tracks but modulate it differently each time. This ensures that the bassline may sound familiar, but yet not the same.”
“Movin’on” Produced by Anah, Mixed at Beatlabs by Alex Brinken, Mastered by Justin Drake
You can download the “Movin’on” by Anah at our Soundcloud page.
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