Anniemal - Background

Background

In the late 1990s, Annie held a monthly DJ night called Pop Till You Drop with friend Frøken Blytt in her hometown of Bergen, Norway. There she met producer Tore Kroknes, and the two began dating. Annie and Kroknes borrowed a small studio from downtempo duo Röyksopp to record her debut single "The Greatest Hit". The song, which uses a sample of Madonna's 1982 dance-pop single "Everybody", had a limited edition release in 1999. It became an underground hit at clubs in Norway and Britain, resulting in offers for record deals. The two recorded Annie's second single, titled "I Will Get On". She focused on vocals and melodies in music, and Kroknes concentrated on production, influenced by techno, disco and house music. As Annie began to work on her debut album, Kroknes became ill due to a heart defect. He died eighteen months later, in April 2001.

Half a year passed before Annie returned to music. She asked Timo Kaukolampi from Finnish electronic group Op:l Bastards to DJ in Bergen. Starting with a song titled "Kiss Me", he had Annie contribute vocals to some of his tracks. She asked Kaukolampi to work on the album, and he produced nine of its songs for her. Before being signed to 679 Recordings, she could not afford to rent a studio, so Annie recorded demos by asking to use local studios at night or borrowing one owned by her friend. Producer Richard X, impressed with "The Greatest Hit", asked Annie to record vocals for his debut album Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1. In exchange, he contributed "Chewing Gum" and "Me Plus One", both written with Hannah Robinson. Annie also worked with Röyksopp, who co-wrote and produced three songs on the album. She titled the album Anniemal based on a suggestion by Kroknes. The two had planned on writing a song titled "Anniemal", so she chose it as the album's title because to her, "it just made sense. Anniemal is simple and easy and good."