Introduction to Anohni's Wilderness
At the Barbican in London, Anohni delivers a performance accompanied by a highly skilled band and powered by her operatic voice, demonstrating a mastery in song interpretation comparable to Nina Simone. Her own catalogue, like the covers she performs, proves to be both adaptable and robust.
“I never felt a part of this world,”begins the song You Are My Enemy.
“I reject the way that we live.”The selection of career-spanning songs and cover versions for the show, titled Wilderness, emphasizes themes of exile and alienation. A distorted prerecorded monologue within the performance explains that the response to these themes is the power of creativity to transform both the world and the self. Over the 25 years since emerging from the New York art scene, supported by figures like William Basinski and Lou Reed, Anohni has maintained a steadfast belief in the existential importance of communication through art. Her intensity in this belief sets her apart, making many other singers appear as though they are merely performing for amusement.
Performance and Visuals
Wilderness is marked by its rigor. Anohni performs with her virtuosic band, which includes Gaël Rakotondrabe on grand piano, Chris Vatalaro on percussion, and Leo Abrahams on guitar and bass. The performance is set against a film showing swans gliding through the night. Occasionally, the swans change color, but the imagery remains focused on these birds for the entire 90 minutes. Even swans might find it challenging to watch swans for such a duration. The audience’s attention is more compellingly drawn to Anohni herself. With her peroxide-white hair and floor-length black robe, she presents an appearance reminiscent of a cleric or sorcerer. She speaks minimally and, when singing, remains mostly motionless except for trembling hands at her sides, as though her entire body serves as a conduit for her extraordinary operatic voice and the messages it conveys.
Interpretation and Musical Transformation
Like Nina Simone, who is considered her closest artistic predecessor, Anohni is an exceptional interpreter of songs. When she covers a song, it is transformed and redefined. Familiar pieces such as Lou Reed’s Perfect Day or the traditional spiritual Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child become transcendent, almost out-of-body experiences. From her own repertoire, the most striking moments arise when songs from her 2016 eco-panic concept album Hopelessness are stripped of their original electronic arrangements. For example, Drone Bomb Me is reimagined as a soul ballad, 4 Degrees takes on a swirling quality reminiscent of Kate Bush, and the powerful, intense climax of I Don’t Love You Anymore evokes both natural phenomena and conflict.
The sound mixing throughout the performance is exceptionally well executed, ranging from Anohni’s quavering a cappella passages to Chris Vatalaro’s intensely harsh drum solo. This dynamic range of beauty and terror is delivered with unmatched skill. And, of course, the ever-present swans continue to glide silently in the background.
