Anabel Englund alongside Lee Foss and Detlef just released Thunder & Lightning via Hot Creations. Stream and buy here.
“This mix is special to me because it has a lot of the tracks I’ve released in 2020 including ‘Thunder & Lightning’ & I’ Have Synthed’ which are out on Hot Creations November 20th. Sonically it’s sexy & vibey & something to just turn on so you can dance & sing. Listen & Enjoy!” – Anabel Englund
There are a select few voices of house music that have paved their own pathway to legendary. Anabel Englund has carried unforgettable, powerful melodies, and choruses of treasured songs to huge success.
In 2012, Englund stepped into the house scene, bringing her unique sultry, slow-burn voice to Pleasure State’s “Electricity” (her group project with Lee Foss and MK). She further cemented her arrival by following with “Reverse Skydiving” with Lee Foss and Jamie Jones’ collaborative project Hot Natured the following year. To date, Anabel’s music on Spotify has received over 10 million streams and YouTube over 15 million views.
Anabel Englund’s sound is entrancing in its dichotomy: oftentimes bright and carefree with her authentic Southern California breeziness, and other times irresistibly alluring with her dark, smoldering touch. Now deep into 2020, the singer-songwriter is exploring the dynamics of that captivating contrast with her debut album Messing with Magic.
“Messing with Magic can be a love story with someone else, but it also can be a love story with yourself,” Anabel prefaces. The album begins with the thrill of hot summer days in Southern California on tracks like “So Hot” and “Spell My Name” before taking pause with the beautiful melancholic interlude “Burn It.” A collaboration with Jamie Jones, the title track follows, sizzling with dance floor attitude and capturing the raw, messy magic of falling in love, as told by Anabel Englund.
“Messing with Magic is also a nod to my songwriting process,” she continues. “When I write songs, at the time, I think I’m writing about one thing. It isn’t until months later that I realize I was actually writing about all these underlying, deeper meanings that I couldn’t see at the time, making the lyrics feel more powerful and sincere.”
Featuring an array of Anabel’s friends and collaborators like Jamie Jones, Lee Foss who brings the bubble and pop to “Warm Disco”, , Soulcatalyst (“Float 11/11”) and MK on the single “Underwater” Messing with Magic brings together the dynamic community of creatives Englund has united together. It only makes sense that Messing with Magic will be released on AREA10/Ultra Music, home to her longtime friend and collaborator MK.
There’s also “Picture Us”—written before COVID—inspired by the PBS documentary “A Year In Space” which follows astronaut twins as one heads to space and the other remains earthbound. Connection is a staple in Englund’s songwriting and for “Picture Us” she taps into the special bonds between people using the twin astronauts, who even though are thousands of miles apart, are still intertwined. It tells a story of two people who get through dark times together, knowing they can always count on each other.
Other standouts from the album include the “So Hot” (MK & Nightlapse Remix) which over the summer garnered over six million streams on Spotify alone and hit #1 on Dance Radio for 8 weeks in a row, “See The Sky” which was remixed by Tracy Young, the first-ever female GRAMMY-Award winner for “Best Remix Production” (Non-Classical) and “Underwater,” which pairs the chanteuse with MK for a steamy house track.
The Los Angeles native has never hesitated in her pursuit of creating music and art. Raised in a family of musicians, actors and doctors, in her teen years, she was already writing theme songs and material for television shows for ABC Family Network. It wasn’t until she discovered her own fascination for the world of dance music that she was able to truly come into her own, bringing together her classical vocal and piano training into brand new, uncharted territory.
Anabel Englund’s music brings together the quick wit of electronic; the unorthodox stylings of alternative; and the individuality of an indie artist. She has released music on Hot Creation, Defected and Desert Hearts, while simultaneously doing so with Gari Safari. This party-turned-label-collective is where she curates alongside her brother Jackson and the other Gari crew members celebrates the diversity and the beauty of live dance music.
She has performed around the world at iconic festivals like Glastonbury, Coachella, Bestival, III Points and CRSSD, as well as venues like the O2 Academy and Ushuaïa Ibiza. Her last live plays prior to COVID-19 include Warehouse Project in Manchester, the new SoHo Warehouse in downtown Los Angeles and aboard The FriendShip music cruise while live stream highlights under quarantine comprise Mixmag Lab Home Edition, Factory 93 and Desert Hearts among others, sharpening her DJ skills. She is also recognized for her eccentric, bold style and has performed at major cultural events like Paris, London and Milan Fashion Weeks.
01. Human Life & Anabel Englund – Talk To Me
02. Anabel Englund – Picture Us (NERVO Remix)
03. Logic1000 – DJ Logic Please Forgive Me
04. Mike Mago, TCTS ft. Anabel Englund – Eyes On Me
05. Lee Foss, Detlef & Anabel Englund – Thunder & Lightning
06. Anabel Englund & MK – Underwater
07. Deeper Purpose – The Slap
08. Milo Greene – Move (Gari Safari Late Nite Dub)
09. Illyus & Barrientos x Karen Harding – Lets Get Together
10. Disciples, Lee Foss ft. Anabel Englund – Only The Gods
11. Lee Foss, Detlef, Anabel Englund – I Have Synthed
12. Björn Wilke – Twentyfive (Pornbugs ft. Dole & Kom remix)
13. Jizz – Wonder Why
14. MKJAY & Ceasar Nardini – Tequila Sunrise
15. Lauren – Men I Trust (Oden & Fatzo remix)
