Mission Statement: Anz interview
Nominated as one of our ones to watch for 2017, Anz is now preparing to release her debut EP – here the eclectic Manchester producer tells us about grime, growing up and the grim realities of playing the clarinet
“Maybe I’ll make the best tune of my life because I’m scared,” Anz says as we sit down at her Manchester flat/studio. The London-born producer has just told The Skinny that she’s been asked to take part in Red Bull Studios Riddim Rally, a competition where 32 of the UK’s most promising beat-makers are pitted against each other, tasked with making three tracks in three hours. Although the date of her heat is still some weeks away, Anz (aka Anna-Marie Odubote) is getting down to diligent daily practice. This methodical approach is undoubtedly why 2016 saw her track Mission featured on grime MC Jammz’s mixtape Underdog Season Vol 1, as well as soundtracking an Adidas football ad – and all this a mere two years into her nascent career.
Anz proves the sweetest host, making some delicious tinto de verano as she recounts the inventive ways in which she landed a string of coveted copywriting jobs after graduating from an English Literature and Spanish degree. But despite having many different interests, from writing to illustration, music was always in the background. It's now firmly in the foreground.
“I started piano aged four and then at school I’d go to the music room at lunchtime and try out all the different instruments,” she tells us. “They had drums, violin, cello, double bass. I tried everything except the clarinet.” Why? “Well, I had a friend and she was so beautiful but she looked so terrible when she played the clarinet that I thought I definitely wouldn’t get away with it.”
Ultimately, the 25-year-old explains, playing from sheet music was never very satisfactory: “I did jazz piano at 13 but I didn’t have much patience with grade exams. I just got on with it at my own pace – that is, until I discovered the sesh. When I came back to it I asked my parents for this drum pad thing for my birthday. I don’t know why, but I didn’t use it straight away. Then I was ill one night and I thought, ‘Oh fuck it, I’ll try make a tune,’ and that’s when I made Eclipse. I think I saved it as Poorly Jam.”
The fruit of that first foray into producing caught the attention of London-based DJ/producer Murlo, but it wasn’t fever-fuelled beginner’s luck – soon Anz was accruing backing from more industry heavyweights including Amy Becker and Elijah of record label Butterz.
Both as producer and DJ, Anz is a storyteller, using the connotations of specific genres to create dramatic crescendos within her rich, vibrant moodscapes. “If you like the exact same music as when you were growing up then have you really grown up?” she asks. Nevertheless, her sets often pay homage to the different stages of her musical progression, simultaneously nostalgic and of the moment, and crucially a lot more daring than that of some of her contemporaries. Anz’s mixes don’t shy away from a gun-finger-worthy banger either, with her Autumn/Winter showcases from 2015 and 2016 serving as excellent examples of this and the strong narrative drive characteristic of her output.
“Whatever I do, I’m not going to do just grime and it’ll either work for me or against me,” she says. “It’s always more interesting to go [from] grime to funky or whatever.”
This jostling between genres and tempos is evident on the previews of her self-titled debut EP, to be released in June on Manchester record label Chow Down. That Anz has been chosen as the artist to launch the label, which itself evolved from the six-year-old Soup Kitchen club night of the same name, comes as no surprise given her popularity as resident.
In fact, it’s the eclectic tastes of the night’s loyal crowd that inspired much of the record. Panrico, the bassline and funky-referencing steel percussion opener, arrives with an urgency that will see you pushing into the centre of the dance. Gentler second track Clanger slows to a half-time 808 but holds on to your attention, while third track Loa is all dense polyrhythms and closing track Fencin showcases the producer’s acumen in sparkling synth-work. The stylistic balance of the EP brings to mind the minimalism of Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory, which proposes that the quality of a piece rests on its ability to evoke context without having to state it.
Before we leave, our discussion returns to the impending Riddim Rally. “With lots of the tunes that I make, someone will say something and the way they say it will remind me of a drum pattern,” Anz explains. “Or sometimes it’ll be the end credits of a film. Usually there’s a lot of wrong turns, but it’s alright to have these wrong turns as that’s how it evolves. With this there’s a greater set of gambles. I’ve got five minutes to pick a genre, build a tune – it’s a lot more focused. But whatever happens, I’m just looking forward to a nice day out in London.” It’s probably safe to bet the producer’s going to come away with a lot more than that.
Anz EP is released on 12" vinyl by Chow Down Records on 12 Jun