Anané – Chapters Of Becoming…
She has accompanied us during the first years of the century with her inimitable voice and amazing production work by her husband, Louie Vega. Anané (Ana Martins), daughter of brilliant singer Joyce Moreno and percussionist Tutty Moreno, debuted with a full-length album in 2010.
Now, ten years later, we get a 21-piece collection of many of the songs from her debut with remixes and unreleased mixes, plus more of her vast amount of 12″ releases in remix format. The David Morales unreleased mix of Mina‘s classic “Parole, Parole” is worth the trip alone. Anané’s sexy Italian vocals and the floating house groove make this an instant classic. Donna Summer‘s “Love To Love You Baby” is featured with the Louie & Anané Funky House Mix, another real gem in this collection. Incredibly funky.
The album opens with the Latinesque, hypnotic house mix of her classic “Let Me Love You”. The Mike Dunn BlackBall RemixX somehow strips the track down to its core, only to add more excitement, more oomph, focusing on the bare composition. The more pop-oriented club sounds of “Let’s Get High (Life, Love, Music)” remind me of those glorious dance-all-night days we had in Kreuzberg before all this gentrification sh** moved in. There are about a dozen or so remixes of this track on one of her Remix Collection albums, by the way. “Rock The Cradle”, her foray into reggae, never really hit me. But still, her voice shines like a diamond. More reggae, but with a house touch and Grace Jones undertones, moves “Plastic People” upward to outer spheres. The Yoko Ono-penned “Walking On Thin Ice” (never liked the original), gets an incredibly funky house remix courtesy of Sebastian Grand, Alex Finkin, and Louie Vega. Love the mystery and agility of this version, including a pretty jazzy piano solo.
The Latin touch is back on the Louie Vega Remix of “Bem Ma Mi”, a pretty organic, brass-driven track. The Latin stance continues with “Sodade” (Djeff-Kazukuta Remix) which puts yet another spin to this overview, with guitar and strings, and a precussive backbeat under Anané’s smooth spanish vocals. Pure bliss. Can’t get enough of this. The 1978 Roy Ayers classic “You Came Into My Life” is exactly my cup of tea. Warm keys, midtempo house groove, amazingly sexy vocals, repetitive elements, crisp and soothing production work. This remix of Ralf Gum and Raw Artistic Soul is simply outstanding. The bass line crazy. Guitar compelling as heaven. And “Figli Delle Stelle” is one of those pop ditties only she can handle.
I usually skip “Standing In Line” to get to “Terra Longe”. The Louie Vega Roots Mix is simply that, going back to the Latin roots and jazzy keys with heavy percussion work and floating vocals, complete with furious violin. “Amazing Love”, which has become something like a hymn, is featured with the beautiful Elements Of Life Remix and “Music & Life”, the Josh Milan/Louie Vega anthem, is another sax-driven house highlight with superb keyboard, percussive synth and bass work as only Louie Vega is capable of creating. Anané’s vocals once again are sublime and convincingly transport the lyrics that music and life can’t live without each other. We finally get another, more vital mix of “Let’s Get High”. The CD version of this comp features five additional tracks: two more remixes of “Let Me Love You”, one remix each of “Let’s Get High” and “Standing In Line”, and “One Dream”. But I urge you to opt for the two double 12″ discs; the first volume will be out on October 23rd, to be followed by the second part on November 6th. A highly recommended must-have.
