And yesterday’s papers they line my bird cage.
And you’re telling me tales to get your own way.
And you’re making up stories to push your narrative.
And you’re making up tales to be provocative.
The airwaves hum, the screens flicker, the voices never cease. They whisper, they shout, they lull us to sleep with promises, with fears, with carefully measured half-truths dressed as revelation. The old priests have been replaced, but the sermons remain, slicker now, sharper, hungrier. A parasite does not kill its host—it feeds, fattens, drains. There are hands behind the curtain, pulling strings, tightening nooses, shaping reality to their liking. We nod, we scroll, we consume, never questioning who sets the feast. We believe we are free, yet the cage is invisible, the spell unbroken, the game rigged from the start.
“This song is about media moguls – about the power of the media, whether social, tv or beyond – we are as much under its spell as we ever were and some nasties are exploiting it for their own gains,” she says. “Parasites feeding off the blood of the public…It feels like the left are heavily scrutinised and therefore forced to micromanage their media personality, like editing their biography so they don’t insult anyone, trying to please everyone – which leads to an impression of inconsistency, of untrustworthiness. But the contrast is that a lot of people on the right are getting away with everything: like flaunting their imperfections and rejoicing in the fact that they have felonies. They are consistent with their hate speech and therefore perceived as more trustworthy. I think it’s important to have space on the left for imperfection, for healthy debate and difference, and for all the complexities of being a human.”
Director Laura Martinova says the video was inspired by vampire aesthetics and the grunge aspects of Abyss. “We aimed to create a dark yet dynamic and surprising video,” she says. “My collaboration with contemporary dancers and the use of raw camera movement transcends this imagery, while Zeynep Schilling’s creative direction elevates the video to another level—somewhere between evil and heaven. We worked with stylist Danny Muster and emerging designers to craft a timeless aesthetic.”
Watch Hearsay below:
British-born, Berlin-based Annika Henderson—known simply as Anika—returns with Abyss, a record born from the raw nerve of the present, a howl against frustration, anger, and the cold machinery of modern existence. Out April 4th on Sacred Bones, the album was cut live to tape at Berlin’s storied Hansa Studios, stripped of excess, bristling with immediacy. No second chances, no polish—just the crackle of urgency, the weight of the moment pressing into every note.
“There’s so much going on in the world, and you have to sit there and watch it through a screen that you’ve allowed into your home, like a vampire who had been preying at your door, then immediately digest it, have an opinion, and publicly comment on it,” Anika says. “The state of the world just feels like an abyss right now.” With this new album, she wants to create a place where people can feel safe to be themselves, and to unite in their diversity. “Abyss is like a call to action, to come and figure it out together.”
Anika wrote the songs herself, their bones sharpened alongside Martin Thulin (Exploded View), then brought to life with a band of heavyweights: Andrea Belfi on drums, Tomas Nochteff (Mueran Humanos) on bass, and Lawrence Goodwin (The Pleasure Majenta) on guitar. Nanni Johansson and Frida Claeson Johansson engineered the sessions. Abyss surges with the spirit of 90s grunge and poetic rebellion—echoing Celebrity Skin by Hole, the defiance of Patti Smith, the radical prose of Toni Morrison, and the restless provocations of Genesis P-Orridge. A record not meant to linger in the mind but to jolt the body, to shake the listener awake, to demand movement, reckoning, release.
Listen to Hearsay below. You can also pre-order Abyss here.
Anika has also announced a full European tour for this spring including shows in London, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Belfast, Dublin and Brighton. You can get more info and tickets here.
Tour dates:
- 20 April – Berlin, DE – Volksbühne
- 24 April – Cologne, DE – C/O Pop
- 25 April – Tourcoing, FR – Le Grand Mix
- 27 April – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique
- 28 April – London, UK – Omeara
- 29 April – Bristol, UK – Strange Brew
- 30 April – Manchester, UK – YES (Pink Room)
- 1 May – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
- 2 May – Belfast, UK – Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
- 3 May – Dublin, IRE – Whelans
- 5 May – Brighton, UK – DUST
- 6 May – Paris, FR – Gonzai Night @ Petit Bain
- 7 May – Strasbourg, FR – La Grenze
- 8 May – Düdingen, CH – Bad Bonn
- 9 May – Zürich, CH – Bogen F
- 10 May – Frankfurt, DE – Mousonturm
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