Name: Anané Vega
Nationality: Cape Verdean
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, label founder at Nulu
Current release: Anané's cover of the classic "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" is out via Nervous. It includes remixes by Masters at Work, Blackchild, Dimitri from Paris, Moplen, Mousse T and Two Soul.
Global Recommendations: Visit the Historical Park in New York for the most amazing view of the George Washington Bridge.
Topic I rarely get to talk about: I’m passionate about human rights but unfortunately in today’s world being an advocate for what is right will often times get you censored.

If you enjoyed this Anané interview and would like to know more about her music, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.

For a deeper dive, read the thoughts of Anané's husband in our Louie Vega interview.



When did you first consciously start getting interested in singing? What was your first performance as a singer on stage or in the studio and what was the experience like?

Singing was my escape as a child, it was my world of pretending. But it wasn't until I was about thirteen that I became very interested in singing.

In my early teens, my friends and I formed a girl group which I named “To Each Her Own.” It was a short lived moment with a few local club singing gigs but I loved it.

Singing is an integral part of all cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

From a cultural aspect is definitely, where I’ve drawn my inspiration from, bringing my roots into the music today.

Growing up in a Cape Verdean / Portuguese household, my parents would host “serenades” on the weekends at home, a gathering of family and friends where music was the focus - similar to a potluck where everyone brings food but this time along with their instruments.

We’d spend evenings into night singing and eating. Mostly “mornas” (a traditional Cape Verdean style of music very similar to blues) were sung.

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/ vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or teachers were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

A challenge for me was finding my voice and accepting my voice, my style, learning to love that a singer does not have to “belt” to express a song.

I studied with Don Lawrence for a few years and thanks to Don not only was I able to learn about my voice but also love my voice.

What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

For me it is a deep rooted expression that comes from the soul.

What moves me are truth and grit, not perfection.

How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

Once I'm relaxed, the physical sensation is pure joy that is felt in the heart and soul.

It's not so much a sense of release as it is of happiness, or sharing a story - which sometimes can be painful too.

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

For me both singing and speaking voices are an extension of each other.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

Absolutely - harmony, rhythm and melody give me a sense of who I am. But it also depends on the style of song one is singing.

Because I love to be experimental with music, I’ve been able to adapt and deliver not only in different languages such as Portuguese, French, Spanish, Italian and my native Criolo language but also in different styles from disco, to reggae, morna, jazz, r&b to name a few.

What are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

It is so important to know my range and to be in control of my performances - otherwise I’d be off key.

As a singer, it is possible to whisper at the audience, scream at the audience, reveal deep secrets or confront them with uncomfortable truths. Tell me about the sense of freedom that singing allows you to express yourself and how you perceive and build the relation with the audience.

To sing is to convey a message from the soul. That message can be transmitted in any way the song calls for. I’ve whispered and I’ve also done spoken word but I’m not a screamer.

To feel free is to bare your soul, to let go and let the words flow all the while knowing how to exercise control.

It almost sounds contradictory but yes, it’s how I feel when I’m with my audience.

I'd love to know more about the vocal performances for your latest release, please, and the qualities of your voice that you wanted to bring to the fore.

For the Take A Ride project on Nervous Records, I wanted to pay homage to an era of music that was so sexy and glamorous, disco and r&b.

For example, “Let Me Be Your Fantasy” is a sexy high energy song that reminds me of something from a musical. Then, there’s the Italo-Disco song “Tutto Previsto” (Everything Expected) which oozes sexiness …



… “High” is a funky r&b track that plays with the idea of music and sex.



So, as I mentioned, this project is an ode to a time where there were no inhibitions and that’s what I delivered with my vocals.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

It depends how I go about a song, whether the music is done first or if I’m creating a song from lyrics.

For the most part, when I write lyrics, it is solely about what I’m feeling at that moment, I write more like a poet than a songwriter. Singing someone else’s song can be tricky, that’s why it’s so important for me to find songs that resonate with my soul.

It’s finding the balance of paying homage to the singer/songwriter while finding the way to now own the song and making it mine to express it in the best way.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

Thankfully I live a very healthy lifestyle, mind, body and spirit, therefore I take good care of myself and my voice.

Nutritious foods, exercise, lots of sleep (when I’m not touring) and plenty of water.

How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

Like everything in the world, we evolve. It’s amazing what technology can do and it’s important to learn and not get left behind.

That said, it is important when creating to use technology as a tool, not as a crutch.

For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What are some of the favourite recordings of your own voice so far and what makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

Some of my favorite recordings I’ve done are “Terra Longe”, “Walking On Thin Ice”, “Plastic People”, “Get On The Funk Train’, “High”, “Amazing Love”, “Last Night A Dj Saved My Life” “Is This Love”.



What makes a voice sound great is leaving it in its most natural state.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression, and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

Music is the universal language, it expresses what the heart and soul wants to say in song form.