Anniemal

Anniemal is the debut album by Norwegian singer Annie. It was first released by 679 Recordings in September 2004. Annie began recording music in 1999 with her boyfriend, Tore Kroknes, who died in 2001. She returned to recording later that year, collaborating with Richard X, Röyksopp, and Timo Kaukolampi. The album combines Annie's thin, airy vocals with heavily layered beats. It is heavily influenced by 1980s dance pop. Upon release, the album was successful in Norway. Blogs leaked tracks from Anniemal before it was released internationally, and publications from other countries soon praised the album for its blissful but melancholic sound. Before releasing the album internationally in 2005, Annie's record label 679 Recordings was not confident in the album's ability to achieve commercial success overseas, so it did not heavily promote Anniemal. The album eventually sold over 100,000 copies worldwide. It yielded four singles: "Chewing Gum", "Heartbeat", "Happy Without You", and "Always Too Late".

679 Recordings first released Anniemal in Norway on 28 September 2004. The album debuted at its peak of number six on the Norwegian Albums Chart. She again won for Newcomer of the Year at Spellemannprisen 2005, where she was invited to present an award. Following the album's Norwegian release, the songs were leaked onto the Internet, and some appeared on year end best of lists in other countries. The songs reached an international audience through online blogs, message boards, and file sharing networks before they had been released outside Scandinavia. This was more common for independent bands, and Annie became the first European dance pop musician to cultivate an underground fanbase this way. In support of the album, Annie opened for English alternative dance band Saint Etienne at several June 2005 gigs in the United Kingdom. Annie had never performed her songs live before the release of Anniemal, so replicating the sound of more electronic songs like "Chewing Gum" became a long process. For its 7 June 2005 American release, Anniemal was distributed by Big Beat Records. To promote the album, Annie performed a set of DJing gigs in the United States for the Anniemix Tour during late June and early July 2005. She and Kaukolampi spun vinyl, and Annie performed her songs during the tour. Before the tour began, Anniemal was selling over one thousand copies per week in the US,