Ahead of this November’s Le Guess Who? festival in Utrecht, we are presenting a series of previews centred around the coinciding Mega Record & CD Fair, and artists playing at the festival.
Last week, Duma’s Lord Spikeheart talked us through some of his favourite recent metal record, and this week, it’s the turn of New York-based, Kranky-affiliated musician Ana Roxanne. Below, the Mills College alum tells us about formative records by Cocteau Twins and Deerhoof, as well as some of the records that have been on rotation for her over the last year.
Le Guess Who? will this year welcome the likes of William Basinski, faUSt, Pa Salieu, Vladislav Delay, Jesu, Alabaster dePlume, L’Rain and Vanishing Twin, as well as guest curation from Midori Takada, John Dwyer, Phil Elverum, Matana Roberts and Lucrecia Dalt. The Mega Record & CD Fair will run alongside it in Utrecht. You can find more information about the fair here.
Le Guess Who? will take place from November 11 to 14, 2021. Find more information here.
Which three records would you be on the hunt for at the Mega Record & CD Fair?
Ana Roxanne: Alice Coltrane’s Turiya Sings, Deftones’ White Pony and Cocteau Twins’ Victorialand.
When / how did you get to know these records, and why are they special to you?
AR: I got to know Turiya Sings through a close friend. It got me through some dark times, and showed me how delicately jazz could be melded with spiritual / devotional music. Maybe this was originally released on tape, but it would be great to find an original copy. Deftones’ White Pony was extremely formative for me in middle school, it is an ageless masterpiece. Victorialand was part of my initial introduction to Cocteau Twins. I return to this so often, it would be nice to have this in my collection.
What album have you listened to the most over the last year?
AR: Truthfully, this year was all over the place, a tie between Sour by Olivia Rodrigo and I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got by Sinead O’Connor.
You’re of course an alumnus of Oakland’s Mills College and it was announced earlier this year that it’s ending its degree programmes. What’s your favourite record by either a fellow Mills alumnus or associate of the college, and why is it your favourite?
AR: Deerhoof’s Apple O’ was probably the most formative record for me from a Mills associated alum (Greg Saunier). A few years before I started writing my own material, I was playing bass in an experimental band in Minneapolis in my early twenties. Deerhoof were a part of my gateway into the world of experimental music. Apple O’ felt really bizarre, but also very accessible at the same time. I was a fresh drop-out out of jazz school… it felt as though I had been living under a rock and was new to so much cool music. So I’m grateful to Deerhoof for helping me find my way.
