Anna Lunoe joins us for our Where It Started feature to celebrate the release of her new single with Nakamura Minami. ‘Ice Cream’ is Anna’s first single in over a year and lands on Mad Decent and Sweat It Out.
Anna Lunoe has detailed five old school tracks that impacted her beginnings both as an individual and an artist, throwing it back to Where It Started. Anna also shares some pictures from back in the day! Anna delves into five records below and includes 16 picks in this Spotify playlist.
Underworld – Born Slippy
I heard this song at a gathering when I was a preteen in year 7. I think my friend Chloe’s older sis was a bit of a raver and we were listening to her CDs while a bunch of boys from the school nearby tried to get to know us. I still remember what I was looking at when it came on. I was on one couch and I was looking at some friends on the other couch. The night was one of those awkward pre teen hang outs and I was NOT into the whole thing. When I heard that song it was like a portal opened up to another galaxy and I jumped right in and never looked back. The rave called and I answered. Game over.
Armand Van Helden – You Don’t Know Me
I loved this song the moment I heard it 20 years ago and I still love it today. Armand Van Helden is THE guy as far as I’m concerned. He is somehow from both the future and the past. Ageless, timeless, classic and game changing all at once. This song was an instant gateway to club music. I didn’t need any further convincing. I love the filter house aspect and stompy dirty drums. Only like 4 major elements that ride a groove so perfectly. And then there is the vocal. 4 lines, saying everything that need to be said. Genius. I also have an amazing first time meeting AVH story, but that’s for another day….
Basement Jaxx – Jump N Shout
Now that I’m older and I can fully appreciate it, Basement Jaxx were an unbelievable electronic act. They perfectly rode chart success and club credibility. I don’t remember the first time I heard it, probably watching music video tv. The energy to this song is electric. Rowdy, tribalistic, that frenetic hypnotic vocal that I can’t understand a word of but somehow know what it’s telling me to do. I love the interplay between all the sounds and the legendarily simple bassline. And like, the rest of that era of Basement Jaxx? Romeo, Good Luck, Rendezvous, Red Alert… Give them their Flowers!!!!!!
MIA – Bamboo Banger
Maya Arapulgasm literally lit a fire in me that still burns to this day. I remember seeing the video for Sunflowers and not being able to stop myself from looking at every image of her on the internet. She was the coolest bravest most original human being I had ever laid eyes on and might still be to this day. Fun fact, my first big show was being chosen to support her on her first big Australian shows. Nothing in the entire universe meant more to me at the time. Still might be my greatest moment. The shows were utterly electric. She was on the cusp of Paper Planes going legendary status and I remember watching the show from the side of the stage. The energy when she performed was unbelievable. MIA and her dancer cherry, performing Bamboo Banger dancing in sync. I have a photo of the exact moment and have been in love with the feeling this song gives me ever since.
Prince – Erotic City
I discovered this song when I started playing a lot of fashion events when I first started djing. I was really into exploring every musical movement and making sure I had a really solid foundation of everything that happened on a dancefloor 1970 onwards. Discovering this era of Prince was a revelation! I was a fan as a kid but up until then I didn’t fully understand the gravity of Prince. The unbelievable musicality, diversity, genius, multidimensional vision, the outfits!.. it was all suddenly clear to me what an icon he was and this song in particular made any awkward corporate gig suddenly the coolest party in the world – to me that is, I can’t speak for anyone else there! I deep dived for years after hearing this song. The art of placing the exact sound at the exact right moment in the groove. Minimal, quirky, sexy and so good to dance to!
