Ana Lola Roman Mixmag October Issue

Words: Elissa Bradley
Published in Mixmag August 2011

WHO? American singer, Ana Lola Roman, who didn’t want to tell us her age but is ‘no longer in her 20s’
SOUNDS LIKE Róisín Murphy’s vocals with mysterious, melodic beats

She may look pretty, but singer-songwriter Ana Lola Roman has a dark side. “It’s not enough for me to write about heartache and a cute boy,” she says, “It’s about finding hope and dystopia at the same time.”

Born to American and Spanish parents, Ana grew up in sleepy Oklahoma, so it was on holiday in Spain that she discovered dance music. “I was extremely under age,” she recalls, “but those first clubbing experiences changed everything for me.”

Since her awakening to beats and bass she’s travelled the world, finally settling in New York, where she’s picked up a mentor and friend in the form of Scissor Sisters’ producer Jean Luc Sinclair, who is now helping her produce music. “Working with him has been a dream come true,” she says. “He never just changes anything, he enhances. He knows exactly what I’m thinking, and he’s been an amazing guide.”

Don’t expect to find her music dropped in any main-room DJ sets. Her tracks juxtapose an emotional and fragile vocal delivery with raw electronic sound. Buzzing, reverbed beats sit over piano chords and Ana’s haunting voice. Imagine Kate Bush at Sónar By Day and you’re on your way.

Citing influences such as Madonna and Siouxsie And The Banshees, the self-proclaimed “gym freak” plans to release her album in September, and hopes to embark on a tour. “I want to be completely immersed in the music. I want to wake up and not know where I am,” she says. Let’s hope she packs a map.

Ana’s LP, ‘Even Professional Assassins Have Lovers And Romances’ is set for release in September on MySecretIdentity