From her early days as the voice behind house super groups like Lee Foss and MK’s Pleasure State and Foss and Jamie Jones’ Hot Natured, LA-based singer-songwriter Anabel Englund quickly became a standout in the house music world across a series of singles, leading up to the release of her debut album Messing With Magic in 2020. In the years since Englund has earned a record-breaking nine #1 US Dance Airplay singles (six of those in just the span of two years), played major festivals such as Glastonbury, Coachella, and EDC, and became the first woman to win iHeart Music’s “Dance Artist Of The Year” award in 2023.
With the support of her label Ultra Records, Englund has continued to develop her sound, embracing a more pop-leaning approach to dance music and further fleshing out her identity as a songwriter. After nearly a decade, Englund finally felt like she was honing on something she could confidently call “her sound” and it turned out to be a winning formula. Collaborating with the likes of Oliver Heldens, Benny Benassi, Tchami and Kaleena Zanders across her most recent singles, Englund has consistently been able to top herself with each subsequent release.
Her latest single “A Lesson in Chemistry” is a bouncy pop-house party starter with nods to the Y2K sheen of Backstreet Boys. Co-written with Lena Leon and producer Adam Novodor, Englund imagines herself as a student in a fantasy high school setting, getting a lesson in love for a change. It follows “Strangely Sentimental,” the strut-worthy dancefloor anthem that put Englund’s lyricism on full display. Sassy and demanding the spotlight, “Strangely Sentimental” indulges itself in nostalgia while remaining lighthearted and playful.
Englund’s music-making evolution continues to become more pop-facing while maintaining her dancefloor roots in a mix of dazzling beats and swooning sentiment. Likening it to the intangible nature of a rainbow, a fairly everyday phenomenon that still manages to inspire a certain degree of awe regardless, Englund pours over familiar themes of infatuation, yearning, and heartbreak in a way that feels both universal and intimately personal at the same time. Embracing pop ambitions while not losing sight of her dance heritage, Anabel Englund’s sound feels as effortless as it is fun and infectious that will keep you coming back for more
Saturday, July 13
Coca-Cola Stage
7:45 PM