Anika, who plays Vera Project January 30, has mastered the art of sounding at once in a trance and incisive Credit: Shinya Kato

Anika, who plays Vera Project January 30, has mastered the art of sounding at once in a trance and incisive

Anika, who plays Vera Project January 30, has mastered the art of sounding at once in a trance and incisive Shinya Kato

The Welsh/German singer-musician Annika Henderson (aka Anika) has had an interesting career as a dub-informed anti-diva who can subtly radicalize dance floors or recontextualize the rock canon, depending on her whims. Nearly a decade ago, Portishead/Beak> producer Geoff Barrow discovered Anika’s talent and helped to elevate her to public consciousness in what has turned out to be one of his best aesthetic decisions.

Anika—also a political journalist who focuses on science and education policy reform—has a distinctive knack for covers, draping her deadpan voice around both hits and deep cuts by cult artists to slanted and enchanted effect. With a timbre somewhere between Nico’s Teutonic starkness and Slits frontwoman Ari Up’s childlike playfulness, Anika has mastered the art of sounding at once in a trance and incisive.

Dave Segal is a journalist and DJ living in Seattle. He has been writing about music since 1983. His stuff has appeared in Gale Research’s literary criticism series of reference books, Creem (when...