In the organizer's words:

In a 1994 edition of "Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations", the famous educator, author, theorist and activist bell hooks wrote: "The function of art is to do more than describe things as they are - it is to imagine what is possible. "

Her words speak of an innate sense of wonder, of how truth is all too often stranger than fiction. While hooks captures the meaning of art in ink, French-Senegalese artist anaiis (whose name is written in lowercase in homage to hooks) translates this ethos into sound.

On her forthcoming album Devotion & The Black Divine, the songs swell with emotional clarity and a growing sense of homecoming. Not to a place, but to herself. anaiis seems to be in dialogue with the reverence of nature, recognizing our own divinity and thus our wholeness in both chaos and beauty. She creates a body of work that gently (lovingly, you'll notice as you listen) pushes her to the limits of her comfort zone.

New motherhood has been a major influence on the entire project. It has deepened anaiis' understanding of how to respond with grace, create with freedom and capture the reality of being human, unaffected and unpredictable. This inner expansion is audible throughout the album. It leans into the idea that the self is something that is constantly changing, much like Octavia Butler's reminder that "God is change. Everything you touch you change, everything you change changes you." Like a tree shaped by its environment, growth is not always linear - there are knots and bends that occur as it adapts to changing climates. anaiis plays with the idea that the essence of existence is to move fearlessly through the unknown. This search for freedom, in sound and in spirit, runs through every note.

While earlier works offered catharsis and rupture, Devotion & The Black Divine draws strength from slowness and gentleness.

draws strength from slowness and gentleness. It begins with "Something is Broken", a track that

past pain to rest and prepare the ground for something more deeply rooted to take shape. The album signals a deeper commitment to intuition and marks an ongoing transformation that began during their time in Brazil, when in just one week of live improvisation, the collaborative mini-album "anaiis & Grupo Cosmo" was created - with their newborn son in tow - marking a crucial expansion of their sound and approach.

A series of recent releases kicked off this new chapter: a reinterpretation of Lauryn Hill's 'To Zion', performed at Chaka Khan's Meltdown Festival , and two remixes of 'B.P.E. (Black People Everywhere) ' - a highlight from the Brazil sessions - by Sango and Hagan, which were played on BBC Radio 6 Music. Each release adds a new dimension and traces the history of diasporic collaboration and cross-cultural connection.

Born in Toulouse, raised in Dublin, Dakar and Oakland and now rooted in London, anaiis' trajectory has shaped a perspective based on movement, change, community and personal transformation. Following her debut single 'Nina' in 2018, anaiis released 'this is no longer a dream' in 2021 with Chronixx, Sjava and Topaz Jones, under the artistic direction of Ib Kamara and Rafael Pavarotti. She then accompanied Daniel Caesar on his UK tour, performed together with

Erykah Badu and Nick Hakim, headlined a sold-out Barbican show and gave a talk at TEDxLondonWomen at the Southbank Centre. In 2025, she toured the US with Mereba and performed at SXSW London.

From a young age, anaiis was drawn to the voice as a means of expressing emotion, inspired by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, whose singing she likened to a nightingale, "a singer of infinite songs", as she said in a recent New York Times article. This early fascination evolved into a broader creative tradition through the sacred work of black thinkers and artists, not as an echo, but as a foundation that allowed her to discover her own voice. Nina Simone, who broke the silence with haunting truth. Maya Angelou and James Baldwin, who wrote from the depths of the soul. Alice Walker's spirited storytelling. Filmmakers like Ousmane Sembène, who captured the nuances of resistance and identity.

These influences shaped anaiis' approach to creating with conviction, fantasizing with freedom, and honoring curiosity as a compass. anaiis' visual companion pieces to her music have long been an essential extension of her storytelling. Working closely with her partner Tayo Rapoport and detail-oriented collaborators like Ronan McKenzie, she builds worlds through film to explore an art form that invites us to sit amongst something that feels simultaneously fantastical and grounded.

Devotion & The Black Divine is both reassuring and terrifying, imbued with important messages of self-love. Instead of letting the past define her, anaiis is moving towards something less limited and with more possibilities. Her voice reaches beyond her known range to discover new qualities. On her new album, she speaks more about gratitude and acceptance than worry. An ongoing exploration of the containment of ego and the burden of fear. She captures the non-linear nature of healing and makes it appear beautiful through her delicate lens.

We are thrilled to be able to walk a piece of this journey with anaiis at Nochtwache on March 14, 2026.