Anima is a British ambient project from the West Highlands of Scotland. It was founded in 2004 by the composer and producer Ali Calderwood,[1] and for much of its history was a duo with the vocalist Daniela Broder.[2] Since 2024 the project has used the name Ananui.[1]

History

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Working under the name Anima, Calderwood and Broder released a series of meditative ambient albums, recording in the Scottish Highlands and, in part, in South America.[2] Their releases include Lemuria Emerging (2007), Sound Medicine (2011), Light of Aluna (2012), and Sacred Alliance (2015).[3][4] In 2024 the project was renamed Ananui.[1]

Music and style

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The project's music combines synthesiser soundscapes with acoustic instruments — didgeridoo, guzheng, duduk, piano, guitar and flute — and wordless or chanted vocals, drawing on indigenous South American influences.[2][5] Reviewing Light of Aluna for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, Mark S. Tucker likened the album's "slowly unfolding, very mellow, spacey progressions" to the work of Klaus Schulze, Philip Glass and David Hykes.[6]

The albums were recorded in the high-resolution Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format and released as DSD downloads.[7][8]

Reception

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In December 2015 the nationally syndicated US radio programme Echoes, hosted by John Diliberto, featured the project, including an interview.[2] The project's music has also been broadcast on the syndicated programme Hearts of Space.[9][10]

Light of Aluna was reviewed by the ambient-music site Hypnagogue[11] and by Chris Spector in Midwest Record, who called it "top of the genre material".[12] Spector also reviewed Sacred Alliance in 2015,[13] which was additionally reviewed by the Belgian music site Keys and Chords.[5] Light of Aluna placed at number 29 on Zone Music Reporter's Top 100 Recordings of 2013, and Sacred Alliance reached number 23 on the chart's 2015 edition; Zone Music Reporter's year-end charts rank albums by reported US radio airplay.[14][4]

Light of Aluna won the New Age Album category in the listener-voted (Vox Pop) section of the 13th annual Independent Music Awards in 2014.[15]

In a 2017 review for the audiophile magazine Positive Feedback, the editor David W. Robinson used Anima's albums Sound Medicine and Sacred Alliance as reference recordings to evaluate a high-end headphone system, describing Sound Medicine as "well rounded and fulsome in its foundation".[7]

Discography

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  • Lemuria Emerging (2007)
  • Crystaligned Dreams (2008)
  • Temple of the Stars (2010)
  • Sound Medicine (2011)
  • Light of Aluna (2012)
  • LuminEssence (2013)
  • Sacred Alliance (2015)

References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Ananui Music – Our new channel for Anima's Sound Medicine". Anima Sound Medicine. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Tuesday, December 29th, 2015 – Echoes Program 1552B: Anima's Shamanic Space Music". Echoes. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  3. "Anima". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Top 100 Recordings of 2015". Zone Music Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Anima: Sacred Alliance". Keys and Chords (in Dutch). 26 August 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  6. Tucker, Mark S. (2013). "Anima – Light of Aluna". Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 Robinson, David W. (14 July 2017). "Impressions: The Sonoma Acoustics Model One Headphones". Positive Feedback. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  8. "Anima – Sound Medicine HD". NativeDSD. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  9. "Summer Skies (PGM 1424)". Hearts of Space. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  10. "PGM 1113R "Sweet Serenity"". Hearts of Space. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  11. "Anima: Light of Aluna". Hypnagogue Music Reviews. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  12. Spector, Chris (1 June 2013). "Anima/Light of Aluna". Midwest Record. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013.
  13. Spector, Chris (31 July 2015). "Anima/Sacred Alliance". Midwest Record. Archived from the original on 8 August 2015.
  14. "Top 100 Recordings of 2013". Zone Music Reporter. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  15. "The 13th Annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop Winners Announced". Independent Music Awards. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2026.

Category:Scottish musical groups Category:Ambient music groups Category:Musical groups established in 2004 Category:British musical duos