TRAUMTON Records Grunewaldstr. 9, D-13597 Berlin Tel. 030 – 331 93 50 , Fax 030 – 331 9370 e-mail: traumton@traumton.de

www.traumton.de

Im Vertrieb von: INDIGO (D), Musikvertrieb AG (CH), HOANZL (AT), FINETUNES (digital)

Release September 21, 2007

SanagiSailing The Seven SeasTraumton/INDIGO CD 903772EAN/UPC: 705304450628File under: electro/pop

Lene Toje: vocals Robin Sato: programming & electronica

Sailing The Seven Seas

Enough winging and whining about how Björk used to be so much more accessible than she istoday, about Moloko breaking up, and that it’s already been a quarter of a century since wecould listen to Kate Bush laughing about herself (just listen to her “There Goes a Tenner” toshake up your memory)! In the Here and Now there’s a duo that finally picks up where thebrilliant deeds of intelligent electro-pop left off:SANAGINorwegian singer Lene Toje (26) and half-Japanese electro-wizard Robin Sato (23) met in 2002at the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts, and quickly found out just what synergies theycould develop together. So it happened that a whole series of songs emerged from their“cocoon” (that’s what “Sanagi” means in Japanese) during their studies – songs which explorethe terrain between Joni Mitchell and Richie Hawtin, with sassy sophistication.

Thanks to a couple of club tours through Germany, they soon won over audiences outside Liverpool;in fact the resonance was so exhilarating that Lene and Robin chose Berlin as their future work place.Before packing their bags in the summer of 2005, they finished their debut album Mish Mash, whichwas also their final exam project at LIPA… Berlin label Traumton loved their multifaceted songs somuch that they released them last fall. After that, Mish Mash was not only presented at Popkomm and Mediawave (the biggest EastEuropean festival for electronic music) but was enthusiastically received by the German music pressand radio. Jazzthetik discovered „minimalist sound idylls, which could easily pass as chamber music,and “a gift for contagious inanity that was so sorely lacking in the trip-hop-duos of the past decade.”

TRAUMTON Records Grunewaldstr. 9, D-13597 Berlin Tel. 030 – 331 93 50 , Fax 030 – 331 9370 e-mail: traumton@traumton.de

www.traumton.de

Im Vertrieb von: INDIGO (D), Musikvertrieb AG (CH), HOANZL (AT), FINETUNES (digital)

Tip magazine thought the term “folktronic” was fitting: “Where Robin prefers sampling dripping watertaps, Lene’s vocal melodies have a definite folk song character.” Now Sanagi have arrived in Berlin with their Sailing The Seven Seas in two ways: not only have thesongs all been written in their new home town, but they were also recorded at Traumton label’s veryown studio. None other than Wolfgang Loos, producer of electro-pop trio Alphaville’s huge hits („BigIn Japan“; „Forever Young“) in the mid 80’s, manned the mixer. Here Lene Toje’s choruses soar up to a level that can easily hold its own to the likes of ABBA’s vocalharmonies, the very thing that heavily influenced her style (especially obvious on track 3: "SweetestOdour"). Robin’s fondness of theatrical sound gimmicks, which really comes to light on “KnockKnock“ and „Sanagi Lovesong“, has reached a whole new level of genius. As on their first album. Sailing The Seven Seas begins with a wonderfully transparent ballad: „See-Through-Me“ poetically describes how beautiful it can be to surrender unconditionally to theintoxication of being in love („You’re my favorite blue with some green in it“) The following track„Liquid LeNe" has also brilliantly captured that blissful feeling of a fresh love that suddenly makesyou so lithe and lively - and with the promise to stay together through love’s psychoses, come whatmay, it flaunts another one of those little red herrings so typical of Sanagi.

In „Sweetest Odour“ Lene describes her first experiences in a typical East Berlin back courtyardapartment, and how hard it is to remove oneself from such a unique dwelling. It’s followed by„Sleepwalking“, which expresses the desire to get out of the rut of routine behavior and not stumblethrough life blindly, half-drugged.

Lene and Robin have found an excellent antidote for this with „Sanagi Love Song“: the list ofvarious torture methods and ways of dying you can wish upon the great love (hate) of your life, rattledoff so affably to a reggae rhythm, just makes you want to jump up and dance. Refined by PaulBrody’s muted trumpet, this track reminds you of the electro-dub made popular in the 80’s by bandslike Scritti Politti ("Flesh & Blood"). The violent little fantasy „She's A Beautiful Man“ – with Lene herself singing a bit of Fado in themiddle – is also an invitation to dance. Just like the extremely funky „Knock Knock“, that admits tobecoming “curioser and curiouser” as a result. Once again Lene’s gift for self-analysis fascinates,something that already stood out in Mish Mash on songs like „Rabbit Hole“ and „Bang Bang“. There’s no lack of Lene’s inventiveness in creating clever metaphors on Sailing The Seven Seaseither. In „Thought-Spinner Tom“, her own stirred up thoughts are personified by a little man(named Tom) who is responsible for all the lack of concentration, brooding and mood swings sheexperiences. No wonder this guy has been working nonstop for 26 years! But our storyteller couldn’timagine living without him either – even if Tom has ruined more than one romance with hisovereagerness. In „What Do I Want?“ Lene assertively, but gently rejects the demands of a selfish some one – in theknowledge that for certain people, being blunt is the only thing that shakes them out of theiregomania. And „Sailor, me!„ – quasi the title track of the album – is Lene’s reaction to her horrifiedobservation of how many women of her age are suddenly thrilled to jump into a relationship ofcommitment and family life without a second thought. Lene would rather declare herself a sailor inthis swinging shanty, who would rather sail the seven seas before even wasting a single thought onsuch a lifestyle.

No less humorous is the girly-rap-persiflage „You Know What I Hate?“ with Lene reciting a hitparade of the things she hates the most. And this includes all kinds of (mostly male) crudeness whichmost people gladly overlook; Lene’s detailed descriptions leave no doubt however, about her having

TRAUMTON Records Grunewaldstr. 9, D-13597 Berlin Tel. 030 – 331 93 50 , Fax 030 – 331 9370 e-mail: traumton@traumton.de

www.traumton.de

Im Vertrieb von: INDIGO (D), Musikvertrieb AG (CH), HOANZL (AT), FINETUNES (digital)

had to bear tons of dull compliments and shake off hordes of graying admirers. But for the finale, Sanagi offer the peace pipe with their version of the Doo-Wop classic (madeequally famous by both Elvis and The Platters) „Only You“, with their torch song variation being bothfunny and touching at once. It’s a quality that makes the whole album stand out. And thanks toSanagi’s congenial stage presence, (in the mean time the two of them even have some slickchoreographies in petto), their live shows guarantee the best of pure entertainment.

Online Info:

http://www.sanagi.co.ukhttp://www.myspace.com/sanagimusicComing soon: http://www.sanagimusic.comFoto & Info Download: http://www.traumton.de/label/releases/?id=151&lang=de

On tour

22.09.2007 D-Berlin, Hoppetosse : Record Release Konzert03.10.2007 D-Berlin, Schokoladen08.11.2007 D-Berlin, Duncker Club12.11.2007 D-Kiel, Blauer Engel14.11.2007 D-Hildesheim, Club VEB (TBC)15.11.2007 D-Hannover, Feinkost Lampe16.11.2007 D-Wilhelmshaven, Kling Klangtbc

Press cuts „Mish Mash“"When you find yourself singing along to a song without really wanting to, it’s pop. And if you don’t even carethat your evil neighbor from downstairs happens to like the same song, that’s pop too. Pop is the commondenominator that doesn’t inevitably have to be insipid. Besides being popular, pop can be innovative, as inBerlin-based newcomers, Sanagi. This duo met in Liverpool while studying its local pub-club topography, andthen moved „no question about it!“ to Berlin. Here is where the debut album was made, mixing a little madness ˆla Bj?rk with a portion of early MIA acid and Prince-like eccentricity. Then put it all into a blender and push theDeee-lite button. 3.30 minutes later – it’s done and what comes out is „Mish Mash“, the first longplayer byNorway’s Lene Toje and Robin Sato from Japan. Sanagi are - speaking in terms of music - kicking quite a bitover the traces. Which is fine, considering that you have to be prepared to stick your neck way out there if youreally want to leave tracks. At KenFM for example. Sanagi turn iPod into iPop."Ken FM , CDs of the month, September 2006

"Some music is so beautiful that words even fail a professional music critic, miserably, to describe the state oflistening experience it invokes.And that’s just what the band Sanagi have managed to do with their debut album „Mish Mash“, and I’m graspingfor words. For my composure. For everything. I’ve been completely pulled into this electronic duo’s world, theworld of Norwegian Lene Toje (vocals) and partner Robin Sato (electronics), who grew up in Japan. So it isactually quite fitting that the name Sanagi means cocoon in Japanese, because that’s exactly what listening tothis record makes you feel like. It wraps you up and transports you into its own beautiful world. It gives youcomfort, relaxation, and contentment. If you let it. And you should take the time to do exactly that.Of course the first thing that comes to your head when you give these songs a quick listen is the glorious days oftrip-hop from the mid-nineties. Bands like Massive Attack, Portishead, and the enthralling dramatics of Ruby.Bjork’s „Debut“ and Tricky’s first solo record are what immediately come to mind. But if you take the time andhave the right state of mind to really delve into it, there are simply no comparisons. I have seldom heard such adiversified album that consistently remains true to itself and its style, peppered with such wonderful humor toboot, like in the song „Pippi“ (Longstockings). It would even make Astrid Lindgren laugh.

TRAUMTON Records Grunewaldstr. 9, D-13597 Berlin Tel. 030 – 331 93 50 , Fax 030 – 331 9370 e-mail: traumton@traumton.de

www.traumton.de

Im Vertrieb von: INDIGO (D), Musikvertrieb AG (CH), HOANZL (AT), FINETUNES (digital)

"Mish Mash" combines minimal electro, house, pop und hiphop, each in its quintessential form. And Lene’svoice gives the whole thing an incomparable uniqueness. The two of them are apparently having a lot of fun intheir world, and to keep it that way, they’ve taken up camp in Berlin, nurturing the hope that we’ll soon have thepleasure of experiencing them live on stage in our city. And if this doesn’t happen in spite of all our wishfulthinking, we still have „Mish Mash“ and the hope that we won’t have to wait all too long for the next album. Butwhat am I rambling on about here. Listen to it. Enjoy it. Be glad. Laugh again. We’ll keep you posted." [Ah]o3o, September 2006

"We are a hybrid band" say Lene Toje and Robin Sato about Sanagi. At first thought this could be taken as areference to their cultural background. Singer/song-writer Toje comes from Norway, producer Sato grew up inJapan, and Sanagi was founded in Liverpool. In the mean time they live and work, where else? In Berlin. But theword "Hybrid" can also be taken musically, a rather obvious clue being the album title itself, Mish Mash. Built ona healthy basis of electropop, the twenty-somethings endeavor to deliver various interpretations of the genrewhile letting traces of other music styles flow into their work, something the duo is particularly successful atwhen the pop factor pops up in the melodies, leaving the electronics to sport their strengths on the instrumentallevel. This is exactly what happens in the opener, Rabbit Hole, as it serves up a refrain A&R managers die for: acatchy hookline, big in words and simple in structure – catchy in every sense of the word"24secrets, 4.10.2006