Three years after her triple platinum album Hotel New York, Anouk is back with a vengeance. Who’s Your Momma is her fifth studio album and it is her most versatile and ambitious album so far.

Last summer, Anouk traveled to Los Angeles - the Mecca of rock music - to start working on Who’s Your Momma with world-famous producer Glen Ballard, known for his work with Alanis Morrisette, No Doubt and Michael Jackson to name but a few, and the winner of five Grammy Awards. He’d been at the top of Anouk’s wish-list for a while, but seemed out of reach. Under the guise of ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ she sent him a few demos to convince him to work with her anyway. Says Anouk, “He called me two days later and said ‘I’ll make time for you; let’s do it!’”

Ballard was very impressed with Anouk’s vocal talent: “What you look for in a singer is some kind of distinctive fingerprint. Anouk has it, that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that’s greater than the sum of its parts. She’s a great rock singer, first of all, and she also has a wonderful melodic gift that gives her an unusual range. It’s a great privilege to work with her voice and with her as an artist.” To have such a gifted producer praise her talents was an eye-opener for Anouk. “I’ve always felt that I was capable of so much more, even vocally, but so far nobody had been able to stimulate me sufficiently. It was great to work with someone I could look up to and who knew exactly what he was doing.”

Anouk and Ballard co-wrote the compelling pop-classic in-the-making ‘Make It Rain’. Another famous collaborator on the album is Dan Hill, who has written hits for Celine Dion, Tina Turner and Rod Stewart. Anouk and Dan met a few years ago, and he had told her then how he’d love to work with her. They met up and co-wrote the ballad ‘I Don’t Wanna Hurt’ during two writing sessions in the US and Canada.

Anouk wrote a large number of songs for the album with her regular writing partner Bart van Veen before departing for the States. Her husband Remon Stotijn, a.k.a. Postman, wrote three songs as well, although he didn’t write them especially for her. She had to bargain with him until he gave in. “Remon has such a particular flair and flavor, his songs are very bluesy and soulful. I fell in love with those songs and I knew I’d be able to make them my own with my vocals, melodies and lyrics.” The first single taken from the album is ‘Good God’, a rollercoaster ride of a song. The same way as she went after Ballard, Anouk went out of her way to work with one of her favorite video directors, Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund. He is famous for his video clips for Madonna (‘Ray Of Light’), Robbie Williams (‘Come Undone’), U2 (‘Beautiful Day’) and The Prodigy (‘Smack My Bitch Up’).

Who’s Your Momma is proof that Anouk is still on top of her game. She has had several #1 albums, an endless string of hit singles and has won numerous national and international music awards, including a number of European MTV Awards. The cheeky album title is just as provoking as Anouk herself. Says Anouk: “It’s a very catchy title, even arrogant maybe. But the truth is: whether you like my music or not, there’s no way around it.”

November 2007 - www.anouk.com