Hey All,
Here are some great pictures from the Cary Brothers & Ben Lee show. Unfortunately we happened to forget to snap some of Cary :( . Uggh...we promise to bring our own camera next time! :) Thank you to Suzanne for sending these pictures along to us.

Blogtown #3

BLUHAMMOCK HAPPENINGS:

KRISTOFFER RAGNSTAM's tour with Deborah Harry kicks off tonight at Irving Plaza (Fillmore) in NYC! We are soooooo excited! If you haven't had the chance to check out Kristoffer's kick-ass live show then now is the time! He's playing all over the country in some amazing rooms. Can't thank Deborah Harry and her team enough for the opportunity. Check out the bluhammock website for tour dates and details!

Kristoffer came in to the office today to play some new music for us. Can not wait for everyone to hear what new tracks he has up his sleeve. Stay tuned for new music ,videos, treats and updates!

JIM BOGGIA started his residency at the Living Room in NYC Nov. 5th. He's playing every Monday this month! Seeing Jim in such an intimate setting is always an honor. He's gold. Check out dates and details at the bluhammock site!

We also want to thank Myspace, Imeem and Snocap for all of the CARY BROTHERS features and extra love lately. We feel very lucky to have support from such vital communities! Thanks a million!

Cary is on tour withBen Leearound the US now. Thanks to Ben Lee again for putting together such a great tour to be a part of! Definitely check out tour dates and details on our site and come out to play!

Our SOUTH boys are doing a photo shoot today to promote their new upcoming US release in April. If you see the handsome lads in the streets of London say hello!! More details about the release coming soon!

Beautiful SWATI is heading in to SIRIUS Satellite Radio this month to sit and chat on The Diana Cage show - OutQ Channel 109. Stay tuned for airtimes to tune in!

Have we mentioned how proud we are of the upcoming VIRGINIA COALITION -"Home This Year" release on March 18th??!?!?!?!! Above and beyond EXCITED for you to hear it!!!!

We'll chime in again soon with new info but always check out www.bluhammock.com for more news, tour dates and updates.

Thank you :-)

Rachel

rock.

Blogtown #2

Blogtown #2: Likes of late...

**Sensory overload in the best of ways...
During late night, last minute runarounds the night before the blu party in the Hamptons a few months ago, Justin (of Learned Evolution/Universal Buzz fame...we adore you) asked us if we had heard of Eclectic Method. He popped in a DVD and just like that...hooked! I can't get enough and I'm waiting patiently (tonight would be nice) for the next live throw down...



**Ween. Sweet, sweet Ween. New album out. You either get it or you don't.
They get me ;-)

Your Party

More soon...


Rachel

rock.

Is real, ernest thoughtful dare i say conscience ( although I think everbody is at this point should be conscieous about why they are in hip hop) coming back finally. Granted it has always existed in places like stones throw and okay player and yes Common has maintained as #1 Soul Brother (Congrats on you Black Girls Rocks Award BTW) in the mainstream for a good minute now, But i think to really impact and shift the priorities of an entire industry, you need help from generations of forfathers and formommas down the line. I know that myself as a kid first being introduced to the many flavors of hip hop, a favorite of the time was Arrested Developement. And not just me but it seemed universal. White people, brown people, something in between people all felt the love that they were spreading. They have definately been active and making music since then but I know me personally and others i know some how lost track. Maybe I was just blinded by the bling, but I am happy to say they are back.... the new Arrested Development "Since The Last Time" is out in full force. A lyrical highlight in my listen thus far

FROM "MIRACLES"
We’re made of more than this, don’t let em define us, don’t let em confine us we’re warriors
From the underground railroads we sneaked through swamps to sit VIP in a restaurant
Hill Side projects get down
North Shore projects get down
They give us platinum medallions to cover our hearts
Keep us far away from the most powerful parts of us
Cuz if they keep us looking outside then we won’t bother looking inside
I’m too old a dude to be scared of flopping we’re from the old school this is real hip hopping
And we talk about what we see, won’t dumb it down
Cuz I ain’t around dumb company
We smarter than this
And we can come harder than this and do a brag rap on the next song on the disc
Cuz right now you know you’re all in the midst of miracles!

I believe in Miracles yeah yeah
I believe in you

Although it was a bit before my time hear at bluhammock, we put out a Speech solo record called the Vagabond. It was an indicator for me that I was going into the right place as Speech and Arrested Developement only bring inspiring, positive thoughtful, soulful, fun, honest offerings to the world that often sells it self a little short....


Check out the music

Peace and Strength

Ralph

Feast of Love and Cary B + Apple makes three!

So today is a very exciting day here in the hammock I must say. It may not be "cool" to act excited but WE ARE ALL PSYCHED!!! Ok why you might ask...today Cary Brothers' video for the movie Feast of Love which uses his song "Honestly" went live on Apple.com's trailer page. LIKE WHAT?!?! They have never done this before. A total first! YIPEE!!!

Check It:
Video

WOO HOO!

Feast of Love is an amazing movie that Cary Brothers' song is the theme song for.The soundtrack is going to be sick. I saw the proposed track listing and I know I am planning on buying it! What is the film about you ask? Well..is is a meditation on love and its various incarnations and is described as an exploration of the magical, mysterious and sometimes painful incarnations of love. Kind of like Cary's album...hmmm...

To see the trailer for the film head to:
Movie Trailer

Big thanks to Lakeshore Entertainment for including Cary in your amazing movie and shooting a simply beautiful video for it. Thanks as well to the team of people that worked so hard (MGM,Apple,Cornerstone,Lakeshore) to make this happen! ROCK!!!!!

Stay posted for bluhampton part deux...

the blu party weekend in 33 1/3 seconds

Ready!


Stay tuned for more

Bonnarooooo!

So lots of people keep asking me how bonnaroo was. All I keep saying was WOW. I think I consumed more live music in 4 days then I have in 3 months! So on to another chapter in our label misadventures…

I had the pleasure of heading to B’roo with Rachel and Nichelle. We hopped on the B’roo planning wagon train a bit late I have to say. When we went to go and check out renting an RV, Rachel was met with laughs of mischievous merriment from the rental agents. Most pretty much said something to the effect of “sold out since last year.” Not to be thwarted, we bluhammock ladies put our heads together and got on Craig’s list and eBay. Ta Da!! RV was found. Rachel in her true go-getter nature got on the phone with the listing company and talked them into taking the RV out of auction and giving it to us. WAY TO GO RACHEL!!

So, as we head to the airport to fly into Nashville, we have no idea what type of RV or size of RV we are getting. It is pretty much a cancellation situation. When we get to RV Sales and Rental, we find that we have a pretty sizable RV to drive. Actually I should say: I have a pretty sizable RV to drive. I am the only one with insurance…I have never driven an RV…I was pretty stressed out on the inside. Cool as a cucumber on the outside lest they think they made a mistake of pulling the RV off the open internet market and take it away from us.

This is me driving the insanely large RV!

I would like to give the folks at RV Sales and Rental a shout out for their absolutely through explanation of the vehicle and all of its amazing functions. This was a for real home on wheels. We can all now tell you how to put water into an RV, dump waste, check for power issues and flip some blown breakers. Stress was greatly reduced. About an hour of RV education later, we pull out onto the open road headed for where…Target! For those of you who have read my past blog posts you know I have a serious love for Target.

Many many many pit stops later, we reach B’roo....



I am not sure exactly what we were expecting but I can tell you it was not this. Quick facts: B’roo becomes the 5th largest city in the state of TN during festival time. We are talking 80,000 people plus 5,000 support staff. That is insane. I have to give a ridiculous amount of props to Chad and Superfly Productions for creating such an amazing event. I have no idea what it takes to put up and take down a rather large city every year and I can only imagine. The most amazing thing about the whole experience was that practically every staff person that we interacted with was unfailing polite and helpful. The vibe was awesome and the festivalgoers super peaceful and friendly. I was told that it takes a month simply to clean up the site.

By the time we picked up our credentials it was dark. I managed to three-point turn the RV against a fence and put it
into its spot. Don’t ask me how. I almost took out a motorcycle parked with the bus next to us. Eeh.

<----This is Nichelle hanging out in the tent

Next up was setting up our hang area in front of the RV. I was born and raised in NYC and while I have camped in my life I have not camped in a long time. But, Rachel and I managed to put together a tent in the dark with only the headlights of the RV to help us! With the set up complete and a long day of travel behind us, we all sat outside under the tent and had a well deserved glass of wine, lit some candles and admired our handiwork.

When we woke up the next morning, we all headed over to the Sonic Stage to check out the bluhammock listening station installation. It looked awesome as always. Universal Buzz has never failed us once as they have moved the listening station around the country. Without them and our absolutely awesome program manger Barry, the listening station would still be an idea in our minds. Thank you to Carrie, Jake, and Barry for all of your hard work and extreme organization. You make us proud.

Barry & Chad having a moment:
It was awesome to see all of the hammocks filled with people listening to our artists’ music. Our location was also choice as you could see what was going on at the Sonic Stage from the hammocks. Our only regret was that we did not have more hammocks on site! There were not enough to go around. Knowing that it would be insanely hot in TN, we had made crazy amounts of paper fans so that people getting in hammocks could be as comfortable as possible. Rachel had the awesome idea of sharing the fans with everyone at the Sonic Stage! So as Ryan Shaw, a friend of mine’s amazing new talent, took the stage about 100 people were fanning themselves with the bluhammock logo. By the mid-afternoon, we had to stop handing out the fans so that we would have some for the remaining days. At one point there were about 300 people standing there, fanning themselves creating a sea of bluhammock blue. For the rest of the festival, we would be walking around and see the fans all over the grounds!

Rachel experiencing the listening station for the first time: Normal peeps checking out the music:


















I could go on to write a novella about the entire experience but I think that would probably bore you to death. So, I will head along to the highlights and the lowlights in my mind. In case you were wondering what I was leaving out, the picture below should give you a basic idea....



Highlights:
1) Super Jam: Ben Harper, John Paul Jones, and Questlove
Here I could say: “ You had me at hello.” I am a huge fan of all of these artists but I have a major hankering for some Ben Harper. It was the perfect way to start the festival for me. Everyone killed it.

2) Rodrigo y Gabriela:
A total surprise for me. I had been reading the press and heard some of the music but had no idea what to expect. When I got to the stage I was engulfed in shimmering wall of lush sound. Beautiful and emotionally expedient.

3) Jonah Smith:
I had the pleasure of hearing Jonah play some of the songs off of his latest record in his apartment in Brooklyn. I loved what I heard then but to get to hear it on a larger stage it was awesome. His voice is so warm and soulful. His piano work funky and playful. “Little Black Angels” and “When We Say Goodnight” were killer.

4) Feist:
This was the show that all of us ladies were obsessed with seeing. Nichelle led the charge on this record in our office. It kills. It took me a min to wrap myself up in it but now I cannot stop playing “I Feel It All” or “Past in Present.” “Brandy Alexander” is pretty spectacular as well. I mean who can write a song about one of the most girlie drinks out there and make it meaningful? Leslie Feist that’s who. The whole band brought it but Leslie rocked out her guitar and really can sing like she sounds on the record. No pro-tools magic here.

Funny story, Nichelle and I are standing in the artists’ area in the back and we see a guy with shades on and an immobilizer on his leg. Seeing as I have blown out both of my ACLs and one MCL, I immediately recognized what the deal was and had to go over and share my empathy with the dude. We get to talking and I am asking how he blew his knee out; playing soccer last night after a gig with his band behind the club in the parking lot. Uggh. How much longer do you have to be out on the road before you can get it seriously looked at? Indefinitely was the answer. He told us that he was actually waiting there to see if they could find him a chair he could sit in and play. He requested a swivel so he could at least get into the show a little. That made me smile. Finally we ask what band is he with and it was Feist! Of course this prompts much gushing, observations that the intro on “I Feel It All” sounds like the intro to “Past in Present,” and the mention of the most amazing ortho surgeon in the US.

If you were wondering about the surgeon: Dr. Steadman of the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, CO. The man saved my knees. He is the US Ski Team doctor and a master in his field. In the course of hanging out at his clinic, I got to know Peekabo Street, two world famous Brazilian soccer players and one pro beach volleyball player. If you ever need fixing… or if you just want to meet some amazing athletes…

5) DJ Shadow:
He is one of my all time favorite DJs. He played an extremely tight set with great accompanying visuals. Looked like he had 4 tables going at once from where I was standing and he played all of his greatest hits plus a lot of my faves. “Blood on the Motorway” was insane. I have to say when he started to take the set toward his newer material which is a bit more hip hop leaning I was a little bummed and wandered off…

6) Sascha and Digweed:
WHAT!!!!!! I used to go to this club Twilo once a month on Saturdays in the 90’s to worship at the church of S & D. I would leave somewhere around 2-3pm in the afternoon on Sunday with my sunglasses on having danced my feet into extreme soreness. There used to be a line around a complete NYC block to see them. Mayhem! I had not seen them spin for about 5 years. Brilliant does not do it justice. I stayed right up by the stage bouncing and dancing for at least an hour. If the people I had been with would have let me, I would have stayed and danced all night. They spun until 8am. More power to them and I was sorry I could not stay. Any former club kids reading this know what I am talking about.

7) The White Stripes:
This was actually the perfect way to end the festival for us. We actually were not sitting in the stage area. We were by the hammocks and the music just started to drift over us. When we heard it, it sounded amazing and we tuned in. The sun was setting and the music was not only filling the stage and covering the crowd is was reaching us all the way on the other side of the tents. Considering we had seen full bands up there that did not do the same. We were duly impressed with what the Stripes were achieving. Catchy, quirky, full songs played by few as opposed to many.

I could go on, as there were many more great acts that we saw but that could take up pages and pages. There was of course The Police who sounded just like the record and threw us all back to our childhoods and stunned us that they had practically the entire festival enrapt. But you probably knew they could do that already. Grab a ticket to the tour if you haven’t yet.

There were very few low lights but I thought I would share the ones that stick out even now a little over a week later:

Tool:
Ok I completely understand that these are talented musicians and that they have a huge audience. I even kind of dig the record. But…the show was something else. Really well played but I could not shake the feeling that they were feeding the darkness in people’s souls with their music. Really. Nichelle and I were in the crowd for this show about 30 back so we could FEEL it. Felt like 80,000 people turned slightly evil to us…

Regina Spektor:
I am a huge Regina fan. HUGE. I remember seeing her play Tonic on the lower east side. But...for some reason, the festival thing was not for her. There was a great crowd to listen but she never seemed to fill the area with music. Everything seemed a little thin. This was totally disappointing to me since I have seen her play theaters and blow me away. Maybe it was because it was literally 98 degrees outside when she was playing…

Flaming Lips:
I am also a Lips fan. I would not claim to be a Lips zealot of which there are many I came to realize. I am more of a when I hear it I like it fan. When they actually played it sounded great and the songs were great but sadly the majority of the show was them either pulling insanely brilliant/beautiful stunts or foisting their political views on the crowd. I am all for getting your voice heard but not for almost an ENTIRE show. I will say that giving the crowd laser pointers and coming out on stage in a huge bubble then crowd surfing in the bubble was quite cool. Someone I was standing with turned to me and said: “so how much do you think they pay the dancing alien women and santas on the stage?” I responded: “Not a freaking penny!” That should tell something about Flaming Lips fans…

Of course there is more to tell but that is all that I can really say….look for posts from the ladies!

Until Next Time....


Jaylaan

Support Indie Record Stores

In case you were wondering, there are still record stores that aren't owned by FYE or Best Buy. A good friend of mine recommended I check out Uncle Sam's while I was visiting Miami, FL this past weekend, one of these indie stores still surviving and thriving. And as down as I am with the digital revolution, I would hate to see places like this loose the ability to stay in business. I was like a time warp back to 1993 but in a cool way. Sam's sells CDs, vinyl, posters, spiked rocker like belts, fairy porcelain statues, army surplus hats, and projected video on their black and blue painted walls. Every nook and cranny was covered with some funky memorabilia or product. It had something called charm and character, traits slowly dying in our world of mass corporate consumption.

The other cool part about Uncle Sam's was that i got to see our work here at bluhammock (and those that help us) in action, on the ground, so to speak.



Disc 8....That looks really familiar...



Cary Brothers?...Hmmm, I swear I have heard this before?
It kind of sounds like, the new soundtrack to my life!

Good Luck Uncle Sam and thanks Gordon for general awesomeness and helping me with my lost credit card (it's all good now) !

Cary Brothers Charts, Breakout the Bottle!

Jaylaan, John, Rachel and Nichelle partaking in
some bubblely. Happy Day! Heres why:

Cary Brothers Charting this week

Billboard
#22 Heatseekers Chart
#51 Independent Albums Chart

AIMS
#31 Coalition Chart

FMQB
#46 Top 50 AAA Albums

CMJ
#36 200

i Tunes
Hit #15 on the rock chart
Hit #62 on the overall album chart
EP re-entered the itunes folk chart at #57

eMusic
#1 the day of release



















Don't Mind if I do!

Cary Brothers Record Release (NYC)

the Box the Box the Box. "This is my second time", "My First time I was..." People talk of this Box the same way they reminisce about loosing their virginity. At the current time it seems to be the darling of Downtown, maybe even all town NYC's night life. But hype aside this little vaudeville charmed dining and theater venue was the perfect setting to host what we wanted to be an intimate and classy (minus snobery) celebration of our latest release last Monday night. Of course with any big blow party comes big amounts of stress. Although I wasn't in the office on Sunday, I was at coffee shop in Brooklyn trying to tie together the last minute loose ends for all the artwork being created for the party. For some reason no matter how well you plan for big events, you are always working up to the last minute to make things right. As I sent my artwork proofs out into the dark stormy night (it really was stormy Sunday, really) for approval my mind was unexpectedly eased by this quick response from Jaylaan:

"What are you doing working on a Sunday? I thought I was the only nut here." :)
...and something about making the blue more blue and we are good to go

Newly energized with blu camaraderie I felt I could almost see the light, but that light was the sunrising and me really needing to be up as soon as the day started to ensure I get all the files to the printer in time to be ready for the party. Here is where I give a shout out to village copier. Those kats are pros and turn things around fast without the "half our printers are being serviced and I don't give a f@*! cause I am off the clock in 10 minutes" at kinkos. It all went pretty smooth except for when the cab to the print shop let me off mid block on 14th St instead of 13th in a down pour. My mind was too busy thinking whether my step and repeat banners would be effective to notice. Nothing like carrying precious paper products and a laptop in the pouring rain though the streets of New York. Picking up the final products was perhaps even more interesting. The rain was once again threatening now just 3 hours before doors open for the party. Jaylaan and I drove down in her tiny tiny car to pick up the massive massive posters. Not to mention the car was already filled with boxes of candles, candle holders, stickers, easels, chocolate, clothes, kitchen sinks. How did we fit you ask? Put the top down, ah yeah, stand those giant poster boards straight up in the back seat and away we..ah wait, it looks like it could pour at any minute, this is going to be one 20 twenty block ride. I think Jaylaan and I felt like the more we talked about how funny it would be to have hundreds of dollars in party supplies destroyed by water damage the better chance we had of making it, as it began to mist and sprinkle. Every light at every block, an ominous red, but some how we made and moments after arriving at the venue the sun came out. From then on the night slowly turned beautiful. People started to filter in and before you know it the box was packed.


Jaylaan kicked off things with a sparkling introduction.


Cary Brothers played a very sweet set. Long enough to fully immerse in the Cary experience but short enough to leave you wanting more...like maybe even enough to go buy the record (wink). One of my highlights was slow dancing with my friend Maya Contreras to "Honestly". Sadly there is no photo to impress upon you but just know it was a moment. The whole vibe so intimate and classy but laid back. I felt like I was a part of something amazing. I dig this photo below because it captures a Filmore 1970 feel, a sense of timelessness that resonated with me that night.



Here is me with the lovely Mara, Heather and just squeezing in there the darling Angela. Love those ladies. I was upset that they never made it back to the after party after jumping over to
P Diddy's party at Marquee.


Here is Cary with Zach Braff..but you prolly knew that already.


There is so much going on lately at bluhammock (this post is so behind) that I need to end and move on to the next tale. I would love to dive into the after party at the Johnson's bar but it was a bit like a beautiful dream and perhaps better left that way...

Nantucket Wine Festival

Nichelle spent some time in Nantucket this past weekend as bluhammock set up camp at the Annual Nantucket Wine Fest.




Ming Tsai taking kitchen pointers (wink wink) from Nichelle.




Our traveling hammock lounge pairs nicely with all kinds of people.

High Line Festival - Irving Plaza

All I can say about last night at the High Line Festival is: Deerhoof, David Bowie and a spinning LED propeller being played to the drum beat. No Bowie didn't perform... but he did sit at the table I sat at for the last NYC VACO show. And Deerhoof rocked hard with a mysterious fourth member on the side of the stage manipulating this giant LED filled propeller (kinda like and old mini version of the kind you would use for solar power). If I could find a picture I would link it, but alas just know it was amazing... Dirty Projectors rocked too...as does Angela at Stereogum for passing along tickets (thankyou)! Okay that's it for now, not quite directly related to bluhammock but a note worthy music experience all the same. But, as I was tripping out to Deerhoof and this propeller thing, my cohorts at bluhammock were tearing down the Brown Hotel for the Non-Comm..vention in Louisville, KY. Stay tuned for stories.

-Ralph™

Cary @ Bowery NYC x2

Hey Everyone, it's Ralph. As media guru here at bluhammock I take pride in getting rad photos and video at our artists shows and posting them here for your enjoyment. But this past weekend tradgedy struck at the Bowery Ballroom. Dun Dun Dah...Someone stole my memory stick right out of the camera. Whiskey prevented me from clearly remembering exactly what happen but when I plugged it in this morning and clicked import, three photos appeared, one of which is below. This is sad because the shows were so so good, and we all had such a blast. If I could only explain to you how awesome it was to see, Jaylaan (blu founder), wielding a light saber...Light saber you ask? Yes Kestrin Pantera, Cary's amazing and talented Cellist carries a real live light saber on tour with her (check it out below!). Luckily Cary Brothers is also kick ass and has been keeping a video journal while on the road so all is not lost. Check it out along with my only surviving photo from Cary Brothers and Brandi Carlile's two sold out shows at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. And hey if you are reading this and you happened to be the person who stole the memory.. May the force be with you!!!!

Cary Brothers @ Bowery Ballroom 04.27.07



Cary's Video Journal from Opening Night

Hi There Everyone,

After many weekly meetings here at bluhammock, we have decided that we need to tell you all a little bit more about our adventures in labeldom. To that end, I am going to start posting about our happenings. Now, I would like to promise you that I will do this super regularly, but, I would be lying. We are kind of busy over here trying to sell records and everything. What I can promise is that I will do my best.

On to the adventures! On April 17, Swati had her record release show at Joe's Pub. It was brilliant!! Sold out show and people were genuinely paying attention and digging her set. I was also beyond excited to see Aaron Comess behind the kit. When I saw Swati for the very first time, he was drumming for her and it was an electric combination. For those of you who don't know or simply care to know, Aaron drummed for the "Spin Doctors." Who doesn't like "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" & "Two Princes?" Aaron was wonderfully complimented by Jeff Hill on upright bass. Jeff can often be found making music with Rufus Wainwright. The two of them allowed Swati's song's fullness and beauty shine.

As always, Swati was slightly self deprecating and incredibly charming. She played her guitar with her usual ferocity and delicacy. She showed the crowd what she could do. Her rendition of "I'm on Fire" was heartbreaking and heartfelt. "Blackjack" killed it and "2am," my personal favorite, made me want to cry. Sadly, we brought the video camera to capture this stunning set but in true Murphy's Law fashion the battery was dead. Luckily all was not lost. A friend from high school was in the crowd and gallantly offered to take some pictures for us to share with you! While, she apologized in advance for their quality, I think she did a pretty damn good job. Take a look.






..
After the show, Swati and her band of rowdy merry makers headed to a spot called the Cubbyhole in the West Village. I had never been and it was packed. I was told by the owner this was totally Swati's doing. I don't know if that it true but everyone there seemed to know her. So, I am going to believe what the lady said. Much thanks goes out as well for the free drink I was gifted with simply for working with Swati. :)

Last but not least, "2am" was the top tune of the day a KCRW in LA a couple of days ago. WOOO HOOOO!!! Thanks for the Swati love KCRW! Much much appreciated! It is pretty darn cool when one of our Los Angelino friends texts us to tell us that they are stuck on the 101 but is it ok because one our artists is on the radio in their car.

On another note, Kristoffer Ragnstam won his MTVU Freshman class. All that voting paid off! Thanks to Seaworthy Films for making such a fun and funky video and Steve Gottlieb for getting it seen! Thank you to all of the fans and friends who got to clicking! Kris was added last week so for those of you still in college keep an eye out for his video!

Until Next Time!

Jaylaan