Q&A: ANNIKA

Indie-pop artist annika says ‘i feel everything (at the same time)’ in her Spotify bio - and that’s a perfect description of the vulnerability & rawness in her music that she seems to effortlessly exude. With shimmery guitars, dreamy textures and chilled-out vibes, she’s creating a groundbreaking, infectious sound that you’re bound to fall in love with.

Hey Annika! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions! First of all, how did you get started in singing & making music?

Thank you for having me! I was always a creative kid growing up. It’s so cliché but I picked up the guitar as a hardcore Swiftie when I was 13 and have been playing since then (still a Swiftie). Shoutout to Taylor Swift for getting so many young girls into playing guitar. In regards to making music, I started less than a year ago - it came to me at a time where I had an overload of emotions and needed an outlet & a safe space to release them. Writing music can be a form of journaling to me. Even though I didn’t really make music before recently, I was still pretty obsessed with it growing up. I’d have (and still have) phases where I heavily obsess over a certain artist for months/years and hyperfixate on everything that they create. My life has always seemed to be intertwined with some sort of medium of art and self expression :)

Incredible! And your debut single 'crying over spilled milk' is absolutely amazing! Can you tell us about the meaning of the song and the inspiration behind it?

Thank you so much :,) The meaning of this song is to be okay with not being over something you went through. I wrote this song mid mental breakdown because I was tired of suppressing my emotions, I just had to accept them for what they were at the surface, and that’s pretty much what the song is about. I’m crying over spilled milk and what about it!

And we're obsessed with your brand new sophomore single 'resting bitch face' with the incredible Crystal Chen! What inspired you to write this track?

Thank you!! Our concept wasn’t too deep, it was just us complaining about first world problems, no filter needed. We wanted the weight of expectation to run wild and do and say whatever we felt like in that moment!

So good! What was your main highlight working on 'resting bitch face' and collabing with Crystal on this one?

The highlight was definitely working with Crystal!! As much of an incredible friend she is, she is an equally as talented musician and I am so grateful to have worked with her. She is a constant inspiration for me, and her voice still never fails to make me mellllt. The first time I showed her the initial stages of the song was when we had hung out for the first time in a while. She sent me her verse during lockdown after that and we worked on the writing process during that time period. We then took it to the studio and here we are!

We had a lot of fun filming the music video too with Tom Grut who shot it, running around under the bridge in Victoria Park. We only shot 3 takes of the video, we wanted to keep it as chill as possible. We both love how the video turned out - Tom’s fisheye with Crystal’s edit + grade is really cool. I love the amount of green in the colour grade, it reminds me a lot of Fallen Angels (1995) - there’s a lot of beautiful cinematography and tones in that film.

Have you got more music on the way soon?!

To be completely honest I’m in the middle of finishing my degree right now ... but soon …

Get that degree! 👏 Who would you say are your biggest inspirations in music?

I get constant inspiration from anyone and anything but at the moment I’d say Margo Guryan, Dominic Fike, Amy Winehouse, Elliott Smith, Jimi Hendrix, Paramore, Queen, Cosmo Pyke, The Strokes, Etta Marcus and Frank Ocean (I am definitely forgetting a lot of artists that I will regret not putting in this answer).

Who are some of your favourite NZ artists right now and are there any songs in particular that you especially love?

So many! Crystal Chen, MOKOMOKAI, Thorington, hanbee, Rita Mae and imugi are all incredible artists that everyone should listen to! I’m heavily obsessed with ‘Jealous’ by MOKOMOKAI, ‘Candy’s House’ by Rita Mae and also a lot of unreleased Thorington that will bless everyone’s ears!!

What do you love most about New Zealand? Do you have any favourite places to travel to or local spots that you like to visit?

My favourite thing about Aotearoa is real fruit strawberry ice cream during January summers ... soooo good. I love going to Karangahape Road, a few of my friends work there, cool people, great stores, always got gigs on, it can be a bit chaotic there, but very swag.

Agreed! What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt as an artist so far?

Taking the risk. Being vulnerable is scary but it’s a whole other thing to put your feelings out there for the whole world to view. I think that’s what being an artist is all about, constantly exposing your wounds while healing through them at the same time. Being an artist is brave in that sense, because it’s not easy to put your feelings out there. But I promise it’s worth it. In Dave Grohl’s book ‘The Storyteller’ he talks about this, and it’s stuck with me since I’ve read it - ‘The emotional vulnerability that is often necessary to summon a great song can also work against you when sharing your song for the world to hear. This is the paralyzing conflict of any sensitive artist. A feeling I’ve experienced with every lyric I’ve sung to someone other than myself. Will they like it? Am I good enough? It is the courage to be yourself that bridges those opposing emotions, and when it does, magic can happen.’ - Grohl.

Another thing I’ve learnt was embracing who I am to the fullest. I think that’s the most important thing that any artist could do for themselves. I don’t know many South Asian musicians in Aotearoa, I’d love to see more, but I guess it’s pretty cool being one of the first. It’s hard, especially growing up as a first gen immigrant to be an artist, because my parents worked so hard and sacrificed so much for me to have a good life here, and being an artist is risky, because I don’t want to invalidate all their sacrifices. I’m honestly still learning how to deal with the guilt of being an artist that comes with this, but I am eternally grateful that I have the privilege of making and pursuing art.

WOW what an answer! Love every word. Lastly, we end all our interviews with this question - if you could say one thing to every person in the world, what would it be?

Swag.

THANKS SO MUCH ANNIKA! MAKE SURE TO KEEP UP WITH HER ON INSTAGRAM, SPOTIFY OR APPLE MUSIC.