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Norway's Anna of the North to perform in PH for first time

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Leah C. Salterio

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Anna of the North. Handout" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/entertainment/09/29/20230929-anna-of-the-north.jpg"/><figcaption>Anna of the North. Handout</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA -- The last name of Norwegian singer-songwriter Anna of the North – Lotterud – is a bit difficult to pronounce and even harder to remember. Hence, when Anna eventually decided to venture into the international music scene professionally, she opted to be known as Anna of the North, paying tribute to Norway, the place where she was born and raised.“To some extent, when I started, people had their eyes on Norway and started slowly looking at Norway,” Anna told ABS-CBN News in a virtual interview. “There’s a lot of people who don’t know much about Norway. It’s not a city in Sweden.“People started slowly looking more to Norway and opening their eyes to the country. There’s so much stuff in Norway. People started to get interested about Norway. That made me probably more interesting.”Setting her sights into music started even when she was still young. “When I was probably 1o years old, I always pretended I was a musician,” Anna admitted. “I would always sing and do music videos. I didn’t realize how much music was in the world.“I grew up and kept on writing and singing. Eventually, I went on to take graphic design, because that was a more obvious road.“I went to Melbourne [Australia] to do my bachelor and I met a lot of creative people. I found a music environment. That was what sparked to start my career. It made me understand that I could put my music out and do music much more than I did.“My songs got thousands of streams and I got mail from some industry people. That convinced me. Alright, let’s just do it.”Anna understandably faced challenges in her music journey and she bravely dealt with all that. “Writing an album is super hard,” she admitted. “You are always scared. With creative stuff, you’ll never know. That is not like math, where there is an answer. In music, you only follow what feels right to you.“Just last summer, we were playing in Bergen, a city in Norway, and there was something wrong with the mixers. Five minutes before I went onstage, it started raining really hard. Four songs in, there were lightning, thunder and water.“Even if you want to put on a really great show, those things were natural. You can’t put on a great show. Fans got sad, I got sad.”<div>Evolution of music</div>Her musical style has definitely evolved since she started her career in 2014.“I feel like everything I do comes from an organic perspective of how I’ve been brought up and what I’ve been listening to do while I was growing up,” Anna asserted. “So I do think to what extent I never really knew what I wanted to make.“I do definitely think I was inspired by my dad and his music and all the &#x27;80s music. I kind of always listen to indie music. The way I’ve led my life and the way I listen to music growing up. I do try to find inspiration to evolve and expand my music. “I think the most important is to make music that feels natural to me, like wearing clothes or how you use clothes that feels like it’s a way you’re expressing yourself. I guess it’s the same thing, making music that feels like another part of me.”The Norwegian artist, whose music is often described as “intricate, soul-crushing electronic pop,” has released three albums and an EP (extended play).To date, she has worked with some of the big international artists such as Dua Lipa, Tyler the Creator, Rex Orange County, Steve Lacy, Prep, Honne, Snake Hips and Alina Baraz.“I did a remix for Dua Lipa, but didn’t get to personally meet her,” shared Anna. “But it was a cool opportunity. She’s an amazing artist and I’m a big fan.”Two of Anna’s biggest and most streamed hits, “Lover” and “Dream Girl,” were part of the soundtrack of the global Netflix smash, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and its sequel, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever.”<div>On tour</div>Anna will go on tour this month. She will perform songs from her latest album, “Crazy Life,” along with notable hits from her previous releases and collaborations.Before Anna stages her Manila concert on Friday, September 29, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Newport World Resorts, she performed in Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, Australia and most recently in Tokyo, Japan.“I’m hoping that my first time in the Philippines will be a great success,” Anna said. “I can’t wait to try even Filipino food.“There’s so much interesting stuff to see and food to taste. We don’t have much time, so I have to do all quickly. You need to send me good recommendations.“We will have a lot of fun. I’m just super excited to play for Filipinos and show everybody a good moment. I’ve done what I want people to know about me. I’m a nice person. Don’t be scared.”<div>Musical influences</div>Anna has a number of musical influences from the time she was young. “I listened a lot to [singer-musician] Eva Cassidy and I am listening to her again now,” she said. “She has been like my local teacher. I was singing along to her when I was young. “There are so many good artists out there, like the English pop-rock band 1975, English indie pop musician Japanese House [a.k.a. Amber Mary Bain] and English singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Rex Orange County [Alexander James O’Connor].“I really listened to much music. Recently, I’ve been listening a lot, especially the ‘80s music which my dad played to me when I was young.”She did a cover of Cassidy’s “Autumn Leaves” and also reimagined Cher’s “Believe.” Naturally, Anna’s creative process in writing songs has also evolved through the years.“I spent a lot of time working with a couple of people and we’d like to go into the depth of the songwriting and production,” Anna said. “To get what I really wanted to make this album. It’s story and you can play the entire album like it’s a part of your day.“Like my ‘Dream Girl’ album, some songs were more different than the other songs. That’s definitely one way we want to work on this new album.”Anna’s music has resonated with her international audience. “I feel a get a lot of messages from people who really appreciate my music,” Anna admitted. “Somewhere out there, some people need to hear my songs and need those songs in their lives.“That’s the most beautiful thing to connect with people around the world. I’m really lucky to have people who appreciate my music. I’m writing more music now. So, there will be more music.&quot;

When Anna Lotterud decided to venture into the international music scene professionally, she opted to be known as Anna of the North, paying tribute to Norway, the place where she was born and raised.