Artist Of The Week #129 - Anna Sofia
This week’s Artist of the Week is Toronto based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anna Sofia - who has just released her new EP ‘Broken Perfection’. The EP sees her taking an old school nineties vibe and pushing it into the future with her twenty-first century genre-bending style where there are no boundaries. She took a moment to talk to us about the release.
Hey Anna, how are you? The EP is out now, how does it feel?
I'm excellent now that this EP is out. It’s the best feeling ever when you can finally share what you’ve been working on day and night. This is definitely one of my favourite bodies of music I have made so far so I was really eager to get these songs out.
The title of the EP is ‘Broken Perfection’ - does that hold a certain meaning to you?
The title of the EP sorta describes everything in life in my opinion. Nobody will ever be perfect, nothing will ever be done perfectly, and all together I believe perfect isnt even a thing. That's where I came up with the idea of “Broken Perfection” . I basically wanted to explain that everything is “Broken Perfection” because perfect is impossible.
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the recording process you are happy to share with us?
Most of the EP was written and recorded at my producer Jeff Hazin’s studio except for “Over You”, “Happy For You”, and “Either Way”. Jeff and I went out to LA to work with some amazing people such as Westen Weiss, Jeff Kleinman, Cici Ward, and Tim Atlas for these three songs. It was a crazy fun experience and Jeff and I have so many fun memories from these sessions. I think my favourite memory was at Jeff Kleinman’s house when he was recording the piano part to “Either Way” while I was in the kitchen trying to be as quiet as possible making a cream cheese bagel. I still remember that bagel it was probably one of the best bagels I've ever had in my life.
What are the key influences and themes on the EP?
When planning this EP my mind was so set on a funk vibe with my own modern twist. I am a HUGE fan of that funky groove and thought a body of music dedicated to that sound would be really fun to create. Artists and bands like Elton John, Queen, and Michael Jackson really inspired me sonically with this EP. I always loved the fact that their music was so incredibly musical and took me on such a magical journey. They made me wanna explore their world sonically with my own touch.
You have said ‘I don’t want to have to try and hide anything from anyone’ - so do you consider your music to be honest? Being yourself so to speak?
I never want to hide anything from anyone because I think people need all the pieces of my puzzle to get to know me better and feel a sense of comfort through me. I also want to be as authentic as possible so people can relate to me because we are all humans that make a million mistakes and deal with many things in life. I think people watching me through a screen isnt enough and that's why I leaned on music to do that job. I promised to stay as real as possible with my lyrics so my listeners can view me as a friend they can relate to and I believe I have really stayed true to that promise.
Music came to you early in life, taking up dance at the age of two and piano when you were four - what are your earliest musical memories? What sort of music did you grow up on?
I was always surrounded by music through my dance classes, piano, and singing. My favourite and earliest musical memory is definitely my car rides with my dad though. My dad had me growing up with acts such as Electric Light Orchestra, Elvis, The Clash and MANY more. I think that really influenced my music taste because I have such a strong passion for acts before my time.
There is a story involving you and the song ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ - can you tell us a bit more about that?
The “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” performance was my very first time singing in front of a real audience. I was performing in a Celtic dance recital and my coach needed to fill five minutes of the show. I offered to sing to fill that spot and she accepted my offer. I went home and told my parents that I was singing in my Celtic dance recital and they were really surprised because I never sang before in front of a real audience and they didn't know I wanted to. After that performance I knew I really had no interest in doing anything but performing.
Now the EP is out there - what next?
We are already in the writing process of our third project which has been a great experience so far. My band and I have been rehearsing all my new music for when it’s safe to finally perform again. That is something I miss so much!!!!!