There’s a particular honesty to Anna Karila that arrives before she has even sung a word. The 19-year-old Teesside singer-songwriter, who takes her stage name from the Swedish translation of her middle name – a nod to her Viking roots – spent years performing cover songs before stepping into her own sound with ‘Sweet’, a reflective track about what we lose when we stop allowing ourselves to feel. Joanna Long caught up with Anna ahead of her next shows in the North East.
When did you first know music was going to be more than a hobby?
I’d always been doing cover gigs, which I enjoyed, but I never really thought I could be a songwriter. Then I was asked to play Stockton Calling and I didn’t really have any original songs. I wrote ‘Sweet’, and suddenly I thought, this actually sounds like something. I felt like I’d found a songwriting identity that was a bit different – something that felt unique to me. That was a really nice feeling.
‘Sweet’ is described as a commentary on hardening our softer sides to survive. Where did that idea come from?
I wrote it in about half an hour. I’d moved into a new area and sometimes you have to grow a thicker skin when everything is new. I’ve always been quite a sensitive person, and I felt like I lost a little bit of that. I don’t think we live in a world that rewards softness or gentleness, and I wrote about that frustration – about feeling like I’d lost that part of myself.
The song has a real vulnerability. What’s happening in that second half?
I think the end of the song is about acceptance. In the chorus my idea was to reclaim that niceness and sweetness, but by the end of the song you’re kind of like…yeah, I’m just a bit of a bitch now. Sometimes you just have to accept it, don’t you?
The production is completely stripped back, just you and a guitar. Was that always the intention?
I’ve played this song at all my original gigs, and I wanted it to sound authentic to how I perform it live. I play guitar right-handed, but I’m actually left-handed, so I sometimes feel my guitar doesn’t sound as strong when I strum. Because of that I tend to lean more towards fingerpicking, and it suits the sound of the music better too.
You were pretty terrified before releasing it, by the sounds of things…
It feels very egotistical to say “This is good enough to put out into the world.” I kept thinking people would be watching and wondering, “Who does she think she is?” I was full of self-doubt. But I think every good thing that has ever happened to me has come from being brave. I also put a lot of work into it. I knew that what I’d written felt right for me at the time, without any expectation of what it might achieve. I wrote it for myself, and that made it easier.
You cite Fiona Apple, Courtney Love, Joni Mitchell and Lana Del Rey as influences. That’s quite a range. Where do you sit on that spectrum?
I can jump from pure peace to raging anger in a few seconds, and that probably expresses itself in my music. I’ve listened to Hole since I was 14 – they’re one of my favourite bands. Courtney’s anger is definitely in there, even if it doesn’t sound quite as aggressive. Fiona Apple is just pure intensity. I try to tap into that energy, although maybe I’m not quite as… shouty. So people might not realise just how cross I am sometimes.
Finally, what comes next for Anna Karila?
I chose ‘Sweet’ because it really represents a big part of my identity as a songwriter. But what comes next will have a fuller production, with a few instruments I’m really excited about – including a banjo, which sounds really cool.
You can listen to Anna Karila’s debut single ‘Sweet’ now on all major streaming platforms.
