Exclusive Channel Sounds Interview with Annika Grace on "Chasing Clouds", Healing, & Creative Communities
Annika Grace is a Venice Beach, California-based artist with a strong poetic power that allows her to write lyrics that are relatable, raw, and unfiltered. First and foremost, as a poet, this singer/songwriter is able to transform structures of poetry into verses and choruses that become intriguing and charismatic singles. After growing up between three different cities—Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles—a lot of her inspiration and influences come from the changes of scenery and experiences she has had in each that allows her to create an interesting melange of tracks in her catalog.
Her music is extremely moody; in fact, it’s much like pop music that was coated with a dark R&B blanket to bring out the sultry and mellow undertones of her sound making her an addition to the sad-girl club! In her recent release “Chasing Clouds”, it’s a melancholy song on the era of “clout chasers” we live in today. It’s a playful melody like Bea Miller‘s music, accompanied by an enigmatic tone. She also released the accompanying music video that plays well with the mystery and lucid-dream-styled atmosphere that she designed for the song. You can watch it below.
In addition to her own artistry, she is also an event producer and founder of her house concert series Saturdays at Seven’ where she showcases emerging artists. She calls this a “home for creatives to come together”, which we really support and love!
We’re excited to share our interview with her here for you!
Here is our interview:
Neelu Mohaghegh [NM]: What is your favorite part of the songwriting process?
Annika Grace [AG]: “My favorite part is when that initial idea comes to you and you run with it. For me, when I’m writing a song I’m really in love with, it’s all that I’m thinking about throughout the day and I’ll keep writing and adding to a notes page in the most random places like while grocery shopping and that for me is always exciting to see where it goes. I think also my favorite is being vulnerable, whether it be in a co-writing session or by yourself, I feel I discover a lot more about myself and life in general while writing. It gives me another perspective and helps me work through things.”
[NM]: When you wrote "Chasing Clouds" how did the inspiration behind "clout chasers" hit you, and how did that compel you to write a song about it?
[AG]: “I wrote chasing clouds with three friends in a New York apartment. We got together and just started ranting about cancel culture and the society we live in today with 15-minute fame and how it seems to lack substance and longevity. I grew up in LA so I have been surrounded by a lot of that toxicity since a young age. I feel like we are so obsessed with getting a K or M next to our follower count, we base our self-worth off of it. We chase whomever can get us to the next step, but it’s ironic that those people are chasing someone else to get ahead as well and the ladder goes on. In the end, everyone’s really chasing something you can’t grasp, like clouds.”
[NM]: How has music served as your channel to express yourself?
[AG]: “I was really shy growing up and can be in some ways still, so it’s always been a platform for me to say anything I’m too scared to say out loud. My music is basically like a personal diary.”
[NM]: What inspired you to start "Saturdays at Seven"?
[AG]: “I started Saturdays because I always wanted to find a community of artists and creatives in Venice and I hadn’t yet, so I thought why not just build my own. It started with me just asking my friends to play in my backyard because I wanted a space for us all to share our projects and help each other out, and it grew to what is it today. I’ve always loved house concerts and also going to networking events and meeting new people, so I combined both and made it feel a lot more comfortable than say a bar, because it’s on my patio in Venice Beach.”
[NM]: What is your detour? Something you do outside of music that is yours like a passion project, a hobby, a fun fact, or something people might not know about you?
[AG]: “I am really into poetry! I kinda geek out about my favorite poems and poets. My whole room is full of poetry books. My love for songwriting and music actually came from my love for poetry. I’d say my passion project would be the poetry book I’ve been writing for the past three years. I’m hoping to get it published in 2021 so fingers crossed! It’s called ‘Remedies’ since I also am super passionate about health and homeopathy and I wanted to combine both since I think poetry can be a remedy and heal in some ways.”
[NM]: Do you have any projects that are coming up that fans should be excited about?
[AG]: “Yes! I have a bunch of songs ready to go for next year so keep an eye out for that! Also there will be a music video coming out soon for ‘Chasing Clouds’! I also just launched the Saturdays at Seven YouTube Channel where we are posting live recorded sets of our favorite artists and also our blog where we are doing reviews on new music!”
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Thanks, Annika! We’re excited to hear the new projects!!