Phone a Friend: Advice from somegirlnamedanna.

"I wrote 'California' about someone I loved and wanted to send an invitation to come see me if he ever heard the song - so this was written more like a letter. However, songs like 'Abandonment' and 'Kitchen Table' are much more like bottles thrown into the ocean - you write something incredibly personal and throw it out there into the world. If someone finds it and it can help them get through something similar, then I think that’s what those songs are meant for," says Minnesota-born somegirlnamedanna about her conversational lyrics and songwriting technique.

Discovering her first love of music at the age of four or five thanks to the antique grand piano conveniently situated in her family's living room ("Apparently the piano was left at the house when my parents bought it, and it was that magical door to my everlasting journey with music. I would reach up and play little jingles I heard, and I always went here when I felt sad. Just playing the old keys, out of tune but imperfectly perfect, brought me so much peace from a young age"), Anna cites literary role models as having been an important influence. "I have always indulged in stories with fantasy worlds and quirky characters - writers like Lewis Carroll and E.B. White taught me the power of storytelling and having an imaginative mind when I was young, so I wrote stories with similar concepts on the hour long bus ride to and from school everyday. I came across poets like Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost in my pre-teens and I soon became fascinated with how poetry was written as well. I actually wanted to be an author for most of my upbringing, but discovering music inevitably was going to drive me to meld the two together. Now I see the two as analogous, as both books and music can take us to the same place of curiosity and imagery - and they’re both as important. When we’re going through such a hard time together this year it’s really important to have these outlets where we can unplug."

And of the candid 'abandonment', which features on her debut EP, 'twenty one, twenty two', Anna confides: "I was going through a dark spell mentally, and normally I would manage it by using writing as an escapism (a beautiful tool for escaping a problem, but not so much for actually dealing with it) and I had recently written 'Kitchen Table' - the second song I had ever written about my actual life. After my parent’s divorce I had seen a therapist twice, both times not saying anything, and I realised six years later that the pain developing in my heart had bubbled up so much I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Writing this was so important to me not only because I was able to unlock the vault to all of the hurt I had let build up for years, but because it inspired me to go back to therapy and open up about mental health. Our mental health is so important, and it’s not embarrassing or weak to go get help for it - I hope to see popular culture continue to normalise conversations about it."

Continuing to spend most of the rest of 2020 in her hometown ("spending time with my friends and family and animals on the farm - as being home has brought me a lot of solace this year"), Anna presents some advice from her song titles below...

A FEW KIND WORDS TO THOSE TWENTY ONE GOING ON TWENTY TWO:

'hello i am' - Stay true to yourself and always be unapologetically you.

'monday' - You should probably end that relationship that you’ve been stringing along, start saving your money, and go to the gym... But it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if you waited until Monday to do it...

'seriously just stop' - If you’re not being treated right, then remember your worth and that you deserve to be respected. It’s okay to just say "dude... stop" and move on with your life.

'abandonment' - Sometimes you have to be brave with love even through your fears of it not working out. Life is about taking risks.

'california' - Long-distance can be hard when you love someone, but see it as an opportunity to work on yourself. You never know what the future holds, but you can control your own life right now.

'kitchen table' - Appreciate your roots, where you came from and remember to give a hug to your loved ones.

'green' - It's great to take time off, but you've also gotta get that green. Work hard to play hard.

'real people' - Don't spend too much time obsessing over social media, find the real people in your life and put your time and energy there.

'humans will be human' - Don’t be a Karen. Love everyone for their beautiful differences because if we all looked and acted the same, this world would be an incredibly boring place. Be a lover, not a hater.

'in case i die' - We all have a list of things we want to do before we go. Make them realities, because we only have one life!

Listen to somegirlnamedanna's debut 'twenty one, twenty two' EP here and watch the music video for 'seriously just stop' below: