ANNA OF THE NORTH
Written for Sniffers, published in 2019
Photography: Me & Anna @ The Gucci Store Launch
Words: MJB
When Anna Lotterud made her way from Norway to Australia, she was directionless. She yearned for purpose and thought that studying abroad might help her find it. It did - she found her purpose in music, and when she returned back to Norway, she did so as Anna of the North. Once there, she uploaded a demo of ‘Sway’ to Soundcloud. In a serendipitous moment, I pressed play on the freshly released track from my bedroom back in Melbourne. I didn’t know of Anna of the North despite our recent proximity, the track had simply been recommended to me, based on some of my other favorite new finds - Kali Uchis, Kehlani, and Doja Cat. The calibre of these names is a testament to Soundcloud, who in 2014, was genuinely breaking artists. It was a time of deregulation and uncalculated virality - it was, in short, punk as fuck.
When Anna and I finally met on her Australian tour in 2017, it was immediately obvious that Melbourne had once been home to her. She knew where to turn, and how to move: she wasn’t a stranger; she didn’t fear the unknown. We ate burgers and ran around taking selfies at the new Gucci store launch. These were seemingly normal activities, considering she had recently released her debut album ‘Lovers’, and had just featured on Tyler the Creator’s tracks 'Boredom’ with Rex Orange County, and ‘911/Mr.Lonely’ with Frank Ocean and Steve Lacy.
In post-algorithm 2019, Anna and I cross paths again. Except now she has toured around the world playing festivals and her own shows. She’s released loads of music; she’s lived her life, and she’s grown up. There’s a melancholy about her now, which tells me that none of this is new anymore. While it’s a lot of the same; the players have evolved, and the platforms have changed. Anna admits that being an artist is a lot of hard work, and she’s learning–much like many others who found success in Soundcloud–that the truest hack to success in music, is to simply stick at it.
I’ve moved cities since I last saw you, but there’s a creative energy within the Melbourne scene there that I’ll always miss. What pushed you to pursue music once you were there?
In Norway, we have this thing called ‘janteloven’. Translated to english, it’s something like: you're nothing, until you actually are something. I met a lot of people in Melbourne who spoke about their passions, and of themselves as musicians, writers, painters - without really doing it professionally. If you make music in Norway, but still have a job, then you’re not really a musician. You are what you earn money from, so I never dared to talk about my dreams. I think that was the fault of ‘janteloven’, which didn't really exist [as a concept] in Melbourne.
Pop was still super glossy when you released ‘Sway’ in 2014. I vividly remember the alt-pop genre being slapped onto anything that had a ‘Majestic Casual’ feel to it. Did you feel like an outsider to the existing pop scene at the time?
I think I’ve always been an outsider to the pop world. I’m taking things really slowly and making the music I want to make. It's hard though. Things change, and genres come and go. Well, they don't even come and go anymore, they just go up and down in popularity. We live in a time where we can be inspired by different music genres, across every decade. Genres don’t really matter that much, because of technology.
It’s funny you say that because you came up during the advancement of streaming. It was wild! People were going rogue and uploading music to the masses themselves and social media was still on a pre-algorithm wave. How did you benefit from this open-source model?
I miss those days. Everything is so controlled now. Money and major labels always win, don't they? I was one of the artists that was really lucky. I remember getting messages from industry people asking who my team was, because they thought my marketing was so good. Except there was no marketing: it was just me, my music, and my graphic design degree.
We have to talk about your collaborations with Tyler the Creator. Tyler has had such a huge impact on modern pop culture. To have been on Flower Boy, to be in the same room, to perform on the same stages - that is a dream for so many artists. Is it surreal that you have experienced this, and to now call him a friend?
It was really cool to be part of that project. I’m really thankful that he featured me on ‘Boredom’ and ‘911/Mr. Lonely’. It’s made a huge impact on my career. He is a super-talented, creative, and awesome human being. I really look up to him.
Do you think your digital self is closer to fact or fantasy? Is it possible to present your most authentic self in a space where editing, curation, and censorship is possible?
Something in-between, I guess. Who knows who they are anymore? We are so influenced every day by other people, social media, commercials, posters, stores, and music. We’re not even aware of it - it's all in our subconscious.
Is it possible to demonstrate human emotions–such as empathy and love–in an online space? Do you think the internet makes us more connected, or does it make us more lonely?
It depends. If you already have a good social life offline, then it's a really good way to stay in touch, and strengthen the bond you already have [with people]. I travel a lot, and would be way lonelier without my phone. Or at least that is what I think, I haven’t tried the opposite. If you’re a person who hasn't established a good social life in the outside world, then I think the internet makes you feel more lonely.
Does vulnerability scare you?
Vulnerability can be the most powerful, and yet, most scary thing. It's just come to a point where I can't care that much anymore. I just try to focus on the good energy around me, and let that feed me.
As someone in the spotlight, do you feel pressure to stand for something? Do you aspire to use your platform, or feel obliged to?
I don't feel the pressure, but I do think we all should stand for something, and work towards it.
It’s difficult to ignore the world's issues surrounding climate change and global warming. As a young person, do you feel angst about the future?
I do. I think it's crazy how we–in a couple of decades–have managed to put our world in so much harm. We never thought about the consequences, and we’ve started a way of living that is so hard to turn away from. I don't eat too much meat, and I don't throw away food. I don't have a driver's license, so I guess that helps. I recycle, I thrift, I support Greenpeace. Even still, there is so much I could do. I feel torn. I don't know if I would want to have kids.
