Behind The Track: Annahstasia

Our Soho Rising platform uncovers emerging talent in the music industry through a series of performances around our Houses, giving members the opportunity to experience the stars of the future before everyone else. Previous artists featured include Arlo Parks, Flo, Gabriels, Griff, Holly Humberstone, Joy Crookes, and Kojey Radical. And, most recently, singer and member Annahstasia toured our North American Houses throughout June, with the last of her performances held at Soho House Chicago. 

Annahstasia, whose father is Nigerian and mother is from Wisconsin, is a self-proclaimed ‘Valley girl’ who was born and raised in Los Angeles. As a self-taught singer-songwriter, she developed her style through an appreciation for complex vocalists such as Bill Withers, Nina Simone and Janis Joplin. Her first solo release EP Sacred Bull in 2019 was an experiment that she made independently, and since then she’s opened for Lenny Kravitz on the European leg of his Raise Vibration tour, and is currently working on her debut album, Tether.

At the end of the tour, we caught up with her at Soho House Chicago to discuss her new song, ‘Evergreen’. Like most of Annahstasia’s music, it was produced in a delicate folk style. After working on the track a few years ago – which was born out of a past break-up – and trying ‘many iterations’, it wasn’t until she arrived at the final version that it was right for her. ‘I do my best to emulate what it is to experience my music live in the studios,’ she explains. The singer uses the creative process as a means to express, soothe and heal her soul. ‘Hopefully, you actually receive the benefit of what I receive when I sing to myself,’ she says. As such, her music is made with a real consideration for the listener. 

Surprisingly, she rarely writes her lyrics down. Instead, her process is more about feeling and being with the song as she makes it, hence the many changes to ‘Evergreen’ before the single was released. ‘My music is meant to be sat with,’ she says. ‘It’s not background music. It’s not escapist music. It’s very human music.’ 

For Annahstasia, creative expression is stirred by a dream-like intuition, which she relates back to her younger self. ‘The way I see things is very cinematic,’ she explains, reflecting on her childhood through which she was often enthralled in fantasy and romanticism. 

With so much creative depth and talent, this is clearly just the beginning for Annahstasia. So, whether you’re already a fan or new to her music, watch this space. 

Watch the previous Behind The Track video here with SuperJazzClub