The R’n’B Poltergeist

AnnaMelina has emerged on the Swedish music sky like a delicate apparition. Her airy, atmospheric songs and intriguing videos have been showing up unexpectedly on the internet and discreetly injecting slow R’n’B melodies into everybody’s heads.

 

 

 

Like a charming ghost, AnnaMelina tempts you into her world and then goes silent again. But this summer, that musical poltergeist will make a real statement at Stay Out West festival, performing alongside artists such as Patti Smith, Beck, Pet Shop Boys, Say Lou Lou, Courtney Barnett and Low Roar. With a record label and concerts lining up, she nevertheless remains a free spirit, insisting that, “The main reason for working with art is to make something from within. I keep the creative process very close to myself.”

What does being a free spirit mean to you?

“Always being more curious than judgemental, and not being afraid to strive for what you feel will make you happy. Finding a balance between awareness and just trusting your instinct.” Your videos for Tills Det Blir Lätt and Minnas emanate a feeling of certain solitude. Why do you repeat the motif of being alone, either among people or in nature? “I’m not trying to keep other people out or make it ‘lonely’. But my music, even though I write about love and relationships, is very personal and I want people who listen to it or watch it to feel connected in their own personal way. I guess I just want it all to feel very direct.”

In your song Minnas you talk about trying to get back to the person one is or used to be. How do you personally go about not losing your essence in the music world?

“It’s something you need to think about once in a while when you’re in the music world. Personally, I just want to make sure the only fuel [I need] is how high I get from making music and not something else around it. I feel that I’ve haven’t ever come close to compromising that. Minnas was written more out of a personal conflict than about staying sane in the music industry.”

We hear you are going to play at Way Out West. How does that feel?

“Very good. It’s great to be part of a well-known event that has so many amazing people involved. I feel really excited about the Stay Out West concept, which creates room for different kinds of artists and extends the festival in different club scenes around the area. I’m looking forward to it.”

 

 

We hear you are going to play at Way Out West. How does that feel?

“Very good. It’s great to be part of a well-known event that has so many amazing people involved. I feel really excited about the Stay Out West concept, which creates room for different kinds of artists and extends the festival in different club scenes around the area. I’m looking forward to it.”

aw_855_0001_290-1Where do you want your free spirit to take you next?

“I would like it to take me to be more experienced and to mature as a person and an artist, combined with new adventures and insights. I feel like I want to have a lot of fun at the moment and I feel very open to new things.”

Your video to Minnas was made in Costa Rica. Was it a kind of spiritual trip for you to go there?

“At this time in my life I really needed sleep and calm. It was the absolutely perfect place for that. I got inspired mostly by being close to nature. The tide and the moon had a great effect on me, and it was nice to feel so strongly that I am a part of the planet.”

 

Credits:

Way Out West, Slottsskogen, Gothenberg, August 13-15

Words by Weronika Pérez Borjas

Photographer: Anti Wendel

Styling by Fiffi Jenkins

Make & hair: Rosanna Osorio Clavijo

Fashion Credits:

1. Top & skirt by Sweet SKTBS, Slippers by UGG

2. Jacket by Minimarket

3. Top by Whyred

4. Cape by Stutterheim

5. Top By Ann Sophie Back

6. Coat by Junkyard XX-YY, Jumpsuit by Stylein, Shoes by & Other Stories

7. Jacket by Sweet SKTBS