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Singer-Songwriter Anna Dellaria: Use Your Darkest Moments to Get Stronger and More in Tune with Yourself

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Anna Dellaria

Singer-songwriter Anna Dellaria does not back down from darkness. Instead, she turns it into light, joining powerful vocals with lyrical catharsis. She believes that our darkest moments can be used as fuel for becoming stronger, powerful, and more in tune with ourselves. Her approach has garnered her the spotlight after a lifetime dedicated to the craft.

Anna studied at USC’s Thornton School of Music devoting ten hours a day to hone her voice.  It was through the school’s program, that she caught the attention of industry icons and early supporters Lenny Waronker and Rob Cavallo. She also performed alongside John Fogerty, Chaka Khan, and others.

The iPhone demo of her song “Bolder” aired in the season finale of TV Land’s ‘Younger’.  This resulted in a flurry of inquires and partnerships with Apple Music and Shazam for a formal release.  Her music has also been featured on television and film as well as on Nickelodeon, HBO, and other networks.

Anna released her latest single, “Sorry Doesn’t Work”, in February and to this date, has accumulated over 64K streams. She is planning on releasing new music by the end of May.

I recently interviewed Anna via email about the success of her latest single, getting her song demo song “Bolder” aired on ‘Younger’, her songwriting process, the biggest challenge in her music career so far, and much more.

Congratulations on the release of your latest single, “Sorry Doesn’t Work.”  What is the story behind the song?

Thank you! “Sorry Doesn’t Work” really just grapples with the reality that sometimes we can’t “fix” everything.  It’s not quite an answer to anything, as much as it really just begs the question “is there any way I can help heal or take back what I did wrong”.

Your critically acclaimed previous single, “Baggage” was very successful. What have you learned from the experience of increased streams?

Thank you! It’s always really encouraging when songs resonate with listeners and are the main goal when sharing music: the hope that’ll it’ll connect with people. 

Take me through the strategy for achieving that many digital streams and landing that many editorial playlist features for the song. If you didn’t have a strategy, how were you able to accomplish this?

The editorial love really came with “I Choose Me”, which was one of the debut singles.  As a whole,

I think releasing music that connects with curators and listeners is really the only “strategy” I can think of.  I’m glad that the music continues to connect, and I am grateful for all of the support! 


Explain your production process.

It kind of happens one of two ways.  Either I’ll have started a demo on my own, with the song pretty much written, or I’ll go into a collaborative writing session in which we create something new start to finish. 

Through the program you were in at USC’s Thornton School of Music, you caught the attention of early supporters and industry icons Lenny Waronker and Rob Cavallo while also performing alongside John Fogerty, Chaka Khan, and more.  Explain how you got their attention and how you got the performing opportunities.

Really grateful to have had their support and appreciative of their mentorship! Through my music program, they were able to discover my original music, and offer me advice and mentorship.

After your debut single, “Sudden”, you had on your iPhone a demo of your song “Bolder” which aired on the season finale of TV Land’s “Younger”.  How did this come about? And why was it an iPhone demo?

The supervisor of the show had heard the song and decided it fit with the ending scene in the season finale.  The composer that produced the song was apart of some music for the show, and had sent the demo I initially recorded as an example that I assume they felt strongly enough about to just leave the original recording in!

Building on the previous question, your song placement on the TV show led to inquiries and partnerships with Shazam and Apple Music for a formal release of the song.  Can you tell us more about that?

Because it was completely unplanned when the song aired, it was a bit chaotic haha.  I was on a train to San Diego when I had recorded the voice memo for deadline purposes, and so when it aired both

the producer and I were shocked (and excited) to find that a lot of viewers were eager for the full song and to find out who was behind it. 

 I think that commotion and number of inquiries asking where it originated fired off Shazam to figure out who had created it.  I received an email from them asking to know more about release dates, info, etc. and that initiated the formal release of the “Bolder”.

What do you attribute to your success in getting your songs featured across television and film including HBO and Nickelodeon?

I think just being open to opportunities and also a love for melodies of all kinds! It’s been really fun to work as not just an artist but creative in these new spaces.

How did it feel to sing during a national campaign for Ethan Allen during the 2018 Academy Awards?

Also a bit unexpected! I’m grateful for the opportunity and it was definitely fun to experiment with a sound way out of what I would normally do.

What has been your biggest challenge so far in your music career and how did you overcome it?

I’ve found the biggest challenge to be keeping “blinders” on and quieting outside voices.  It’s easy to get wrapped up or blindsided by other people’s ideas or thoughts on the music and the industry as a whole.

It’s been helpful to reconnect with my “why” I got into music and the feeling that comes when I sit down at a piano to sing with no expectations.

 

Take me through your songwriting process.

Generally, I’ll start on the piano with a melody or feeling in my head.  Often times it almost feels like the song is already there and I just have to pick out the parts to put it together.  I know which chords I want and where the melody needs to go.   I’ll generally mumble some words or ideas that I later flesh out as a concept.

Explain what you mean by turning darkness into light in your music?

I’m a big believer in using our darkest moments as fuel for getting stronger, bigger, powerful, and more in tune with ourselves.

Real growth comes from rising up from failure or hardship and I’ve found the process in which we do that really defines who we are and can empower us more than hurt us.


What is your favorite microphone or instrument to perform with and why?

My dream microphone is a Telefunken U47 for the tone and depth it offers for my voice.  A lot of vocals today are pretty compressed and can be stylized to sound small, but I love a big dynamic vocal and I think the Telefunken does a great job of that.  My go-to instrument is piano because it’s my primary instrument and feels most at home.

How do you think women indie artists can be better supported in the industry?

Lifting each other up is so important.  Whether simply sharing new music by other womxn artists, or collaborating, etc. 

I think the biggest thing is creating awareness and also by offering more opportunities to femxle indie artists and providing more platforms for them to share their work.

Equal pay for all womxn would be nice though too. 

What projects do you have planned for this year?

New music coming by the end of May!

Thank you, Anna, for the opportunity to interview you.

 

You can connect with Anna on  Spotify Artist Profile | Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

 

Anna Dellaria – Sorry Doesn’t Work | Music Human Sessions

Featured Artist of the Day: Hannah Scott

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Indie Music Women’s Artist of the Day is…

Hannah Scott (@hannahscottuk)

Hannah’s music has been played regularly on the BBC with releases supported by Dermot O’Leary and Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2 and Tom Robinson on 6 Music. She’s also been featured by MOJO, The Guardian and Clash Magazine. Recent live highlights include opening for Madeleine Peyroux to an audience of 2000 at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and travelling across Ireland with Paddy Casey to open shows for him in Dublin and in a tiny Irish speaking village near Galway!

Her arresting live performances have also earned her support slots for artists including Seth Lakeman, Cara Dillon, and 10cc and she has twice travelled to New York festival “Mondo NYC”, receiving PRS Foundation funding and running a successful crowdfunding campaign to fund the trips.

Shape is the first single from her forthcoming Help Musicians-funded album. The song showcases her powerful and personal storytelling, recounting how her maternal Grandmother refused to accept her Mother’s choice of husband, Hannah’s Father, threatening never to speak to her again should she marry him and staying true to her word for twenty years.

Expertly combining organic, live elements with electronic sounds, Hannah and Stefano have struck a perfect balance between her traditional songwriting craft and his unique cinematic production.

Hannah shared with me what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:

“I describe myself as fiercely independent. I love that the music industry today has space and opportunity for everyone who is prepared to work hard. I hope to be a woman in the industry at a time where it’s becoming clear that men have long dominated it and times are going to change. I love speaking to younger girls and women after my performances who tell me they have been inspired to make music after hearing me.”

You can hear Hannah’s new single, Shape, on the Indie Music Women’s Spotify Playlist.

Featured Artists of the Day: LÖNA

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LÖNA

Indie Music Women’s Artist of the Day is…

LÖNA (@lonamusiclona)

A journey through the cold landscape in Iceland at the end of 2018 brought the inseparable twin sisters Madelon and Danielle Bruinhof inspiration. The shared love for dark pop music forms the basis, with icy synth sounds and wide echoing guitars flowing through the music as a common thread. The electropop duo came up with the name LÖNA in Iceland, which means valuable in Swedish. The twins are therefore inspired by northern acts such as Björk, Vök and pop artist Tove Lo. After the Iceland trip, the twins immediately went into the studio with producer Marg van Eenbergen (Ben Forte, Dési Ducrot, Cordon Rouge), where songs with feminist hues and personal stories were created.

On February 8, 2019, the first single “Stars Align” was released, including a video clip recorded in the rugged landscape near Reykjavik. The song has been picked up by Spotify and has reached more than 15,000 streams. The second single called ‘Lost In This Lie’ was released on June 20, 2019. This single is about a personal experience with anxiety and depression. The third single “I Never Wanna See You Again” was released on November 8, 2019, with an intriguing video clip that was recorded in an old and abandoned theater. The debut EP will be released in September 2020 with songs on topics such as slut-shaming and LGBT representation.

Madelon and Danelle shared with me what it means to them to be indie music women artists:

“We think women kick ass as much as men do. Women are good at making music, but sometimes get unfortunately less opportunities than men. So for us it is very important to be a woman in music and to be ambitious.”

You can hear Lona’s single, “I Never Wanna See You Again” on the IMW Spotify Playlist.

Exclusive Premiere and Interview: Lucie and The Perfect Wave Release Acoustic Cover of The Cure’s ‘Lovesong’

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Lovesong – Cover Art

 

Lucie and The Perfect Wave have released their beautiful acoustic cover of The Cure’s classic ‘Lovesong‘.  Their version is a beautiful slow-burning soundscape of calming, ethereal acoustic guitars entwined with Lucie’s compassionate and stirring vocals. 

The cover of ‘Lovesong‘ took two years from the time Lucie first heard Adele’s version to creating an original interpretation herself, then ultimately deciding to release it, and recording the song in one live take.

Lucie explains that for her, the song is more of a love letter to ourselves as women, that talks about deep spiritual transformation.

I recently interviewed Lucie Lynch about the story behind covering ‘Lovesong’, the production process, the arrangement of the song, and much more.

What is the story behind the making of this cover of The Cure’s ‘Lovesong’?
When I was about 18 years old I was a very big THE CURE fan. While trying to figure out this thing called LIFE their songs guided me along the way. I very vividly remember driving to school in my small green car singing along with my self-made mixtape of my favorite THE CURE songs. “Boys don’t cry, Friday I am in love, Pictures of you and Just like in heaven” were some of my favorite tunes to match my emotional state in those days. There was something so sweet and melancholic about their music that just resonated on a very deep level. They were the perfect soundtrack to my roller coaster of emotions.
Then everything changed and cassettes disappeared and the CD became the new medium. I changed. I started listening to female artists like Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morrisette, Jewel, Amanda Marshall and put THE CURE on the back burner for a long time.
About 2 years ago I stumbled across a Lovesong cover sung by Adele and there was something so sweet about it and it hit home. But not in a romantic kind of love way.

I felt like it was a love letter to ourselves as women. That was why I decided to cover this song with Lucie and The Perfect Wave.


Usually, we only play our original songs, but there was something about this song that was different to me and I wanted to give it a try.
Why did it take two years from the time you heard Adele’s version of “Lovesong” by The Cure, to release a cover of it?  

I think there is a combination of reasons. I believe things have their very own time and my lesson in the last couple of years was really that I needed to stop pushing and rushing and chasing.

We actually started playing the song right away after I heard this beautiful version but did not immediately consider releasing it. We were busy recording and releasing our first EP “Alive” with our original music first and on top of that got swept away in a production with a Japanese Label called DREAMUSIC, where we recorded our own version of the famous J-pop hit song “Tegami” by Angela Aki, translated into English and Hawaiian

That track is part of a Compilation CD “Aloha & Mahalo” which debuted at #1 on Amazon.jp. The original plan was to be part of the Olympics this year, which is now completely on hold because of the worldwide crisis around COVIC 19.

What is it about the song that moves you so deeply? 

To me, Lovesong talks about a deep spiritual transformation as women, especially as we become more independent from unfulfilling and toxic relationships, and find a way to truly fall in love with ourselves and who we are.

  When I sing this song I feel like I am singing it with so much compassion for myself and am actually talking to my inner child.

The truth is if I am spending time with myself and allow myself to be playful, curious and open I am reaching a higher state of love for the world and myself and everyone around me.   

To me, this song is also about forgiveness. Even if I sometimes move away from my higher self and I can not seem to find my way, I can still love myself. And even if I sometimes am thinking less of myself and am not able to find words of encouragement I can always still chose to love myself. 

Explain your production process for the song. 

Since we already played the song live for quite a while, we were pretty tight and prepared when we went into the studio. We recorded it live in one take!

Unlike the original version, your cover is a slow-burning soundscape of ethereal acoustic guitars entwined with your compassionate, stirring vocals. What factors went into deciding on the song’s arrangement?

We really wanted to do our own unique interpretation of this song that matches our sound – what you hear is just the way we feel this song. Even though the boys are super proficient technical musicians, our “process” is really much more about feeling our way. We’re lucky that we all love this stuff so much that

we can have really passionate discussions about what a song needs and are willing to make way for each song’s soul to shine through.

How do you hope “Lovesong” resonates with listeners? 

I hope that it inspires people to sit down for a moment and use it almost as a mini-meditation to get in touch with their inner world again. I am such a big believer that if we all would get more in touch with our self-love and self-compassion it would be so much easier to offer that to others as well.

There is that famous saying “Hurt people hurt people”, and I would rather say it this way instead: “People who can love themselves can love others”.

I hope this song can provide a moment of peace and stillness especially in times like this where there is so much uncertainty for all of us as a global community.

Certain sounds and music have the ability to get us into a deep state of relaxation, where emotional states such as fear, anxiety, loneliness, and grief can be soothed and lifted.

Michael’s slack-key guitar is like a calm ocean. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to share our version of “Lovesong” with the world and am trusting that it will resonate with the perfect audience.

Thank you, Lucie, for the opportunity to interview you!

Connect with Lucie and the Perfect Wave:  Spotify | Instagram | Facebook

You can listen to ‘Lovesong’ below, on Indie Music Women’s Spotify Playlist , and on Lucie and the Perfect Wave’s  Spotify Artist Page.  

‘Lovesong’ is available on these major platforms:

 

Featured Artist of the Day: In Earnest

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In Earnest

Indie Music Women’s Artist of the Day is…

Sarah Holburn of In Earnest (@inearnestband)

In Earnest is fuelled by the dual songwriting of couple Sarah and Thomas in their bid to encourage open and honest conversation around mental health. Their storytelling is a dialogue from two perspectives; a call from one who feels too much and a response from the other who must plead for them to stay alive.

Hailing from Southend-on-Sea, In Earnest is made a trio by the inclusion of Toby, who enhances the pair’s songs with thoughtful decoration and numerous instruments. Forgoing prominent drums/percussion and favouring intelligent arrangements, the band experiment with how full-sounding their live set up can be.

Their forthcoming debut EP was devised by whittling 30+ song ideas down to just 6 tracks, in which they explore themes of hope vs hopelessness, desperation, loneliness and identity in their rawest form. With influences ranging from alt-rock to folk and black metal, In Earnest propel forward with their own brand of genre-bending indie.

Sarah shared with me what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:

“I’d love to share my story of struggles with mental health and encourage conversation around the topic. Song-writing is my main form of communication to people about how I feel, so it’s wonderful that an audience can hear what I have to say and begin to understand me.”

The first single from the EP, “Pull Me Under”, will be released on April 17

© 2020, Indie Music Women