October 23, 2020 – Today, Anna of the North releases her highly anticipated EP, Believe, which features five stripped-down tracks with a lo-fi and intimate aesthetic perfectly suited for slow dancing alone in your bedroom.
Consisting of celestial home made reworks of “Dream Girl” and “Lovers,” breathtaking new song “Someone Special,” and an ethereal cover of Cher’s “Believe,” the EP is rooted in heartfelt retrospection and nostalgia.
Opening with a cover of Bendik Baksaas band’s “Lover Ghost,” Anna gets sentimental and candid about an old flame over a delicate synth; on the balladic reworks, “Dream Girl” and “Lover,” Anna bears a similar longing for her ex loves. The title track is a cover of Cher’s “Believe,” which Anna used to play at the end of every show on tour and dance on stage, effectively closing each set with a dance party. With the inability to tour due to the pandemic, this cover serves as a tribute to that moment
. The final track, “Someone Special,” was written as borders were being shut down and Anna was forced to leave the US after touring stateside for a month. Inspired by the uncertainty and the unknowns, Anna assumes an optimistic perspective on the situation: “In the big picture we might feel insignificant, but you are always special to someone.”Anna is proving herself to be the queen of acoustic, and her homemade tracks are perfect for dreaming up your own reality.
On the inspiration behind Believe, Anna explains “this EP and the songs are very personal and inspired by the time we’re in right now. Every song was chosen cause they mean a lot to me, and have done for a very long time. ‘Lover Ghost’ was my jam when I moved to Australia all by myself and ‘Believe’ is my forever encore.
Me and my fans have been dancing to that song after every show. This whole thing is kind of a throwback journey and a tribute to my fans. And it makes it even more special that everything is recorded at home and my dad is playing the piano. Just like the old days. When we were jamming together.
Before I moved out, before Anna of The North was even a thing. Everything feels a bit weird and up in the air atm, and I just wanna close my eyes, lay down and think about different times.”It’s been a busy couple of months for Anna who recently won a Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy Award) for her “Dream Girl” music video. “Dream Girl” is also featured in the Global Apple iPad Commercial and the track saw an overall streaming increase to 187% in its first week of airing. The track then got a fresh-take from Anna herself with “Dream Girl (Home Made)”.
Mere weeks later, Anna was startled to hear yet another track, “Playing Games,” as she finished the first episode of the new Netflix Series ‘Never Have I Ever.’ She opened for Katy Perry on a livestream in partnership with the Coca Cola Foundation to support COVID-19 relief efforts and performed at the first ever Zoomtopia.
On the heels of the “Lovers (Home Made)” release, Anna was featured in Awesomeness TV’s To All The Music, a virtual concert event celebrating the vinyl release of the To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You original soundtrack. Hosted by Lana Condor, who stars as Lara Jean Covey in the Netflix film, To All The Music brought the movie’s cast and musical artists together to perform hit songs from the soundtrack and give fans an inside scoop behind the music and movie.
Anna of the North strikes an emotional chord regardless of continent, collaborator, or genre and her music has taken on an unexpected life of its own as it finds success in syncs. Few modern artists could appear as at home working with Tyler, the Creator (Anna lent her vocals to two tracks on ‘Flower Boy’ alongside Steve Lacy, Frank Ocean, and Rex Orange County) and Rejjie Snow as they are duetting with HONNE or playing with Anderson Paak.
All of which has led Anna to where she finds herself in now; a pop star and a fearless young woman who has perhaps always been hiding in plain sight.
Tracklist:
1.Lover Ghost
2.Dream Girl (Home Made)
3.Lovers (Home Made)
4.Believe
5.Someone Special
OVERALL RATING: 4 stars
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