Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
My name is Anna Awe, and I am a singer, songwriter, music producer, and DJ. My music combines pop/rock songwriting with new technology.
As a child, after family and friends identified that I had a good voice, I began singing pop/rock in local bands. I also studied creative writing. Naturally, that led to me writing songs. Later, I became fascinated by music technology, so I began to learn DAWs, synthesizers, and DJing, which I incorporated into writing and producing songs.
Now, I sing “top lines” for producers and labels around the world as well as produce my own music. I am interested in paving a new sound and path in the future of music that incorporates traditional pop/rock songwriting with new technology and Web 3.0.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
I have frequently heard feedback that I have a “great voice” and get many requests a day to sing on people’s records. I also have been writing creatively for many years, and take pride in my ability to tell stories in a poetic and artful way through my lyrics.
Additionally, the way I am able to blend technology with more conventional approaches to composition and songwriting is unique. I have also taken full advantage of social media and music technology to pave a path in a very independent and DIY way.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
When I was in my early teens, I felt this creative, independent streak that I couldn’t find a home for. Regular school and social life didn’t offer any outlets.
Being an artist was not really a “thing” where I grew up, and making a sustainable career as an “artist” was a foreign and “frivolous” idea. Everybody became, as the old Malvina Reynolds song states, “doctors, lawyers and business executives”, and the only music kids knew about was mainstream top 40 pop.
But my good friend decided to start a rock band and make me the singer. Her father, a musician by trade, taught me some really old-school rock and blues songs and encouraged me to hone my talent as a singer. I had a natural connection to them and would get really creative in the way I delivered the lyrics and improvised over instrumental parts.
I also felt that I could channel my emotional life and imagination through my singing that I couldn’t channel in other ways. I was still really shy about it, but when I would sometimes jam with my friend and her father’s friends and I felt that compelling freedom and emotionality with my voice. From there, I always had the dream of being a successful singer but kept it to myself and felt embarrassed to perform live.
It was only recently when I finally got over that and started posting my material online that I discovered I had a talent that could impact others positively.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
My biggest challenge is my tendency to internalize others’ criticisms too much and lack confidence in my abilities as a singer.
I used to suffer from terrible performance anxiety. I would tremble at public performances and it would noticeably affect my singing performances, so I never thought of myself as a ‘good’ singer. This also carried over to recording situations, where I would deliver “tentative” and “pitchy” performances.
My songwriting has always been solid, but it was very hurtful when a producer would advise me to get someone else to sing my songs. As I grew older, I did some soul searching and began to address my underlying insecurities and struggles with anxiety and depression. This allowed me to remain calmer in performance situations, as well as have the mental focus to do the disciplined vocal training and practicing to make improvements to my talent.
Becoming a great singer/songwriter is a lifelong process, but I am now at a point where songs that I sing have been released by many producers and on established labels, and have begun charting and being played on radio and playlists. I am also being invited to sing at paid live gigs. It’s a mixture of disciplined practice & study, ability to control my emotional state, and self-confidence/immunity to criticism that has allowed me to reach this point.
Moving forward, I know that there will be people who love my work and others who hate it, but I feel comfortable enough with my talent/skills that I can continue to perform and seek out high-level recording opportunities.
Who are the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could elevate your career or business? Why these specific individuals?
I can’t think of anyone specific. I’ve always been the type of person to focus on myself and my own abilities, and through my work attract the people I need in my life.
Drop your social media links.
- Linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/annaaweartist