Anna Sofia Breaks Free from Creative Confines with 'LET ME OUT I'M FREE!' EP
Photo Credit: Steph Verschuren
Toronto songstress Anna Sofia recently released her strikingly powerful 6-track EP LET ME OUT I’M FREE! on May 19. The project showcased her storytelling truths across her inner-most anxiety, fears, and powerful overcoming moments. The release was also accompanied by a cinematic film project, co-produced by Anna, and emphasizes her fighting for her freedom from her mental and physical confines.
We had the chance to speak with Anna about the release, the inspiration behind it, and how it has helped her regain control over her art.
First of all, congratulations on the monumental release of your EP “LET ME OUT I’M FREE!”. It must be such an exciting time, finally getting to share what’s on your mind on your own terms! Share with us how it all came together.
Basically, the entire EP was written about a moment in my career where I felt very controlled by the voices of the industry. I was being told how to create my art, and make my brand, but these were all things I already knew how to do. I was stripped of the one thing that matters to me most: my creative control. I needed to let out all my feelings by the end of that experience, and this EP was my creative outlet to express those feelings. I found Nick and Losh, who I wrote this project with, and from the moment I met them I knew I could trust them to help me turn my story into music.
You shared a very insightful post on Instagram about the journey towards your recent releases and how you are regaining control over your vision and expression as an artist. Why was it important for you to share this with your audience?
I think it was important to let them know what I was going through. They saw me go through this experience but just didn’t know I was going through it. I thought it was important to tell them what was going on behind the scenes when I was making everything look like I was truly happy where I was. I also really wanted to emphasize the fact that this new project is my doing. I wrote the music, I co-directed and created the music videos, everything around this project came directly from me. I’m really proud of that and I wanted to give myself that credit, because for the longest time I was unable to share my true creativity. I wanted people to see how far I’ve come as an artist, and I wanted them to really understand what I was talking about in the lyrics so they mean so much more to the listener.
Alongside the release of your EP, you also dropped several music videos and an accompanying film project, which were an excellent way of bringing your body of work to life. There is a very distinct stylistic approach and cohesiveness to the treatment of the videos. What were your inspirations during the process of crafting them?
My favourite film genre is horror. I used to wake up every morning and watch a horror movie before I started my day (this isn’t even an exaggeration). I am so obsessed with this thrilling feeling I get when I watch horror films, and I love being scared. There was no specific film, or anything like that that inspired me when it came to the videos. It was really just the horror genre itself. I wanted people to be a little scared when they watched these videos, and really channel some of my own feelings of being afraid. Afraid of losing my creative control. Afraid of disappointing the people around me. I’ve never really created anything scary for my music visuals before, but I felt this EP had to be depicted with distressing visual content to better tell my story.
If there’s one thing you’ve said that really stood out, it’s “I don’t have a message. It’s just real life.” In a world where things are heavily curated these days do you find that to be a selling point for yourself as an artist; to let your work speak for itself and be interpreted however it needs to be for the individual?
Definitely. I connect most with the artists I am fan of because I feel like I know them personally. I don’t want to see their stage persona, I want to see them. Their music and their art holds more meaning to me when I actually understand the artist. I look at myself as a target audience to the artists I like. I follow all their social media platforms, I will always go see my favourite artists play live, and I ask myself why I would do that for the artists I like, and it’s because they are really just who they are. I apply that information to my art, and always make sure to be as real as possible.
You’ve recently dropped an NFT for your single “Surround Me.” How did you immerse yourself in the world of NFTs, and do you plan on releasing more?
I was always very interested in NFTs, and I definitely saw an opportunity for my music to shine in that space. I just think it’s such a cool new way to get fans more involved in the music. It’s crazy what you can give to your fans through this space, and I’ve been learning about it more and more as I get more involved. It really just stemmed from my interest in it. It was something new for the industry to explore, and I wanted to jump on that as soon as I could because I feel like we haven’t seen very many new ways to promote music these days. I will most definitely be releasing more NFTs and sooner than you think, so stay tuned!
Finally, being equipped with the knowledge you now have, what would you tell your younger self?
I would tell them to stick with their gut. I know exactly what I want to do with my music, and my vision has always been very clear. That ability of mine was not able to shine for a while. I listened to people around me who “knew better” but I quickly realized that nobody knows me, better than myself. I would tell her to always lead the way, and never let anyone or anything come between the relationship she has with herself. I would tell this to not only my younger self, but to everyone who has been listening to this project as well.
Thank you to Anna Sofia for chatting with us, and to Frazes Creative for coordinating this interview! “LET ME OUT I’M FREE!” is available to stream now!