Interview: Annasaid (DK) | Over o.a. Rite de Passage en highs & lows

Posted by: Janine , 9 april, 2014

De up and coming band Annasaid uit Aarhus ken je al van hun verschillende shows de afgelopen jaren in Nederland en natuurlijk van de acoustische sessie die ze vorig jaar voor de Nordic Vibes camera speelden, in Your Rainbow Panorama van ARoS kunstmuseum. Hun nieuwe album ‘Rite de Passage) komt op 28 april uit en in het kader daarvan stelde ik zanger Martin Sahlertz enkele vragen, over werken met producer Caspar Hesselager, highs en lows en hun tour als support voor het Britse Coasts die vandaag (9 april 2014, voor het geval je dit later leest!) start. In het Engels, zodat ook de Deense fans kunnen meelezen!

Could you tell me a bit about the main theme on Rite de Passage, and how that became the main theme?
“Opposite to our first album ‘Jua’, this lyrics on this album has a real mening. Most of them is personal experiences with the hard side of loving someone. Losing that person and losing yourself at the same time, and how to rebuild from that. Some of them are about family relationships, for example ‘So Many Lights’. And the main single of the album ‘Waves’ is about our fight for keeping ourselves ‘alive’ as a band, during this rough period in between the two albums”.

I have heard it a lot in interviews and from people around me: do what you’re passionate about, don’t settle for a job you don’t like. Is that something you live by too?
“Definitely. It sounds so cliche to set it up like that – but it actually makes sense. It goes the same for playing music. If we were playing music for money’s sake – we would be the worst business men in the world. But I wouldn’t give up the the experiences we have had with Annasaid for anything in the world. We try to focus on enjoying every breath we have together as a band, and don’t focus on the economic outcome too much. Of course it is nice when what we earn can pay for everything we do, but it is not the main target of playing music”.

It had been 4 years since your debut in 2010. In those 4 yours you have had highs and lows. What was your highest high and your lowest low?
“The highest high must be the year of 2011 where we toured a lot playing the big festivals in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium and just enjoying playing our stuff without thinking about anything else than the music OR the feeling of standing with our new record in our hands. That feeling can’t be described. Somehow it is like becoming a father I guess.
The lowest point is definitely that we felt stuck in the song-writing process. For almost a year and a half, we did not write any songs that actually made it to the album. We tried to write ‘singles’ for others sake, not for our own. It took us a long time to see, that we wouldn’t benefit from that. So we trashed all those songs, and started from scratch. That was tough”.

It did lead to this beautiful song though:

Your new record was mixed and mastered by Caspar Hesselager. Why did you choose to work with him?
“Glad you brought up that question. We have been just ecstatic to work with Caspar. He is as amazing as a person as he is as a producer. I just think it clicked. The whole process of talking about how we wanted it to sound, and taking it to the next level, soundwise, was just great. We wanted a more mature sound but still with a pop-feeling. We really feel that he was the only guy we tried that could really pull that out of the songs. We have tried a lot of very talented engineers that just didn’t come up with what we expected. So I just think the main reason is that he understood us so well”.

By whom have you been influenced while making this album?
“I think that as a musician you can’t be unbiased. There is always so music that will affect the way you make music too. During the last four years the things we have kept listening to is Arcade Fire, Maps & Atlases, Friendly Fires and Foals. Of course a lot of other things too, but these might be the ones that have influenced us the most”.

Imagine you have to write a new biography in april 2018. What would make you the most proud to be able to write down?
“Wow, I have actually never thought of that at all. I think I would be most proud of writing that I came a long way by never giving up, always trying to strive for something more. When life has given me lemons, I’ve always just wanted to work even harder for what I wanted, instead of just giving up”.

From 9 – 13 april you will be touring in The Netherlands. Can you tell us a bit about what the people can expect during your live shows?
“They can expect an explosive live-set with many new songs. A live set-up full of percussion and drums and happy faces on stage. We are really looking forward to playing in Holland again. And actually, at these gigs it will be possible to get the new record 3 weeks prior to the release”.

Some tourist advice! What are your favourite places in Denmark to go to and why?
“I think the place I love to be the most is at my grandparents house in Stavtrup near Aarhus. But that is a pretty bad tourist advise, even though I won’t doubt it for a second that everyone is very welcome there! But second in line… I love to go to ‘Din nye ven’ in Copenhagen. A small bar with really old board games and a cozy setting. And when in Aarhus, i love to go Løves Bogcafe at Nørre Alle. Jazz Music, Good wine and good coffee. Thats a little gem”.

Løves is indeed a great café in Aarhus! Read more words on that (in Dutch) in the Fika Fredag about Løves!