ANNAHSTASIA

When Annahstasia writes a song, it embodies a world of its own. The self-taught singer-songwriter says her artistic practice is steeped in fantasy and romanticism, and Annahstasia’s rose-colored perspective is elucidated by her enchantingly sumptuous and acrobatic voice—one she developed through a lasting appreciation for complex vocalists like Bill Withers, Nina Simone, and Janis Joplin. “Those were the first musicians that I felt lended their voice to their music and not the music to their voice,” she explains. She rarely, if ever, writes her lyrics down, instead preferring to imagine the spirits that live in her songs—how they might look, move, talk or dance—and speak to their identities in real time through her music. Her first solo release, 2019’s Sacred Bull was an honest, no-frills experiment that opened doors to collaborations with the likes of singer Raveena, who features on her new record, and Lenny Kravitz, who invited her to support him as an opener on his “Raise Vibrations” European tour. Now, Annahstasia’s own stunning voice is the powerline that weaves together her forthcoming folk-rooted record, Revival, a delicately produced project that both renewed her love of music after a period of uncertainty, and facilitated a potent resurgence of self.