We Chat with | ANNA STRAKER | About Her New Single ‘GOOD DAYS, BAD DAYS’ |FT | GABRIELLE APLIN | We Talk Music and Moving on
Anna Straker’s recent single ‘London Knows’ heralded an exciting new era for the rising London artist. With a fresh sound, unguarded emotions and a new deal with Never Fade Records, the song earned Anna airplay from BBC Introducing and Jo Whiley at Radio 2.
Now Anna Straker’s new track ‘Good Days, Bad Days’ demonstrates that she’s embracing a new-found artistry that’s as accomplished as it is unpredictable. The track is boosted by a feature from Gabrielle Aplin. The new single will feature alongside ‘London Knows’ on Anna’s new EP ‘Growing Pains’ out this November.
‘Good Days, Bad Days’ is a captivating fusion between an immediately addictive earworm and woozy, experimental alt-pop. Elevating from a spacious and radiant beat, the song builds towards an electrifying drop as the two artists’ vocals illustrate their natural connection. Anna’s instinct for exploring issues which relate to her generation again resonates. This time it’s about accepting that bad times will inevitably pass for something better - an apt reminder in our current uncertain era.
The track is accompanied by a video which reflects the meaning behind the song, featuring raw footage that both Anna and Gabrielle have filmed over the past two years, it reflects real life, revealing true moments of happiness and sadness experienced by both artists.
Anna Straker’s trajectory demonstrates that artists can flourish against the contrasting experiences of good and bad days. She earned a big break in her teens when producer Mike Spencer (Years & Years, Emeli Sandé) discovered her and invited her to contribute to projects including Rudimental.
That in turn resulted in the release of her debut EP ‘Serious’, which gained early praise from Annie Mac at Radio 1 and resulted in sets at Glastonbury and The Great Escape. But there was some time away from the spotlight, before Anna returned in style with a single-minded rush of electronica-inspired escapism and a sucker-punching pop streak.
Anna, a huge congratulations on the release of ‘Good Days, Bad Days’. It’s a powerful song: personal yet universally resonant. Before we get into the lyrical content can you tell us how the song was musically birthed?
Thank you! I wrote this with my good mates Andrea Rocha & Tom Stafford. We’ve done a lot of this EP together and I can be really open with them in the studio. The song started with that repeating tom sample and the rest is history.
Can you tell us what the track is about?
I wrote Good Days Bad Days during the recovery from my sexual assault. It is a kind of positive affirmation to help centre and ground yourself on days when your mental health gets the better of you. I want to remind people of their best moments to help them through their worst ones... I actually recorded the vocal for this on the day I was fired from my job! I want this EP to really showcase the issues surrounding mental health with honesty and sincerity, as I know so many people that suffer. I hope it helps to know that we all experience these 'growing pains’.
We noticed in another interview that you’re an Ableton and OP-1 user. Do you find that the teenage engineering hardware and Ableton interface gives you that ‘producer freedom’ to create something simple and beautiful on the fly?
I LOVE the quick workflow element of Ableton, I find it much quicker to get ideas down than pro-tools! The teenage engineering synths are a little more complicated to program but I love that they literally fit on ur desk so I’m always tinkering away on them.
We love your Instagram song tutorials. Fitting an entire ‘How To’ into 60 seconds is tough. Do you find teaching through these tutorials rewarding?
I think people find it interesting to hear all the elements of a song broken down like that, it’s oddly satisfying! I find it really fun to document my process too.
For all the aspiring producers out there could you give three tips that have helped you breakthrough that period of the unknown when learning to use technology?
1. Make music every day
2. Watch a zillion YouTube tutorials
3. DON’T GIVE UP
The importance of colour and aesthetics are apparent in your rollout. Is your music always intertwined with an image from the get-go or does one appear before the other?
I feel like as soon as I write a song I can instantly envisage the music video and artwork, kind of like synesthesia in a way! My favourite thing in the world is watching my ideas come to life and turn in to beautiful art.
‘Good Days, Bad Days’ is a beautiful song. The fact that you have Gabrielle Aplin appearing on it heightens that beauty. Did you have her in mind when you started writing it or was it a spontaneous connection?
Gabby was sent the track soon after I wrote it, and I think it was the perfect collab because her album Dear Happy really touched on the struggles of mental health issues.
You’ve been outspoken about your experiences in Thailand in interviews and online posts. To us, your brevity is empowering. You’ve informed the world about your trauma whilst including everyone who’s ever experienced anything similar. Has doing this been a therapeutic process?
It’s been super cathartic to talk and release music about my experience. Although overwhelming at times, it made me feel so much less alone to know other people had gone through similar things. We are in this together!
‘London Knows’ is about coming back home after a traumatic experience and feeling like a stranger in your own city. Since writing that song, what steps have you had to take to ensure that London could feel like yours again?
What really helped me was to be really honest with everyone when I was going out and hanging out with friends & family. Knowing that everyone was sensitive and there for me was so crucial for me to feel comfortable at parties etc. I also had some psychotherapy sessions, called EMDR therapy. These were incredible and I recommend anyone suffering from PTSD.
We believe that music is the greatest healer and we’d love to hear how your honest songwriting has helped the listener. Have you had anyone reach out to you after the release of ‘Good Days, Bad Days’ to share an experience of their own?
I’ve had so many fans reach out to me and tell me how much they needed this song right now! It’s so heartwarming. My inbox is always open for anyone who wants to chat.
We love the line, ‘…everyone else is doing better than me cause I turn 23 [and] still don’t have a Grammy’. You’ve managed to encapsulate the fickleness of human nature in one sentence. Did this line come first when writing ‘Good Days, Bad Days’?
I wrote the verses first for this track and was trying to be so honest with how I was feeling at the time. These are things I’ve actually said to my mates so I thought it was important to keep it as real as possible.
We’re really excited about your forthcoming EP ‘Growing Pains’. Can you tell us what to expect from the unreleased tracks?
Feminist bangers, emotional bangers, break up bangers!!!! It’s been a tough half a year for us, a combined worry that’s affected us all. But despite the uncertainty, we’ll pull through. Could you share something with us that’s got you through these hard lockdown times? Binge-watching I May Destroy You! After the release of the EP ‘Growing Pains’, what can we next expect from you? I have so many songs in my back pocket, I don’t know what to do with them! I’ll definitely be releasing more, and I can’t wait to be back on stage again.
Anna, thank you for your time and we can’t wait to hear more music from you. To end we have to ask, Ketchup or Brown Sauce?
Mayonnaise.