Shortly before this year’s SPOT Festival excitement, the indie-rock quartet Annasaid released their second album “Rite de Passage” on 28. April 2014. We took this as reason and chance to talk with the likeable guys about their own transition, growing up, the love of playing music together, the importance of slowing down and Danish musicians worth checking out.
Good because Danish: Your Album is called “Rite de Passage”. This term describes “a ritual or ceremony signifying an event in a person’s life indicative of transition from one stage to another, as from adolescence to adulthood”. Why did you choose this name for your new full length player?
Annasaid: We feel like we have been through a transition, we have matured or grown up. Our songs are more thought through and the lyrics are more personal. So the title describes that change we have experienced as a band but also as individuals in our personal lives.
What would you for yourself see as the described “ritual or ceremony”: is it the finished album itself or was it more the process of making it, with the album as result of that transition?
The album is definitely the end of the “ritual”, or more precisely the payoff or proof that it took place. But the start was probably already in 2011 when we started writing the first new material after “Jua”. So our Rite of Passage signifies everything we have had to endure since the first album.
As what and how would you describe the two stages you went through with “your transition”?
A lot has happened since the first album came out in 2010. We have fought a lot to get to where we are now, both with external elements but definitely also internally. We were in such a hurry to try and define what we wanted to achieve musically that we lost sight of why we’re doing all of this; because we love playing music together! So we took our time to do that, focusing on how we felt actually playing the music and what it meant to us, instead of trying to please others or chase a hit single.
It is four years since you released your debut “Jua”, so the process of making the second album took some time. Was this process a tough road? What was the biggest obstacle for you?
The hardest part was probably to slow down and concentrate on what we really wanted. There were a lot of plans and dreams after the first album, and we kind of just went along with them without pausing to think: What are we doing? Where is this going? After we slowed down and dumped some of the songs we had made in a hurry, the new songs came to us, and “Rite De Passage” was a reality.
How would you describe Annasaid generally to someone who knows nothing about the band? What do you think makes you unique or special?
We play our music with a punk-like ferocity, but our songs are genuine pop songs with multiple layers of melodies at any given time and a strong focus on grooving, rhythmic interplay.
Imagine we had already asked you to describe Annasaid four years ago, when you released your debut album: what would have been the biggest difference between both answers?
The focus of the answer back then would probably have been on our live performance, whereas now we place a greater emphasis on the songwriting. We realized that by writing better songs, the stakes are made higher, forcing us to work harder and play better.
It seems as if – looking at the foreign countries you played in – especially the Dutch audience has taken you on quite openly. Besides the Netherlands, you also played in the UK, the Benelux countries and Germany. What other countries would you love to play in? Any plans for a completely new terrain?
We would love to play a lot more in Germany. We would also very much like to go to Norway and Sweden, and from there on to the rest of Europe, and hopefully the rest of the world! We love playing for and meeting new people, so we will play any place that will have us!
As a matter of course we are always on the hunt for new Danish faces and are very interested in what musicians themselves recommend listening to. Can you name a Danish artist you find inspirational or Danish music you are listening to at the moment?
I have always enjoyed listening to the Danish band Mew. Every time I listen to any one of their albums I find new details in the music that I hadn’t heard before.
Who do you think we should make a next interview with?
Definitely check out Rupture Plains. They are a great new band with a lot of potential!
Our small team of music lovers runs Good because Danish with one goal: to share songs and stories that spark emotions. We believe that music is the great equalizer: it’s for everyone. Therefore, we keep our content free. There’s no ads, no clickbait, no sponsored posts. Every article was written out of pure love. If you like what we do, please support us via a PayPal or Patreon.
You will help us cover website maintenance, software, equipment, and travelling to events. In return, we will continue to set an example of unbiased music journalism. More info HERE
