Interview with Sydney Artist Anna Dot

Written by: Tom Wilson | Sense Music Media

As Australia went into lockdown, I started doing free graphic design work for bands and artists who were suddenly out of work. One of the people who reached out to me was a singer-songwriter named Anna, who in 2017 had released Sunshine State of Mind under the moniker Die mit der Ukulele, and was looking to reinvent herself for her next album. I had the pleasure of working with her to develop her new logo as well as the artwork for her new LP, and the artist now known as ANNA DOT has released Tangled on all good streaming platforms. She spoke to me from Sydney:

The Interview

Why the name change?

So I’m originally from Vienna, Austria. When I started playing ukulele and writing songs, I did it more as a pastime to entertain my friends and stuff. My old artist name, Die mit der Ukulele, is German, and it means “the one with the ukulele.” I don’t know, I felt like it was a funny name. I remember I was in a talent show when I was seventeen for my school, and I was like, “that’s what they’re going to call me, so I might as well call myself that.” It was kind of a joke. Then I started writing serious songs, and I went by the same name because that’s already how people were referring to me. It made sense for my first album, which was very playful and innocent, and it feels … a lot more immature and childish, in a good way. For that, I thought that the name was still fitting, but then when I wrote this album, I felt … these are serious topics that I really want to express, so I felt that I couldn’t really go by that joke name anymore. I wanted to be taken seriously. I want my music to be taken seriously, and to be fair, playing ukulele, it’s already hard to get people to take you seriously [laughs], which is also why I switched to a baritone ukulele, which is the one you hear on this album. It’s a lot deeper, [it has] a fuller sound … Also, I live in Australia now, so it was impossible to get people to spell it or pronounce it … My last name is really hard to spell and pronounce as well, so I knew that if I used my own name, that wasn’t going to work out. I remember saying to someone at one point, “I wish I could just be Anna, period. Done. Over.” From that, [period] became “Dot”. That’s how it came about.

Love and relationships seem to be pretty consistent themes through your work. Is there, dare I ask, a specific person in life that these songs are written about? Is there some guy or gal getting around who has no idea that these songs have been written about them?

[Laughs] Well, yeah, they’re all written about real people that have been in my life at some point. I should mention that most of these songs were written about two years ago. The release is kind of delayed in that sense. None of these people are still relevant in my current love life. Yeah, I’d definitely say that there are a handful of people that may probably not know that there are songs written about them. I’ve never been confronted by someone about whether or not a song was about them. That said, I do think that some of the people who I’ve played [the songs] to kind of know, but don’t really want to ask … Something that I’ve been thinking about a lot is, to what extent is it okay to write [about] someone without their consent? How does that make them feel? I try to be respectful, even if it’s something that I’m angry or upset about. I try to be respectful to that person, and not shame them, but just state the facts – this is how I felt, and this is how things happened, in my opinion.

How would you describe your musical productivity throughout quarantine? Have you just been covering other tunes, or have you got a lot of originals written as well?

It’s mostly been covers, to be honest. It’s definitely been a period where I’ve felt like I needed to be really creative, but my actual creativity couldn’t keep up with that. I feel like that’s been a theme with a lot of people. [Laughs] At the start of it, I was like, “I need to make all this music! I need to have all these projects!” And then … it’s not that easy. You can’t just say, “I’m going to be productive and creative,” and then you are … I’ve really rediscovered covers, because I don’t actually play them a lot. But this has been so much fun. I’ve enjoyed it so much. The reactions have been awesome. I’ve not really written that many original songs in that time, but I have been looking into new ways of recording and producing songs that I’ve already written.

You’re only releasing Tangled electronically. What was your thought process here?

I released my first album Sunshine State of Mind on CD first. It was only available physically for half a year before I actually put it on Spotify. I got good reactions to it, and people were actually buying it, but a lot of people – I would say ninety-percent of people – were like, “Yeah, I listen to that CD in the car, because that’s the only place that I have a CD player.” I felt like that was a bit of a shame, and that’s why I ended up releasing it digitally, and why I wanted to release this one digitally as well. Especially in quarantine, I felt that it was important that people actually get access to it. I think that the medium is maybe less important. I would love to have it on vinyl … I don’t know how many people would actually buy it. I’d rather have it accessible to a lot of people and have people enjoy it.

Pre-COVID, how would you describe the music scene in Sydney?

There’s definitely a lot of stuff happening, and a lot of ambitious and talented and creative people … I feel like, in Sydney, it’s a small but tight-knit community, and people do look out for each other, musicians especially. I’ve always really enjoyed that here. That said, I’ve not really played many live gigs since coming to Australia.

Is that something that you plan on changing once life gets back to normal? Were you writing and releasing Tangled with the intention of playing live gigs?

When I wrote it, yes. There was a significant gap between when I wrote it and when I actually released it. When I decided to release it, I knew that it was going to be during quarantine, but that was kind of on purpose as well. The decision was made in the first week of lockdown, when I felt like everybody was kind of down. I was like, “This is a great time to put something out that people can enjoy.” That said, when life returns to a somewhat normal state, I definitely want to play gigs more.

Did you have a history of playing gigs overseas?

Sort of. I started out playing at songwriting competitions and that sort of stuff back in Austria. Out of that, I got offered some gigs. I played a lot of living room-type concerts, which were amazing. Those have definitely been my favourite gig experiences. Then when I came to Australia, I did a bit of busking initially. Obviously, that’s more covers.

What’s the creative and arts scene like in Austria?

It’s great. There is a lot, because Vienna is a city with a lot of art history and music history and culture, but it is more classical, I would say. That’s what it is known for. There is also a very modern scene as well, but that’s happening more in the background, whereas the opera and concerts and stuff are very much the focus in Vienna.

Growing up, who were some of your biggest musical inspirations?

I really got into The Lumineers, as soon as they released their first album. Their style really resonated with me. Those were definitely the people who I look up to a lot in the musical sense … The people that inspire me the most are female artists, I would say. Growing up, I didn’t really listen to a lot of women in music. In recent years, I think female artists have definitely inspired me the most. My entire inspiration playlist on Spotify is really badass female artists that I aspire to be like. A lot of them are Australian, actually.  

What first drew you to the ukulele?

… That is was easy to learn. [Laughs] I have really small hands, and whenever I try playing guitars, it’s just too hard, I can’t do it. But I really wanted to learn a new instrument. I played the piano growing up, and I asked my parents for a ukulele … I just really enjoyed it. That’s what drew me to it initially, and then I kind of stuck to it because it was something that I was good at, and the thing that people knew that I was doing. Since then, I’ve tried to upgrade to the baritone ukulele, which sounds nicer. Learning curve aside, what are some of the unique strengths to the ukulele, as opposed to other instruments?

From a purely technical point of view, it is easier to learn. It’s super-easy to get chords down, and it’s super-easy to write on it. I love that I can just pick it up and write away. From a sound perspective, I think it resonates with a lot of people, just because it has that playful, innocent side to it. I think a lot of people like that it’s easy to listen to. But both of those things are also things that limit it, I would say. It’s easy to play, but there’s also only so many chords that you can play. Its strengths are also its weaknesses.

In terms of the vibe that it creates, every time I hear the ukulele, it reminds me of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Yeah, I get asked all the time, “Oh, play Somewhere Over the Rainbow!” [Laughs] It’s like asking someone to play Wonderwall. It’s like, come on! It’s a beautiful song, and I love it, but it’s not the only song you can play on the ukulele.

FIVE ESSENTIAL CUTS – Chosen by ANNA DOT

33 Hours

This is probably my favourite song I’ve recorded. I love the build-up of the different instruments and how easily the song flows. It tells the story of a really beautiful first date, a simple story, but I feel like the lyrics have this profound simplicity to them that feels vague and relatable at the same time. 

See Through

This is definitely a poetic one, and I quite like the abstractness of it. This song is about allowing yourself to be completely vulnerable and raw with someone, but it has a slight note of obsession in there, showing the different facets of intimacy. 

Camperdown Waltz

Camperdown Waltz is a very fragile break up ballad that reflects on the passive role the dumpee is forced to play. I love the vulnerability to this song, I love the playful little piano line, and the waltz tempo which always reminds me of music from my home country Austria.  

Her

For the fact that it’s one of the first songs I’d ever written, I feel like this one holds up. Her is about realising that someone else might be better suited for your crush than you are. It’s full of hard truths and cool bar chords!

Close

Close is a love story told in three chapters. It’s probably the most story-driven song I’ve written and finds its way from initial attraction to ultimate dysfunction.

Social Media

Check out ANNA DOT on Facebook and Instagram

ANNA DOT on Spotify