I feel lucky to have stumbled upon Anika’s music. Within five seconds of listening to her song “So Sweet,” I could tell that she wasn’t just another person putting out music in an attempt to go viral. Rather, her music expressed a more personal message, and I felt compelled to interview her to find out more. Throughout our conversation, she explained her desire to create music that is filled with passion and authenticity.
Anika has always been into music, and was involved in band and choir at school. But it wasn’t until 2017 when she met her producer, Cammy C, that she realized creating music of her own was a real possibility. Anika told me that the songwriting process begins when her producer sends her a couple beats. If she can immediately come up with a melody for one of them, she focuses her attention on that beat to create a full song. Anika and her producer continue to bounce ideas around, and eventually she goes to the studio, where she may “come up with ideas on the spot if it feels right.” She has other friends who record their own music and she has appreciated their help in what can be a very long process. She told me, “you learn so much about yourself, it’s scary.”
However, it seems like learning more about herself will only help Anika create the type of music she wants to release. She listed Frank Ocean and SZA as some of her biggest inspirations, mainly because their music reminds her to be honest. She said that SZA has taught her to “open up no matter how you feel, because somebody is guaranteed to feel that same thing.” Anika perfectly summed up the intention of her work, stating, “everyday people are putting out new music and that’s beautiful, but then it starts to become less of a passion and more of something to pass the time. People start to forget what’s real and what isn’t. I never want it to be like that. Everything I create I’ll create it with purpose and I’ve told myself that from the start.”
Anika’s EP Nice to Finally Meet You, and her newly released single, “Alibi,” are both available on Apple Music and Spotify. She is currently working on a new single and more projects, all of which I can reasonably assume will be authentic, relatable, and something we will all want to hear.
Check out Anika on Instagram.
