Hanna Andréa

Hanna Andrea’s “GET OFF YOUR PHONE” captures a familiar kind of absence - the feeling of being together, yet somewhere else entirely. Set against shimmering, nostalgic pop-rock, the track reflects on the moments that slip by unnoticed - a byproduct of the chronically online world we live in.

In this conversation, she reflects on the spark behind the song, the impact of social media, and how it opens the door into the world of her upcoming EP, Braveheart.

“GET OFF YOUR PHONE” is a rock-pop anthem with a pointed critique of social media - was there a specific moment or interaction that originally inspired the song?

Yes, I was hanging out with some of my friends who I don’t see particularly often because we don’t live in the same place, and everyone was just consumed by their phones. I remember being a little sad thinking, I almost never get to see these people and they have their phones every single day, yet here we are finally together and all they do is look at their phones. I wasn’t upset or anything, I just thought it was a kind of funny situation. I also wasn’t really on social media at the time so I had nothing better to do than awkwardly stare into space and ponder this question. 

Behind the infectious appeal is a more melancholy reflection of missed moments and connections. How much of that comes from your own experiences versus what you see happening around you?

At first the song was very rooted in me feeling like I was missing out on the opportunity to connect with my friends, because they were so focused on their social media. That being said I do think we all, myself included, miss out on a lot because of being distracted by our phones. It’s definitely something I have both experienced and seen other people experience around me. 

The track leans into nostalgia for a pre-digital kind of presence. Do you think we’ve genuinely lost something essential in how we connect and real-life relationships? 

Not necessarily. I have so many wonderful moments bonding with people in a very real connected beautiful way, and I don’t think this is unique. I really hope we all get to enjoy deep personal connected moments and conversations.  It’s not like all we ever do is stare at our phones. I also am very grateful for phones. I have a lot of friends and family members living in different states or even countries and without technology it would be so much harder to stay in touch with them. I grew up on Facetime and Skype. That’s the way I got to build a consistent bond with my grandparents and I am so grateful that I had access to that. That being said, there are times when I do think that phones block us from being in the present moment and connecting. That happens when people decide that whatever is happening on their phone is more interesting than what is happening right in front of them. I do think that this is sad, especially if you're hanging out with other people and especially if you don’t often get the opportunity to do that. 

The delivery of “’Cause you’re on your phone” is an exasperated, spoken-word statement - why did you choose to speak this lyric rather than sing it? 

It adds personality and emotion to the song. I think singing is fun because there are so many different ways you can deliver a line. This just felt like a fun way to drive the energy forward and give it a little personality. 

The song blends nostalgic, 2000's-esque guitar-pop with breezy melodies. How does this sonic backdrop intentionally reflect its message? 

I think it’s kind of embarrassing how late this dawned on me. But the song does strongly reflect 90s and 2000s music which is before the cell phones. I think this adds to the song in such a beautiful way because it transports us back to the time just before we as a society got consumed with social media and the digital world. This both allows us to reflect on our current state while transporting us back to a different time. 

As the lead single, “GET OFF YOUR PHONE” feels observational - does Braveheart shift that focus inward, and if so, what parts of yourself are you unpacking across the EP?

I would say that the rest of the album definitely turns more inward. I do a lot of self reflection so it’s only natural that my music reflects that. The EP covers things like the constant struggle for success, feeling like you need to change for others, and celebrating your strength.  

The project explores self-acceptance and imperfection. What was the inspiration behind this? 

When I wrote these songs I had just sort of come out of a time in my life where I wasn't really feeling seen. I felt like I needed to change to fit what the people I looked up to wanted from me. It was a very confusing experience, and I was kind of having to rethink who I was and how I was perceived. As well as trying to navigate what it actually was people wanted from me and to what extent I wanted to change in order to give that to them. I think this EP explores a lot of the emotions I was grappling with during this time, and the songs work to reinforce my confidence and comfortability with the person I know myself to be. 

Moving between your own music and writing for theatre - including songs for an upcoming musical showcasing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival - how does your approach to storytelling change when you’re writing for yourself versus building characters and narratives for others?

It’s quite different. When I write for myself it tends to be very strongly rooted in my experiences, thoughts, and emotions, and I just kind of write building on whatever idea comes to me until the song is complete. I write my own music in a lot of different ways, sometimes it’s very independent in the beginning, sometimes it’s a collaboration from the start, but it’s always very rooted in my experience and I am never trying to limit myself. MUSE is a bit complicated since our characters are Shakespeare's characters, but their storylines and objectives are different in our piece than in the original plays while still having strong roots in the original plays. I did a lot of research to understand the characters both in the context of the play they originated in and in the context of our own play. I tried to think from the perspective of that character in that moment of the show and see what they might be thinking and feeling. I also of course had to be conscientious of what the song needed to communicate and what sort of song (up beat, down beat) that place in the show needed. Our show quotes Shakespeare quite frequently, so I did a lot of hunting for relevant Shakespeare quotes that could flow seamlessly into the rest of my lyrics, so that was also a fun and unique experience. Also, when writing in a body of work like a play, there are a lot of opportunities for references to other songs, lines, or moments in the show, so I had a lot of fun with that. I had the pleasure of being familiar with the original cast's voices before writing the songs for them, so while writing the first five songs I was trying to write to fit their strengths, which kind of opened up my creativity in a new way. That being said, there are a lot of similarities between writing for musicals and my own personal work. There are a lot of things that are inherently me that shine through in my style and approach. I am always just trying to find whatever serves the storytelling best, and not be tied down by rules or what I think the moment “has” to be. Also, the actual writing of the songs is similar in a lot of ways because at the end of the day it is all songwriting. 

Your upbringing spans Northern Norway and the American West - how do those different cultural landscapes shape the way you look at modern living and social media? 

Having such strong ties to two different countries definitely makes me appreciate social media, because it is often the simplest way for me to stay in touch with people. That being said, I do get to see some of the similarities and differences between how social media is treated and used in the two countries which I think gives me the ability to step back and notice how it consumes people's lives in different ways. 

With Braveheart and a future concept LP on the horizon, do you think more in terms of creating individual songs, or building larger, immersive worlds that ask more from the listener?

I think in terms of both. Song ideas pop into my head all time of course and they are not necessarily tied down to any concept or other thing I am working on. Also, album concepts pop into my head all the time too. So what I have to navigate is finding out where the two intersect. What album concept am I feeling inspired to pursue and what song ideas fit that concept. Also can the concept be changed to include more of the song ideas. I think the best thing is when I find a concept I am passionate about that deeply reflects where I am in the present moment so the songs naturally fit the concept and I can have the best of both worlds.

Watch the new video here: https://youtu.be/8Ukiqu_yg-4?si=yDT15Es5VpMYyIaO