Contrary to what you might presume, Anna of the North is not a mythical shieldmaiden. Instead, it is the music project of Norwegian singer Anna Lotterud and her producer Brady. Born and raised in a small town a couple of hours north of Oslo, she studied graphic design before deciding to up and leave for Melbourne, where she met her bandmate and was given her rather appropriate nickname. The pair soon realised they were onto a good thing with both The Dreamer and Baby hitting the top spot on Hype Machine, and a UK show with Liss at Moth Club (plus some great ‘Baby‘ merch) firmly securing them a spot on London’s radar.
They’ll stay on it too, as their next release, Us – all twinkling synths and Phil Collins snare – is a banger and available to stream exclusively on i-D. “It’s about a relationship between two people with a really strong connection,” explains serial polo neck wearer Anna. “When it’s so good it’s bad for you. All of us have had that special person you’ll never forget, where the timing wasn’t quite right.” Press play and get to know lovely, beautiful Anna.
1. She’s from a little town called Gjøvik, down the road from the location in Netflix Scandi crime drama, Lilyhammer.
“I love my hometown for the nature around it and the safe, slow lifestyle.”
2. She finds that people think Norwegian people are cold hearted.
“We’re just insecure! When you first get under the skin of a Norwegian you’ll most likely stay good friends for the rest of your life.”
3. Her favourite Norwegian word is ‘stakkars’.
“It’s usually used in a bit of a rude way for when you feel pity for someone. But my family uses it more like a compliment for when something is really cute or adorable. Like “ohh look at him, stakkars.” My friends have starting adopting the word as well. People are getting confused.”
4. Talking of The North, her favourite Game of Thrones character from there is…
“Ned Stark. But then he got killed and everyone got killed and then there were dragons and if I can’t have a dragon then Khaleesi shouldn’t have one and I had to stop watching ’cause I got really sad.”
5. As a child, she had big plans for when she grew up…
“I wanted to be Aaron Carters girlfriend.”
6. Her favourite sound is…
“I would have to choose between an electric guitar with reverb and echo, or an old grand piano with reverb and echo. Maybe just reverb and echo?”
7. She has been heartbroken twice and finds it useful for creativity.
“It’s a feeling of rejection and being suffocated. The last time I remember screaming into the wall and throwing some pillows around. My flatmate came in and asked me if I was okay, but I wasn’t. In that moment it is the worst feeling and there’s nothing you can do about. At the same time being heart broken and the process of moving on have been really important for both me and Brady and our music.”
8. Aside from their own, her favourite song with ‘baby’ in the title is…
“Depends what mood I’m in… Justin Bieber’s Baby for sunny days and Honne’s Baby Please for rainy days.”
9. She studied graphic design, created her own merch, and has a thing for fonts.
“I’ve used Gotham XNarrow a lot in my work it’s so simple and clean. But nowadays I’m starting to become a sucker for Serif fonts.”
10. She literally dreams about Pokemon Go.
“Last night I had a dream that I by deleting pokemon I lost all my stardust.”
Anna of the North play [PIAS] Nites at London’s The Lexington on 20 September