I have known Anna KiaRa as an artist since the late 10s, when after she came to our country with her previous band, the very successful Imperial Age, I checked out her work. Without being a big fan of her previous band on a stylistic level, I was impressed by the maturity and the special timbre of her voice. Time passed and we became closer and on a friendly level, since Anna was now moving forward by releasing exclusively solo works with her personal band that she had created in 2019. When came the proposal from Crunchy Newz for an interview with her, I didn’t think much about it, even though I don’t usually mix many qualities for sterile self-promotion.
Hello, my friend Anna. I hope you are well there in Mother Russia. Please tell me what inner need pushed you to create your personal band in 2019?
Hello, Kostas!
I created my band in 2019 with the first single Loneliness, but I count real work in the band since the release of the first album Storyteller in August 2020. I have been thinking about my own band since I was a teenager: I wrote poems, composed different melodies and little piano pieces. But I didn’t know where to start back then and I didn’t have enough experience. Then in 2012 I joined my first band in my hometown Kaluga and started to learn how a band actually works, as I knew a lot about music in general, but not much about the inner work in the band. In 2016 I joined Imperial Age, and did a level up upgrade about the professional band work. And then it just happened – I felt that I’m ready and composed my first album in 2019-2020. It wasn’t easy as well, but I already got much more experience than before. And then for a few years my band was mostly a studio band, because I was still in the Imperial Age and could perform only a few shows in a year with Anna KiaRa. I started to perform more when I left the Imperial Age in 2023, including European and the UK tours.
You were with your future husband Pavel Vredes musically since the Imperial Age era and you continued with Anna KiaRa. What was his role in the two bands and did you meet through Imperial Age? Of course, I hope that the second question does not sound too personal…
No, that’s okay 🙂 I don’t think that this is a secret that musicians often meet their second halves on shows and tours, so this is what happened with us too! Paul played guitar in Imperial Age, and now he plays with my band (and some other bands too), and he also helps me with the rhythm section arrangements and with shows and tours organisation too. He also appears on a few of my songs with harsh vocals (Loneliness, Broken Illusions, Symphony Of Rage).
From the beginning when I came into contact with your voice, I was impressed by your technical training, but also the depth with which you expressed yourself. Later I learned about your higher musical and theatrical studies and the riddle found a solution. Really, since great Russian writers like Dostoevsky have played an important role in my adulthood as well as in nurturing my character, have you ever acted in a theatrical performance or a series or film?
I performed in one musical in Tula city in 2017. The musical was called Melkor and it was based on Tolkien SIlmarillion. I played an elven princess there. After that I didn’t perform in any theatres or films anymore, but I go on such auditions sometimes, just to be in shape mostly. The thing is that for me music was always in the first place, and in Russia nobody cares if you play in a band, most of the people think it’s just a hobby, and the theatres won’t let their artists go on tours for a few weeks or take vacations a few times a year. So I chose my path in music and decided to prove that being in a band is serious work too and it can get you money as well. So far I haven’t succeeded 100% yet, but I believe that I’m on the way. I also have my vocal students, so there’s completely no time for any other work.
You released another wonderful album a few weeks ago. “Symphony Of Rage” has already attracted some rave reviews and you have already promoted it with an European tour that will end in our country in the summer, where you will visit Over The Wall in Heraklion. Tell us a little about it, as well as whether you will also perform in Russia. How difficult and what sacrifices does it require for a Russian artist to continue in the metal scene in 2025?
Frankly speaking, being Russian in 2025 sometimes feels like being a dark woman in the beginning of the 20th century… And unfortunately, there are many things that I’m not agree with, but have to deal with. So for me, as I always felt like a citizen of the world, I just continue to do my best and just try to unite people with the music. I will play two shows-presentations of Symphony Of Rage in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg in October this year. And you know it’s really disappointing what’s happening in the world – nobody cares if you’re a great musician, perform all over Europe, etc. if you don’t have millions of listeners and views everywhere. And the thing is that you have to put a lot of money to get more numbers. So people with the money but often without talent can beat people with the talent but not enough money. You can add politics here, and you’ll get what I feel. Anyway, I’ll continue to do what I do no matter what!
I also have an excellent impression of your other albums. Each one offers different elements and they are always of quality. Symphonic metal that does not hesitate to borrow elements from diverse genres and all merge through your personal stigma. Doom, power, black, folk become one with a voice that I would characterize as having the rigor and imposing and noble tone of Tarja Turunen mixed with the sweeter and more approachable tone of Anneke Van Giersbergen. How do you see this characterization as well as your other 2 impressive albums, “Storyteller” and “Archangel”?
I always compose music how I feel it, that’s why I don’t limit it in one genre, because music is multifaceted. Today I can compose sweet and light composition closer to classical rock, and next week something really dark and heavy with blastbeats. And I can let myself do it, because I see this trend in modern music – many bands try different sounds and genres, and they don’t become worse because of that. So in all three albums I was just composing what I felt was the best for now, and I didn’t force myself to stay in only one musical direction. However, the songs sound connected between each other, and that’s in my opinion what makes my music unique as well.
What need does the use of the Russian language serve in the different versions of the tracks in your albums? Do you simply want to reach the audience of your country or is it something deeper?
It’s just that – I want to become more popular in my own country, and it works. The interesting fact that may sound strange to you is that I write most of the song in English first, and only after that in Russian.
From what I know about you, I think that you love music and composition very much and you came to stay in the field at all costs. If there would ever be a chance for you to stop, what would be the reason?
I think that every musician faces that – when you do a lot of things, but you don’t see feedback for a long time. I decided that I would do it for myself, because I can’t live the other way, and then I saw the results slowly start to appear. So except for the full disappointment, the reason to stop for me would probably be some global things, for example if WW3 starts and all the borders will be closed and there won’t be a chance for me to go abroad for the shows. Many people were asking me why I wouldn’t move to any other country, like it’s a really simple thing. Let’s say that if I move to another country I’ll have to find a day job to pay for the rent, food and other necessary things, and I’ll have no time and power for music. Also, there are many difficulties regarding documents that take a lot of energy and money too. And don’t forget that I have family here, and they won’t move with me. Besides, I just really love some places and things here, so I don’t want to put myself in a bigger stress that I already am, because you know when something happens with your health you can’t think about music that much, and I already had that before. I have to find a balance in my life, and for it’s what it is now.
What kind of music do you listen to in general?
Of course I listen to metal – my favourite bands are Nightwish and Kamelot. I also like classical rock like Queen, Scorpions. When I’m cycling or jogging I like to listen to epic soundtrack music, like Two Steps From Hell. And when I play piano, I play classical music, like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and my favourite composer Rachmaninoff. Sometimes when I am in a mood I can listen to Michel Jackson, Madonna, Pink or Adel, but I don’t listen to pop music much.
Have you already planned the next step? Will it be a release or something else? In general, what are your dreams in Music, in a harsh field, where competition is cold and unfair many times, while lies and backstabbing are usual? To what extent do you believe this is true and how do you see the world in general and Russia in particular?
Besides Over The Wall festival in Crete in August, I’m working on an interesting collaboration with one nice lady! I know that you’ll like it, so keep an eye on the updates on my social media! I also want to film a new music video soon, and I hope that I’ll do it, because I have one complicated plot for this video in my mind, and it’s really hard to find people who can do this. Then I have a few shows in Russia, as a guest singer for the other bands too. And I hope to return to Europe next year, so after the festival I’ll start booking. I also work as a manager for my band, so I’d really like to find a good agency or label for me to help. Unfortunately, I already had a bad experience in that field, and it’s a really complicated question. I know that I need some help, especially with the financial part, but most of the labels and agencies just want me to pay them instead of working for the result and taking their percentage. I know that I have a big potential, but big labels just don’t care about it – they want to take big bands already. In this case a question is – why would the big bands need a label of the already got everything themselves? It’s much better for them to pay to selected specialists than to sign a label contract then.
You know, I felt the same when I was going to different musical universities after school – they told me I wasn’t good enough, and I was like – yes, but I’m gonna study really hard! They needed professional 18-years old musicians! What an absurdity! So after school I couldn’t enter any university in Moscow and went to a college in Kaluga. But then, after college, I could go to a few universities and I chose the best of them, and it was for me for free, because I was a really good student. So it will be the same with the labels I think 🙂
My dream is to do what I do for the rest of my life, but don’t think about the money part. And I also really would like to play at Wembley stadium one day – I have dreamt about it since I saw Queen at AID festival on TV when I was 12. I don’t know about the future of my country in the musical field, I just really want the war to be over and maybe in a few years the reputation of Russian people will be better…
When you compose and write lyrics, do personal experiences often play a role? I recall the song “Sister” and the impressive ballad “Nostalgia” that particularly moved me and seem to stem from deep personal experiences.
You can’t compose or write a poem without putting a personal experience, even if it’s a fantasy lyrics, it’s based on the books, movies and games that you know and it’s going through your perception. Everything in your life is based on your experience and perception, so yes, my personal experience plays the main role, the same as yours 🙂
I don’t want to waste any more of your precious time, Anna. Thank you very much to Crunchy Newz and I wish you good luck in Music and in your life in general. I leave the space and time to you to share whatever else you want with the readers. My honor and joy were great!
Thank you Kostas! It was a pleasure. What I want to say to people who read it – if you have a dream, try to follow it! Look at me – I’m a simple Russian girl from Kaluga, I was born in a simple family, I don’t have a lot of money, all that I had when I started was my dream. I was studying and working hard, I moved to the big city, and I got a chance that helped me to move forward when I joined Imperial Age. Now I’m on my own, still continuing the way, but really happy about it. From what I learnt through all these years – if you do what you love in your life and you have people that you love around you – it’s already happiness and it’s already enough. It doesn’t mean you need to stop now, but when you continue your way with the feeling that you already have a lot it’s completely different than if you do something from the feeling that you have nothing and you have to fight all the time. Much more comfortable and leads to bigger results, at least this is how it works for me! I wish you happiness!
Interview by Kostas Salomidis for Crunchy Newz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annakiaraofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annakiaraofficial
Merch: https://annakiara.bigcartel.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annakiara
Telegram: https://t.me/Anna_KiaRa
YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/AnnaKiaRa
Add Comment