We get to know Sannia, a singer songwriter out of Victoria who’s just dropped her latest single ‘Go And Get Over’.
She’s got a stunning voice, a whole lotta soul and we reckon you’ll melt over said new single.
She’s also given us a dozen songs she loves and mood music that ranges from straight out pop to classical.
So join us as we get to know Sannia.
01. Name : Sannia.
02. Where are you based? On the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.
03. How did you get your start in music? In year 10 I signed up to perform an original song at a school concert. Afterwards, the vocal teacher in charge suggested I try singing lessons and I haven’t really looked back since. I’d been playing piano since the age of four and was at competition level but I felt most like myself behind a microphone
04. Give us five words to best describe you as an artist. Authentic, emotive, unwavering, soulful and sometimes a little too spirited.
05. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how it developed. Music for me started as an interest and grew into an outlet to cope with a lot of things going on in my life as a kid. I’d come home and head straight to the piano room and thrash out my feelings for an hour or two and move on.
Something I’ve been told for a while now is that one of the most distinctive qualities of my voice is how much emotion there is behind the sound, and that’s because it’s how I learnt how to communicate how I felt to the world.
I learnt to sing in a way that I could never articulate with spoken words to friends or family when I was struggling and as a result the music I’ve written has always been highly personal and highly emotive.
06. What’s your earliest musical memory? My grandfather running his knuckles across the black keys of my mother’s old upright piano. I was around two or three years old and I remember it felt like the sound shot through me like lightning and I was completely transfixed.
07. Who have been your musical influences? I used to listen to Ray Charles over and over as a child. There was just something so raw about his voice that I was really drawn to. Mum was always a huge fan of INXS and Whitney Houston so I listened to a lot of big voices growing up, but at the same time I also loved Cat Stevens and most car rides were spent listening to his albums.
In terms of recent influences on my sound as an artist myself, I’d say Matt Corby’s music really came into my life in that transitional age where I was starting to write and experiment with delivery. Both he and Amy Winehouse have been pivotal in my development as a musician and as a writer too.
08. What are your favourite songs of all time? Such a tough question. There are so many amazing songs out there that I love but I think I’ll try and pick the ones that moved me most. Here’s the first 12 that came to mind, I’ll probably kick myself later for missing a favourite…
1. ‘And So It Goes’ – Billy Joel, the live version
2. ‘Hymne L’Amour’ – Edith Piaf
3. ‘Slow Dancing In A Burning Room’ – John Mayer
4. ‘Happy Ending’ – MIKA
5. ‘Runaway’ (Live on the Resolution Tour) – Matt Corby
6. ‘I Can’t Hear God Anymore’ – Ngaiire
7. ‘All I Want Is You’ – U2
8. ‘She’ – Laura Mvula
9. ‘Both Sides Now’ – Joni Mitchell
10. ‘Heroes’ – David Bowie
11. ‘Hard Times’ – Ray Charles
12. ‘One Crowded Hour’ – Augie March
09. Where’s your favourite place to listen to music? Weirdly enough, on trains or in cars. I like listening to music while travelling, it completely takes me away to a different place (and quite literally too).
10. Who are your go-to artists when you’re feeling:
Happy? Michael Jackson, INXS, Beyonce, Kimbra.
Sad? Jeff Buckley, or I end up going and writing something myself.
Introspective? Matt Corby, Ngaiire, Amy Winehouse, Gang Of Youths.
Exhausted? Chopin, Debussy, Grieg.
11. What was the first album you ever bought? Martha Argerich’s performance of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto recorded with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.
12. Give us a little fun fact about yourself that people might not know. The only trophy I’ve ever won was for archery in eighth grade. I also hate tuna.
13. What would your chosen career be if music weren’t an option? I’ve always been fascinated by medicine and drawn to professions that involve helping others so I’d probably say nursing.
14. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? That the reason you shouldn’t compare yourself to others is so that you can concentrate fully on becoming the most honest and true version of your art through your artistry.
There’s no such thing as good or bad music, there’s music that is genuine, and music that isn’t.
15. If you could trade places with any artist in the world right now, who would it be? I wouldn’t, I’m happy with where I’m at and where I’m headed for now but if you mean who am I loving right now? I think Vera Blue is absolutely kicking goals; the girl is an inspiration.
16. Tell us about your latest release. ‘Go And Get Over’ is about the cyclical process of moving on from someone, while at the same time reminiscing about everything that was and I think that’s something a lot of people have been relating to.
You almost go through these seven stages of grief – leaving them, missing them, trying to exact change – it takes its toll.
The song itself still feels like it almost fell out of the sky to me. I was driving home late one night and started singing to keep myself awake and the opening words of the song were the first ones that came out of my mouth and the rest came together in my run down Mazda on Nepean Highway. Go figure.
17. What do your future plans involve? Performing and writing, I’ve got some plans to co-write with some incredible Australian musicians in the coming months, and I’m hoping to get out there and gig interstate and meet as many new people along the way as possible.
18. Where can our audience catch you live? Next month at the Wesley Anne in Northcote, I’ll be launching my single on July 13 with the band a killer lineup of support acts. Come down!
WEBSITE: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/sannia
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SanniaMusic
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sanniamusic/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/sanniamusic
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/sanniasings
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/SanniaMusic
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