Annika Catharina is a Canadian country artist who has just released her debut five track EP, You and Me, on all digital streaming platforms. Annika says, “These songs are snapshots from past relationships that I never fully resolved. At its core, You and Me is about the universal feeling of love – how it lifts us up, breaks us down and changes us”.
Interview by Maria Passannante-Derr. Photos courtesy of Annika Catharina. Click here for Annika Catharina’s website.
Maria Passannante-Derr: Let’s discuss You and Me. How do you feel about the final product?
Annika Catarina: I am super proud of it. I love every single song on there. Just last night, at band practice, we were singing, practicing and preparing these songs live. A lot of people have not heard them with the full band. Live with the band is a whole other feeling. Knowing that all these songs are out there is super exciting and I’m proud because it’s my first EP as an artist.
MP-D: You mentioned a live performance, tell me about your style when you perform live.
AC: My performance style is diverse. I like to have all of the songs different and fun. Lots of high energy. A few of my songs are on the slower side, just a few. Other than that, I have a lot of upbeat songs that I haven’t released. I like to keep it as energetic as I can. I don’t like to play guitar on stage. That’s kind of more of an acoustic or a writing thing for me.
I really feel myself when I can run around the stage and interact with the band. When I have my band with me, I have a bass guitar, an electric guitar who also switches to acoustic for certain songs, a lead electric guitar and drums. I want it to sound as full and big as possible.
MP-D: That’s exactly what I was going to say. Sounds like a full sound to me.
AC: And, a lot of times, especially as independents, you have to scale back because it gets quite expensive, but I would rather invest to have everyone there and have the sound big.
MP-D: You have been called “the break-out Canadian country talent for 2025”. What is your sound right now?
AC: I can’t really compare myself to somebody. My sound is a little pop with some soul and some rock. My goal for each release is that each song is different and unique. The next song I am releasing, “Under Covers”, in the beginning of August, will have a whole new vibe and I’m pumped to have that song come out. The sound has elements of emotional pop, rock and country. That’s why I look up to like Shania Twain my whole life because she introduced rock elements; she was doing the country thing; she was doing the pop thing. I’ve always been interested in people who switch things up.
MP-D: I read you are influenced by Patsy Klein. But, first, when you perform how do you decide between released, unreleased and cover songs?
CA: Sometimes, I say, “I’ll figure this out next weekend”. [For example,] when I’m playing a festival… some of my slow songs do have moments that are mid-tempo and get upbeat enough where people are still bobbing their heads but sometimes a slow ballad is just not the right place at a festival. Every artist likes to have a ballad on their record because a ballad is super emotional. That’s where Patsy Klein comes in. I always found her to be really raw with her vocals. I remember being young and being really impressed with her and not really knowing why. When I got older [I realized] it’s because it was really raw and with country there’s a lot of storytelling and her voice was perfect for the storytelling.
MP-D: Did you appear at the City of Hope’s Canada Day Celebration on July 1st?
CA: Yes, it was awesome. Super fun. The weather was perfect. It was in Hope and in British Columbia we have so many great places with mountain ranges. I was nestled in a field with the community and all these huge mountains around me and the sun going down. It was absolutely beautiful; and those are moments where you say to yourself, “I can’t believe I get to witness this and play music here!”
MP-D: What did you play that day?
CA: We played mainly covers for that gig. That’s another thing, sometimes you’re not in a place where people want to hear all the original material. We try to squeeze them in but you have to read the room.
MP-D: What covers did you play?
CA: Everything from pop, to Ed Sheeran to AC/DC, Miranda Lambert and Joan Jet. That’s the reason I like to keep my original music diverse. I grew up listening to a wide range of music and I love singing different ranges. When I compose, I want it to be like the stuff that I listen to.
MP-D: Why don’t we dive into your newly released five track EP, really great, very enjoyable.Tell us about You and Me. What song is your favorite?
CA: I love them all. It’s always important to stand behind each song 100% when you put it out in the world, and I truly do. I think each song hits a little bit differently. “Dishonest” is the most personal one. It’s about lies, hurt and betrayal. When I write, the ideas are always coming from something I experienced or something I watched. Then you fudge the story a little bit with writing so that it didn’t actually happen. With “Dishonest”, every single thing in that song happened and it’s absolutely 100% real. Every time I sing that song, those emotions surface.
MP-D: Is this the one song on the EP that resonates with your audience and fans? Are there others?
CA: I’ve always loved that song. It’s such a feel-good, happy upbeat song. Then there’s “Bandit” which is so haunting. It’s my cheeky ode to want and desire. They love that it is just nice to listen to the harmonies that complement each other so well.
I was surprised about “You and Me”. In “You and Me”, I examine the impossible task of moving on from the one you love. A lot of people tell me that it is their favorite. I didn’t necessarily think that everyone was going to love it because it is very personal. I remember the day that I wrote it. It started out on the guitar and I just loved the way it kind of happened. It was a really good process writing that song.
Then there is “Love and Hate”, about a stormy relationship’s emotional cycle”. There was a good response with that one. I put that song out as a single and it did really well. And yeah, they’re just all very different.
MP-D: Which songs were the easiest to compose?
CA: “Dishonest” and “You and Me”. “Love and Hate” started out really easy and then took sitting with it for a while. I really liked the vibe I was going for, but I was like, I don’t necessarily know if the song should be called “Love and Hate”. I don’t really know if that would make sense to people. “Dishonest” was probably the fastest song I’ve ever written. There were very specific emotions that came flowing out, from where I actually don’t know, just one of those experiences.
MP-D: It must be very enlightening to know that all of that is within you and flowed from you.
CA: You know, there’s this feeling of worry and fear that a lot of us feel and it’s just amazing how you can stop yourself from going for something that you ultimately know might work out. Just saying to yourself, “Well, what if I just went for it?” There are so many things that could be accomplished in life, but we let ourselves get in the way.
My heartbreak songs are from past relationships but I am married now so I don’t necessarily know what it’s like to go out there currently and date. But I do remember the angst that you would feel, the self-doubt and the worry. So much anxiety around relationships.
MP-D: Are you writing now about being more settled in your love now that you’re married? Is it taking on a different perspective?
CA: I’d say “You and Me” was closure from a specific time in my life because “Dishonest” and “Love and Hate” were written from the same relationship pretty much at the same time. After I wrote all these songs, it feels like closure for my younger self. “You and Me” is more of a hypothetical situation. I imagined, “What if I lost the person I am with?” That’s where it started from. And I just knew that if that happened, I probably would never get over this person.
I do love heartbreak songs. I feel really moved by any kind of heartbreak song. No matter where I’m at in life, a heartbreak song will still make me feel something. To me, as long as I feel something, then I want it out there. If I don’t get a feeling from a song or it just feels too far removed, I won’t put it out there.
The next song is “Bandit” because I felt like having the song slowly progressed. “Bandit” gets a little more upbeat and a little more haunting and then energetic positive fun. Then I bring you back down to “Dishonest” where it’s a little gut-wrenching and raw but still mid-tempo. Then leaving you with “Love and Hate”, a sassy, what are we doing, song. A lot of thought went into that balancing and reveal of the emotions of all of these songs.
MP-D: On this EP, you worked with Dan Batch and Garrett Ward as your producers. They call themselves “The Renaissance”. What is your dynamic with your producers? Do you go into the studio, work remotely, or a combination?
CA: I always prefer in person because they are really fun and great guys to work with. A lot of the time when we start a song, it’s me sending them a voice note or a rough thing on my guitar and then we finish it together in the studio. That’s how it goes, the majority of the time. It’s also because they’re super busy and I live about an hour away.
MP-D: On your latest release there are a lot of different names here besides Garrett and Dan. It sounds like you’re a collaborator.
CA: Yes, I always want the song to be the best it can be. Sometimes that means getting in more perspectives, different ideas. I’ve found the best songs come when you’re working with people that you enjoy and trust.
MP-D: Was there a moment when you decided to commit to a music career?
CA: I started getting this feeling after I had an accident in 2017 and that lit a fire under me. I felt that I was getting a second chance, so, I’m going to do music. At that point, I didn’t really know how. I was actively finding ways to get myself in the music industry beyond singing covers with my band. I was always doing that, but I wanted to be in the part where people make music. It wasn’t until 2020 where I felt a big turning point for the songwriting part. Life can be unpredictable but if you’re actively going for your passions or dreams then you’re doing something right in life. I had no timeline but I knew this is going to be a part of my life. I told myself I want to put out good music, to get better at songwriting. I’m here for the long game. I want to make sure with each release it’s getting better. Each time I sit down with my guitar, I’m writing better. And wherever those songs take me, I’m going to be super pumped because I know that I am actively doing what I love in a world where sometimes dreams get shattered.
MP-D: Do you have a name yet for your next release?
CA: It’s called “Under Covers”. I had to upload that song yesterday and I got all the fonts and they’re so cool. I’ve never been this excited about cover art before. Dan and his wife did my photos. My producers are now my photographers. We agreed that this song doesn’t need any text, just a photo. I’ve never done just a photo. So, the song is different and the way I’m approaching it is new. Everything feels new and exciting. I’m singing it in a way that lends itself to country. But if you listen to the musicianship, it’s a little edgy. Even the lyrics are a little edgier than from the heartbreak stuff. I don’t know how it’s going to land but I know that I like to follow these gut feelings and I have a gut feeling that this song is going to be great.
