Meet: Hanna Vox.
Twenty-year old Swedish Indie pop singer-songwriter, Hanna Vox, is a rising star too bright to ignore. Her view and understanding of life which also transcends into her lyricism is nothing short of brilliant. Her words and worldly-thinking is thought-provoking for anyone on the receiving end either in person or on one of her songs.
She best describes her approach as “set[ting] a mysterious atmosphere by singing in riddles about her perception of life and seek[ing] to ignite discussions in the minds of her listeners”.
Not only is her song writing brilliant, but her vocals too, which she often uses to sing covers when she is not performing one of her originals. She often mentions artists such as Adele and Lana del Rey amongst others as vocal influences. See the “Get to Know Hanna Vox” section at the end of the post.
If anything, I am fascinated by the mind of Hanna and the stem of her thought moreover at such a young age. Below I got to chat to Hanna Vox while also attempting to pick her brain a bit.
Growing up in Sweden, how exposed were you to the “music of the world”? What were the tunes of your childhood both from Sweden and across the borders?
As a child I spent a lot of time listening to the radio, either during car rides or at home. During those moments I was exposed to the ‘latest hits’ according to Western culture. A lot of Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake (or Bieber of course). Due to Eurovision, I was also exposed to different genres and music styles in Europe. Even the spectacles on stage showed much of the countries’ personalities. Yet to be fully honest, as a child in Sweden, most of the focus is on Melodifestivalen, the contest before Eurovision. The Swedish contestants were more highlighted, since they were played on the radio before Eurovision even started. Also worth mentioning is the blend of genres and influences in Swedish music. Many Swedish songwriters have the ambition to succeed internationally which explains why our greatest bands or musicians write songs in English – ABBA, Roxette, Ace of Base, Avicii etc. Due to their experimental and cross-culture music, children in Sweden will grow up with a broad experience of music, especially now when music can be found through a click on different music platforms. From the age of ten or eleven I also had that privilege thanks to Spotify and Youtube, which made me explore many types of music. It started with pop, mostly Rihanna and Beyoncé, to later become indie/alternative with Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Florence & The Machine and London Grammar. Today those are my favorites and will be for many years to come.
How and when did you discover your singing talent or were you just always aware of it?
I discovered my voice rather early, at least at the age of eight. The discovery of it is blurry at the moment, I don’t remember the details, but it was somehow connected to the album ‘21’ by Adele. As I was singing my favorite song on the album, ‘Rolling in the Deep’, I noticed the capacity and strength of my voice. Also I loved screaming out the chorus with the same frustration as Adele without understanding why I should sound frustrated (remember I was too young to understand English). Perhaps my interest in singing came from the type of genre Adele created. I found it both natural and passionate to sing her songs. I have never been a fan of singing typical pop songs, mostly because they don’t fit my voice. As mentioned before, I prefer powerful choruses so I can scream with either frustration or excitement. Most of the choruses in pop songs are too stressful for that sort of singing. Also I find it difficult to sing with depth when the song is rhythmic and snappy. Because of this, I prefer writing songs with powerful choruses with a lot of space and flow. My latest release Skyline is a great example of this.
Describe your song writing process?
The first step in my process is to experiment on the piano. I try different chord progressions and wait until the most important requirement is fulfilled: A sense of excitement. If excitement washes over me, I know it has got potential. After that I move on to the melody. Usually I sing nonsense words, since the main mission is to know the melody and its rhythm. By only singing nonsense I know how many syllables it should be later on. Also it helps me find a creative flow. With finished lyrics, the melody will naturally adjust to the amount of syllables and perhaps not be as free.
And generally what is your favorite part of this song making process?
Definitely experimenting with different chord progressions and adding melody to them. There is so much excitement in creating new combinations of tunes. When hearing a promising combination, I usually have bodily reactions, like butterflies in the stomach. The process is so irrational and difficult to explain.
Do you play any instruments yourself?
Yes! I play the piano and some guitar. Last month I also started playing the cajón when performing.
Do you conform to genre boundaries? If so what genre would you say your music falls under?
Not really, but I am probably very influenced by musicians I listen to on a daily basis. That is why I
prefer referring to creators rather than genres, such as Lana Del Rey, London Grammar and
Adele.
How do you meet and get to know Markus Göranson?
We met at a midsummer celebration as I was performing covers and originals. After the performance Markus told me he was a producer interested in a collaboration. Since I had 30 unproduced songs at the time I was instantly hooked. Shortly after our encounter I visited his studio to discuss musical preferences and ambitions and found that we had many things in common. From the beginning of our collaboration we already had a great understanding of each other which made the creative process incredibly free and experimental. Our first collaboration was the production of ‘A Clean Slate’ (2021) and after that we worked on the production of ‘Skyline’ (2022). Now we have moved on to a song called ‘Rising Sun’ that will soon be released.
Has the Clean Slate that you referred to in the eponymously titled track gone as planned?
Good question. I think my greatest realization after writing ‘A Clean Slate’ is that there is no such thing. There is no tabula rasa after you have gained life experience, the tabula only gets more complex. I realized this after it ended with the person I originally wanted a clean slate with. Due to emotional memories we had no chance of starting over. No matter how hard I tried denying that gut feeling, there was no tabula rasa in sight. Even though my emotional life turned upside down after that relationship, I don’t feel reborn. A more fitting description would be adaptation. Because of those experiences, I grew as a person. It is not as exciting as discovering the world with new eyes, like a clean slate, but it feels steadier. I can continue painting my tabula rasa to make it even more complex and perhaps more interesting to look at.
Get to Know Hanna Vox
- Hanna is from the city of Gothenburg in Sweden.
- Hanna released her first single titled Basis of Art when she was only 15 years old.
- Hanna has been trained in songwriting at PACE, Manhattan.
- Hanna’s music is released and distributed by Spektrum Studios, an independent record label founded by Hanna and her brother Oscar (oscil-8).
Connect with Hanna on the following social media platforms:
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