Meet Gen-Z’s New Alt-Pop Protagonist… Karin Ann

Meet Karin Ann, Eastern Europe’s answer to Billie Eilish and a growing Gen-Z icon in her region and beyond! Hailing from Slovakia, Karin Ann is an alt-pop artist and activist who has been writing music since the tender age of 14. Discovered by renowned producer Matt Schwartz (YUNGBLUD, Massive Attack, Halsey), the young talent has been making a name for herself on the live circuit – touring with the likes of YUNGBLUD, Alfie Templeman, LP and My Chemical Romance – while also becoming the first Slovak artist to appear on a billboard in New York’s Times Square, as the face of Spotify’s 2021 EQUAL campaign. Her platform has given her a voice to campaign on issues such as LBGTQ+ rights and speak openly on topics such as mental health. Last year, the artist released her EP, ‘side effects of being human,’ to critical acclaim, while in 2023, she continues to make a splash. 

Fresh from the release of her latest single, ‘for a moment‘, we spoke to Karin Ann below…

Hey Karin, thanks so much for speaking with us today. How has your 2023 been so far?

Hi! Thank you for making time for me! 2023 has been super busy so far… I’m working on a lot of new things! 

‘for a moment’ is such a gorgeous single — full of emotion, but builds into such an uplifting and positive ending. Walk us through the creative process behind the single.

I wrote this song after being reminded of the quote, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” because I realised I don’t like that saying. Even though what you go through makes you who you are, it doesn’t always make you stronger, sometimes it gives you trauma or issues that you have to work through, and that can affect your life in a really big way. I don’t like that people expect you to not be sad or mad about it. I started thinking about it, and I thought, “I don’t think the things I’ve been through made me stronger”. The same thing goes for “time heals”; in reality, it doesn’t, it just makes you forget about how bad the things you went through were at the time of going through them, it doesn’t make you magically healed unless you take conscious steps towards healing. That’s basically how the whole song started, writing it was kind of therapeutic for me. I think it made me self-reflect quite a bit.

Do you have a specific ritual when it comes to writing music, or can inspiration appear at any time?

Honestly, it appears any time it wants. I found that the more I force it, the less likely it is to come. I always have a note in my phone’s notes app with random sentences or verses, just because when I have a thought that I think might be a good concept of a song or a lyric, I don’t want to lose it. Then I use these notes when I’m in sessions.

What do you hope people will take away from your music?

I would like to make people feel seen, give them a sense of community and for them to know that whatever they’re going through, they’re not alone in it.

You’re very outspoken on LGBTQ+ rights, both within your music and using the platform you’ve built for yourself. What was your experience growing up in Slovakia as part of the LGBTQ+ community? 

Honestly, it’s been very bad. When you’re growing up in a conservative place, and you’re “outside the norm” of society, it makes you repress who you really are for a long time because you feel unsafe. I’m hoping speaking about it through my platform will help with more acceptance in the world, but especially in places like Slovakia.

You’re also a huge advocate of important topics such as mental health and other vital human rights. What sparked your passion for speaking out about these topics?

For me, being a part of the groups going through these things made me care about them. It’s my everyday reality, it’s hard to avoid it.

Have you been able to speak to any fans that have been positively affected by your activism? 

Yes! I am lucky to be a musician at a time of social media, so I can interact with the people who support me quite a bit. I get to feel the impact I’m making. 

You’ve supported some incredible artists on tour recently, such as My Chemical Romance, LP, YUNGBLUD and Imagine Dragons, who was your favourite to tour with? Any favourite memories from these support slots? 

It’s really hard to pick! Each tour is very different, and each tour has their own great memories. I guess one of my favourite memories of this past summer was during my tour with LP; we all had a day off, and we went to Venice and just spent the day there, it was really beautiful.

You’ve received an incredible amount of support from some huge names in the music industry. What are your key goals for 2023 and the years to come?

I am working on a lot of new music with some incredible people, and the music is quite different than what I did up till now, so I’m really excited to start sharing some of it. I would also like to start collaborating with more musicians, but mostly I’m just taking things one day at a time as they come!

Make sure to check out the visualiser for Karin’s latest track, ‘for a moment’ below.