Anna Ransom

‘Slow Climb’ balances heavy emotional material with a driving indie rock sound. How did you decide on this sonic direction for the track?

Honestly, I think I’d just had too much coffee while I was working on it! It started off as this slow piano ballad type thing, and when I would listen back to it, I would find myself getting restless and tapping away really fast on the piano with my pencil and at some point went, “Hey, that kind of works!” I think that’s when I realised it wasn’t a sad song; it was a hopeful song, defiant even — full of life and energy. 

Having recently performed with Isobel Knight and Hein Cooper, how do these live shows influence your music and the way you connect with your audience?

Isobel and Hein are incredible songwriters and performers and have a lot in common with the kinds of artists that influenced my music — Adrianne Lenker, Bon Iver, Laura Marling, Phoebe Bridgers, etc. I think what a lot of these artists have in common, Isobel and Hein included, is that their songs are compelling no matter how lush or stripped back the accompaniment. If you’re playing your songs live, there will be times when you have a full band with you and times when it’s just you, your voice and an instrument. I think a good song needs to hold its own in all these different settings and iterations. I wouldn’t be so bold as to claim that I’ve achieved this, but it’s definitely something I aspire to and keep in mind when I’m writing a song.

Your lyrics often feel like a form of storytelling. How does your background and personal experiences shape the narratives you craft in songs like ‘Slow Climb’?

I read a lot of books! My whole university degree basically consisted of reading a few works of classic literature each week for three years. Not so great for finding a job, but good for songwriting! I think one of the things I learned from that experience is that narrative is everything — not just in literature but in all of human thought and dialogue. Even our perception of reality is shaped to some extent by the narratives we inherit and carry with us, whether they be scientific, political, religious, cultural or psychological. It gave me confidence that I don’t need to argue a point to communicate something in my songwriting; it’s enough just to tell a story, and if you tell it honestly, the truths it contains will get through. 

As someone with deep folk roots, how do you see your sound evolving as you continue to perform and create new music? What can fans expect from the rest of the ‘Tides’ EP?

I am definitely feeling drawn to explore other genres in my songwriting — you can already see it starting to happen in Slow Climb, which was the most recently written song on the EP and has more of an indie rock feel. The new track “Him” is a little bit experimental and atmospheric, taking inspiration from 20th century compositions like Penderecki’s “Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima” and thriller film scores like “Tar”, and the instrumental track “Theme for a Movie” is also riffing on that cinematic idea too. As you say though, my roots are in folk — I grew up around family playing a lot of Irish traditional music — and you can’t escape your roots at the end of the day. I wouldn’t want to!

Anna Ransom - ‘Tides’ Tour

Nov 01 in Sydney, Greenhouse Studios

Nov 02 in Wollongong, intimate house show

Nov 17 in Melbourne, Lulie Tavern

Nov 24 in Canberra, Smith's Alternative