anella blends his spaces in new interview

1824 presented an amazing press conference where we were able to have the chance to interview Anella, a rising artist in the last few years, who has been able to smash a few hits on social media, primarily TikTok, as well as impressive blend of different genres, such as alternative rock, hip hop, country, pop, folk, you name it. We came around to uncovering his most recently released album, “831: The Series”. An album that follows more along an episodic journey of Anella, and his experiences and stories, and we got the chance to interview him to cover more of that side to him.

Do you feel like when facing success in the music industry and your come up that you either have confidence or you tend to remain humble?

“Yeah I like to remain humble but it’s easy to remain humble when when you are able to manage expectations, because its easy to get excited when you have success and the money whatever the case may be, thinking it will continue, but then the next song doesn’t do so well, or its not as successful and I feel that it can be a thing of making sure I manage my expectations and everything few in far between.”

How are you able to blend so much genres that you listen to and combine it in your music?

“So I enjoy what I’m making and does it scratch the itch in my brain, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I am inspired by every artist you’ve heard growing up,  and I try to be open minded and understand different cultures and I don’t relate labels with genres, we associate certain stuff with a certain genre but I believe in just doing me and just doing my thing, and that’s all that matters.  My music is a clusterfuck of me. Wonder is the first song and he remembers laying in his bed and humming the melody, and then he goes to the studio so that he record his song and what he thought would change his life and make a change. But another song that the made where he made it in 30 minutes is the none that went viral, so why he expected is different than what actually happened.”

What is your favorite tattoo?

“831 on his chest as a tattoo is a number that means a lot to him, and is a taste of his whole life and meaning. Every tattoo has a backstory and a meaning, and he has finger tattoos of packman, and that is his favorite tattoo.” 

At just 23, you've already garnered significant streaming numbers and critical acclaim. Looking back at your journey since 2020, what's been the most unexpected lesson you've learned about yourself as an artist, and how has that influenced your creative process for 831: The Series?

“Being okay that I don’t have everything figured, I thought that I knew everything, but as I got older I realized I don’t know everything. And being okay with being wrong, letting the right people in, and letting wrong people out.”

What song on 831 do you feel represents you combining an emotion and multiple genres the most?

“Big example from a 3:1 series where you feel you've most effectively achieved this.  I feel like I'd have to look at the songs, Cheat Code for Happiness. Lock and Key, the first song on the entire album. I mean, Wonder is the first song on the album, but Lock and Key was the first song of season one. It was like the introduction to the whole layout and how I was planning on doing it. It's like I think there's a sense of nostalgia, I think there's a sense of comfortability, I think there's a sense of refreshing,  new and old and recycled and rebranded and like there's an aspect of everything in it that makes it not like anything else, but just like everything else, so it's like, like the video, the first video we went viral with is like Natural Habitat, whatever you want to call it. I'm in Charlotte and so in a studio and we just had everyone that usually comes to the studio pull up and it's like, yeah, everyone looks different than me, but we're all hanging out, having a good time vibe and supporting each other as up and coming artists, right? And it went viral because if you mute it, it looks like I'm, you know, doing rap, trap, boom, bat, whatever you want to call it to people that aren't in the actual vicinity of like the family and friendship that's going on. It's just like seeing that got the perfect, got the wrong reaction and the right reaction all at the same time.”

 “I think the song makes you want to be on a boat personally or like on a beach or vibing, but then putting it in a garage with a mic hanging from the ceiling and everybody's in tank tops, tank tops, vibing out. Like it's just, it just shows you that it's an everywhere thing. It's just good music is good music and everyone's comfortable in whatever setting you're in listening to it because it makes you feel nostalgic and new. You know, it makes you want to replicate older memories you had, which means make new memories that made you feel just as good as the ones when you were 13 in the back of your parents car and Katy Perry came on like that feeling”

Given your prolific output with the season series and, you know, now your full length album, how do you maintain creative inspiration and avoid burnout while constantly exploring new genres and emotions? 

• “I Don't burnout. And then I stop and then I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna go do it again. And then I make the best all my life. And then I get pissed off because I feel like, wow, I'm never gonna make a good song again. And then two hours go by and I make another hit and then two weeks go by and I can't make a song to save my life. And then I write an amazing song in 30 minutes and lose the files to it and say, I'm never gonna touch my laptop again and this and that and yada yada. It's like, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop the burnout because of my persistence. And like, when I get in a mood and like, I'm like, yo, I have to do this. There's really no wall that I hit. The only wall I hit is myself. So I don't think I'll ever get out of the way of myself. But I think that's what keeps me going, is because it's like, if I'm my only obstacle, you know, I just talk to myself until we work it out. So I don't think I do avoid burnouts, but I get over them because it's like, you know, it's just looking at it from the outside in. If I'm doing it every day, like I'll get lost in it. So if I step back and look back at it, I'm like, oh yeah, I do actually love this sh*t Like I miss it a little bit. Let me go talk to it again. Okay. Period. You know, I'm gonna take that and apply it to my own life. Okay, Be careful. I have no idea what I'm doing.”

Beyond the intense creative process of, you know, crafting music such as yours and creating emotional seasons, what does Anela do to unwind and rechar charge? Are there any unexpected hobbies or activities that help you disconnect from the demands of music and just simply be 23 year old Anala? 

“Maybe Legos or like golf or literally just like a trip. Obviously it sounds normal like a vacation, but like going to Gatlinburg and then doing a moonshine tasting and then going up the ski lift and looking over the city. Like early, early December when all the Christmas lights are up, it's just like beautiful. But then I have this studio in the crib. So we just go back to the cabin and we're like, yo, how did that make us feel?  Like, I don't Know, I do a lot of things online, but, you know, everything in life costs money. So it's like being a 23 year old, it's like I got blessed with the worst economy in American history. Like no one might like, no one likes to get a house. Nobody used to do this. Nobody's can do that. So it's like I go down the line playing golf and I'm like, wow, I just spent $60 to smack a rock with a stick. The am I doing my life? But then sometimes I'm like it. I'm gonna go to the movies and spend 120 on custom popcorn buckets because I love movies. And no one's gonna tell me different. It's like a different day, a different dog. But literally, you know, I don't, I don't regret nothing. Playing if I made the wrong decision, I learned from it. I won't make it again. And so when I am on top of the world, I'm not gonna make the same decision twice because I don't learn from it. When I. I could up $5,000 right now and like hate myself. Right? Like 500, 000 when I'm 30 years old because I made the wrong investment, it's like I'd rather learn now than later. True. And you know, I don't know what we were doing when we were seven years old. We should have been saving for our mortgage. They stopped teaching cursive. You know, people don't learn cursive in elementary school anymore. That's what I'm saying. That was the beginning of the end right there.”

Which song from the album felt like the biggest risk to release? 

“I don't know. I got told some of them wouldn't do good and they did the best. And then we expected some to do amazing that didn't do good. 

I think the only risk in music is not releasing, because if I release a song and it doesn't do good, whoop dee doo, like, or release another one and hope it does do good, it's like, or I could not release a song because we're scared and don't think it'll do good. And it's a quote on quote waste of money. And now I just never put out my global number one racism, ending, human healing, change the world song. It's like, there's no right answer. I don't think we ever feel a risk. The only risk is the money we put into it. But every around. Everybody around me is so determined and, like, okay with failure that it's like, we'll make it back. The. The only currency we worry about is, like, the memories we make alone. That was horrible. It's like. But you get what I'm saying? Like, this. The. We do, like, we spend five grand and it goes down the toilet, but we had a blast. It's like, hey, y. We might do that again. Yeah. Especially, like, if you like movies. Like, there's a lot of money that goes into that. So. Hey, you're making great memories, bro. Movies are the biggest money laundering ever. Literally, like, you hired somebody to make, like, a CGI for you, and they charge you 50 grand. But they're your company, so you say they charge you 250 grand and pocket the 200. Don't pay taxes on it. Money laundering. That's why we trying to make movies.  I wanted to ask about the album's rollout. So, as previously stated, a lot of the tracks on the album were previously released on your EP.”

Season 1 through 5. Was the track list for that, like, for the album fully realized and the whole album itself when you first released season one or did it come together over time? 

“Definitely came together over time. I like the whole reason we did the. The release and the way we did with the Seasons and, like, tried to acclimate people instead of just throwing 18 songs in their face to begin with, which we didn't know was going to be 18 songs to begin with. So it's like the whole thing was a learning process. And I wanted to release music specifically because I don't plan on sticking to a genre. Not that I won't, because I might, you know, turn 25 and be like, I'm a folk artist, bro. I'm a folk artist. Or some random. But, like, doing it in the way of Seasons was a way to damn near incubate people's expectations of what they expected to hear from me. That's why I like every song sound different, because it's like, I don't want you to expect a certain sound. I want you to expect a certain quality. And so that quality grew over time. So if I would have made the album when I released Season one and stuck to that plan, the quality of my music would have far outgrown the album itself, because, you know, we took a year and a half to release everything. I grew, learned so much and got better equipment and learned new tricks, and, you know, the people that helped me make the music got better and they matured in their mindset or what they wanted, and it's like, yeah, so I didn't know what it was going to be when we started. I just knew it was going to be good, and that was my goal. It's like, if I could put out quality music and, like, gain faith in meaning instead of, like, a specific type of song, that. I'll go way further than, you know, if I just keep dropping Stop and Love songs and wait for one to hit, because that's weird. So you kind of, like, curated everything based off of how people took it and reacted to it. 

The album is the coming together of EPs you've released over the past year and a half. As you've already said, I wanted to know why the track accusations, Heart to Love and Carousel, you saved for the final installment. Was it just because they were like, the last ones you've written? I know you said a lot of the songs you wrote years ago. 

“So Hard to Love, I wrote two and a half years ago in New York, Carousel. I don't know if we did that here or in New York, but that was another random time. And then Accusations, I literally did in the room. I'M sitting in on a Wolfgang Pander pack I got like two years ago. So those, all those songs are old, but we've had. Hard to Love is like my engineer 7. That's like one of his favorite songs, quality wise. Like the mic we recorded on in the room we record on, I think we recorded it at Penthouse in New York, like right off Times Square. And so he was like, bro, this mic quality's insane. Your vocals are just like, this is just the cleanest you've ever sound. So it's like we've wanted to release it. It was going to be on season four and then it was going to be on season five, and then we weren't going to release it. And then it was just like one of those songs where I was like, everybody wants to release it. We'll release it. I didn't pick them specifically for the last season. They were just, you know, I have like 350 unreleased songs or note and I only bounced down the good ones. So it's like every one of them we could pick and perfect and it would be amazing to me. Not like what I know, I don't know what version of success it would see in the light of day, but just like to me, I could pick any song in that note and be completely happy with what I put out just because I know I love it. And so that was just three of the songs that we went to the team with. And everyone's like, I like these five. I like these five. I like these 5. I like these 5. And those were two or three of the songs that were in everyone's list. We're like, okay, we all agree. We all see the visual of this one in this moment in time. Let's put them out.”

I wanted to know what the number 831 meant to you. Does it hold any personal significance or connections to your writing and lyrics? 

“So like I said, I got it when I was 16. It's eight letters, three words, one meaning. But the one meaning is a million meanings. It's I hate you, I love you. Do I miss you, I know you, I need you, I want you. I have you, I feel you, I hear you, I echo you, I made you out. Whatever you want to say it is. It's like, like if I look in the mirror, it's like everyone has felt the same as me and no one feels the same as I do right now or whatever meeting I wanted to have. It's just like a circle. It's like I can look at it and be like, wow. I relate to that regardless of what my emotion is, and that's what the whole album represents. It's just like, regardless of what you're feeling is just. There's something in there that you can connect to and, like, that will bring back nostalgia for you or that will give you faith in tomorrow, or that will just make you feel hurt or that you'll hate, and you'll be like, wow, I know. I don't want to hear that again. Let me go find something else. It's just. It's just. Yeah, it's just personal, but it's not personal to me. It's personal to everyone. It's whatever you make it because it means everything. Yeah, I really like that. At first I thought it might be like, an area code for a phone, like, for number. But then I was like, you didn't grow up in the area code that it was. So I like that meaning a lot. It's really cool, dude. I got a trespassing ticket one time when I was, like, 16, because I was rock. I was like, Cliff Diamond. And this abandoned rock quit behind a church. And they just put the note, like, people know this. Like, when I went to court for this, there was, like, families with their children there because this was a known public spot that the owner of the church just put signs up. We got there at 11am they put the signs up at 12:30pm so while we were back there, they put the signs up so we didn't see them. So we all got off clean. Digging trouble. But it was me and, like, two of my whitest friends. And, like, we. We all had the tattoo on our chest. And when the cop was like, yeah, we need to go to court, he's talking to us, just talking to us. And then he looks down our chest, he, like, backs up. He's like, what does a 31 mean? I'm like, bro, we are not a gang, first of all. Second of all, whatever. Like, whatever you want it to mean, sir. Like, think about it. Like. So, yeah, everybody thinks it's area cut at first, but that's just instigation and, like, makes people want to know. And then I can explain.”

You've said before that storytelling is what drives your music. Do you find when writing that lyrics come first to you, or do you write them, like, the music first and then the lyrics? 

“It really depends on how the day starts like, I grew up producing my own music. Like, I didn't know anybody that made music. So, like when I got a whole garage band on my phone. I grew up in church, started playing drums when I was like 4 and then learned every instrument, got braces, couldn't play woodwinds or brass. So I went to guitar and piano and like started writing music like late seventh grade, early eighth grade. And so I've always just kind of done everything. There is no routine or like specific thing I like the most. It's like if I watch a movie and at the end of it, it like Narnia. I wrote a song called Old Emery after I watched Narnia because the ending sequence was just like, no words, just violins. But I literally touched my guitar. Like the first four chords on the play, I was like, oh, I just played exactly what I heard in my head perfectly. And then sometimes I'm having a conversation with like a 68 year old in bar that just got divorced and he says some and I'm like, wow, dude, you lived. Like, how can I relate what you just said to a 16 year old? And then I'm like, damn, that would be a hard thing to say. And then I write a verse or a chorus and I have to go home and figure out what melodies would go with that on a piano or on like a them. Whatever I touch. You know what I'm saying? So there's no right way for me to do it. I really just think it's whatever I'm drawn to in the moment. It's like sometimes people talk to you and you're sipping beer by bonfire and you're like, damn, I want to pick up a banjo. And then sometimes you don't want to touch an instrument because it's like, wow, you just told me the saddest of my life. I need to go home and cry and think about this for an hour.”

What Inspired the album 831? The series. Was there a defining moment, experience, or emotion that set the creative process in motion and shaped the direction of the album? 

“I don’t, It's. It's hard to explain because the direction of the album. I'm not saying it's everything. Like, I know it's hard to brand and, like, but it's not hard to relate to. It's, like, so simple. It's as simple as you want to make it, and it's as, like, confusing as you want to make it. It's just how you look at art. So it's like, if you want to look at a painting of a. Like, a black square and it's painting, you're like, damn, it's a black square. That's a really nice color. Black. Or you can be like, damn, that represents the void of, like, compassion when you see a dog in the field. Like, I don't think there's any specific direction. It's. It's literally just a statement of, like, you know, this is me, and I hope you relate. Or, this is me, and I hope you never have to relate, because this is what it feels like. And so I got the tattoo when I was 16, and literally, it's just always been a part of my life, and it was just because I had a few album names before, and I still have album names for, like, an actual album that isn't a compilation of songs I released over the last year. But with that album specifically, it's literally just a moment in time in my life where I'm like, yo, this is how I feel. And I know somebody out there feels exactly like this or will or has, and so here. Don't judge me. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I do. I get it. Well, that's all I have. Thank you so much for all your great answers and that lovely story about you trespassing. Yeah, it's actually not on my record, so I'm completely. Oh, great. Perfect. Not trespassing, then it never happened. Never happened. Yeah. Nice to meet you. Nice meeting you too. You said it's hard to brand, but it's not hard to relate to. I feel like that is just the thesis of, like, what you've been explaining about this album and your music. This whole press conference, that's literally me. That's the problem we run into all the time. It's like, yeah, but how do we show this to people? I'm like, show it to him. Like, I don't. Yeah, it's like that. That's the branding. That's what it is like, it's just. It's the human condition. Yeah. Like I don't have a bow. I got a pretty cool looking box though. You know what I'm saying? Pause. But you know what I'm saying. Anyways, next question. Run away from this. The next question is from Angelica with that fangirl life. Hey, I know it. It's so nice to chat with you and congrats on your new album.”

Your music is described as not being boxed into any specific genre. Does this mindset apply only to music genres for you, or does it also carry over that perspective into other areas of your life for some background and context? So your music is described as not being boxed into any specific genre. 

So does that mindset apply only to music genres for you or also to other perspectives in other areas of your life?

“Definitely every area of my life. It's like I have no specific movie, movie genre I love the most. No TV show I love the most with a specific meaning, no activity I love doing the most. Like, I grew up in the south house, but I'm not the country's kid, But I do like going around four wheelers, but I don't want to squat my truck. But I do like going to New York City for two weeks, but if I'm there for longer than that, I'll be someone's ass in traffic. Like, there's no aspect of my life that I enjoy more than another. It's literally timing. It's like what I'm doing, where I'm at in my life, what I feel like I would enjoy doing in the moment. There's no, you know, specific goal I'm chasing besides being able to provide for the people that I have around. So it's like, however I get into that aspect, hobby wise, job wise, whatever. Wise. As long as I'm happy, I'm happy. There's no other question. That's amazing. And then, yeah, and then my second question is, you recently released your first album, which congrats again. And that combined different tracks from your season series collection of music. So looking into the future, are you considering continuing your next work with another series? So, for example, like Chapters of a book or like a movie series kind of theme, or are you thinking about changing up the concept? So Chapters of the Book was definitely a conversation I had with a few people because I love that **** But it's like, I don't want to overdo. It's like, obviously this was a sequence, but. And there was like, like a sequel and prequel or whatever you want to call it. But I don't want to water it down, I don't want to stick to it. I don't want to. I'm not who I was when I came up with this idea. So it's like we're working on singles right now. I want to build enough, you know, public validation and hype around my name to eventually release a full length album where I'll only put out two singles that are on the album. And then the other 10 songs you've never heard in your life. Like, I think it's just a timing thing and obviously there are numbers you have to meet when you're at a certain stage in the game. It's like, I want to please my label, I want to please my management, I want to please when I do a show, I want to sell out, I want to do this, I want to do that. But it's like, no, I'm not there yet. And so I'm definitely planning on releasing your normal album, like Body of Work, all fresh. But no, I think we're just gonna do singles and might do an EP if it doesn't work out in time. And we need to put out a body work and not a full length body work. So I think it's all about, you know, once again where I'm at and what the music's doing and how people are feeling and if it's the right time. 

A few months ago you opened five shows for Lil Wayne. What was the best part of this mini tour? 

“ Probably being in Raleigh, because like the last show we did. Well, not the last one. The last one was Birmingham, but the. We did a show in Raleigh, and the first show was the craziest in my opinion. But it was also my first arena show with, like, my name on the wall. When I walked in in my own green room, and there's like. Like, ping pong balls and five gum, and I'm like, yo, this is mine. This. And then just having that experience when I'm walking around, and it's like, it was just a moment. It's like, that's a. That's a bucket list. Check off. That's like a holy. I'm doing exactly what I said I was gonna do. Like, I'm not crazy. I'm delusional, but I'm not crazy. Like, it was possible. It was just pain. Yes. To get here, but there's so many aspects. That toy that was like, oh, my God. I mean, I'm on tour with Wayne, literally the greatest rapper of all time. I'm meeting new people. I'm in cities where I already have friends, so they can come out and, like, have this moment with me. But the rally show is like, I invited my family out. I have my mom and my dad who are divorced, in the same room. Like, just celebrating one call, just being happy. It's like everyone's drinking, having fun. And then I go out into a show where I've got 20 of my cousins spread out through the arena. Like, I got different perspectives of video coming in. I'm just like, damn, this is what I look like. And then my flowers are done. And it was just like, there's an aspect of, like, every part of my life was in there. I was just like, damn. Like, I'm still me, but I'm doing this. Oh, that's awesome. I'm so glad that that was such a good experience. Amazing. The fly beaten down. It's like something had to just be a little wrong, right? And that's what I was like, this is real. I'm like, if it was a dream, my flower would not have been down. Oh, that's so funny. 

Did turning season series into a singular album change the meaning of what the songs meant to you personally? 

“Not necessarily. I think, obviously, with the way we released the seasons, it was, like, based on how the first one did. And then we pivoted. And then on how I did, we pivoted. We Pivoted. I think putting it to an album, I got to sequence it the way I would listen to it. And, you know, my favorite song, where I think they should go, and this and that. This and that. The only thing that changed was, like, I felt like I dictated what song you heard next, which is the fun part. t's like, if you let. If you let the people listening, if you let the people behind the art tell you what the art should be, the meaning of it changes. And so it's like the seasons were a way to gain critical acclaim or whatever, but the series was the way for me to wrap it up and finish that part of my life.

In what ways has being. Being from North Carolina influenced your musical journey and the creation of this album? 

”I mean, should I think North Carolina is just a testament to how, like. Like, out of whack I am. The nature here is bipolar. The people here are bipolar. It's a big melting pot. There's no one person the same. Each neighbor looks different, acts different from a different background, likes a different hobby, likes a different style of music. It's like. I think my music is. Is North Carolina. It's like. I mean, we got the mountains. We got the beach. We've got every biome besides a desert. Like, you know what I'm saying? It's. I think North Carolina influenced me in how I grew up. We got a city. We got the country. We've got southern food. We've got Caribbean spots that are gas. We've got down everything. So it's like that. That's just what it is. It's North Carolina. Yeah. A little bit of everything.”

Below is Anella’s recently released album: 831: The Series