In 2019, multi-hyphenate artist and musician Annahstasia released her resonant debut EP Sacred Bull, an experimental neo-soul project that introduced the world to her deep, melodious voice. Yet somehow, a year later, she was considering giving up music altogether. “I just didn’t know what to do, or how to continue,” she admits. “I didn’t know if it was worth it. I considered switching careers, even though it’s my passion. I just felt so disillusioned with the world changing. I didn’t see how I could feasibly go on.” Right when she was at her breaking point, she came to a realization that has defined her outlook since. “Up to that point, I had been working with other producers, and putting my music in other people’s hands, because I was too afraid to see what I had to give on my own. I decided to make a project that, if I died the next day, I would be proud to have made. I realized that I hadn’t made any music that I would be satisfied leaving behind.”

That feeling wound up reigniting a passion, and allowed Annahstasia to get in touch with her truest musical self. While she started out making music in the folk genre since it’s the most accessible for a self-taught musician, her label pushed for a more pop or R&B sound. “There was a big disconnect between me and the label,” she recalls. “They were looking at a young black girl, and I had no idea about their perception of what an African-American experience should be, because I’m half-Nigerian, and my mom’s white and from Wisconsin. My black experience is a black experience, but it’s not the capital-B Black experience in this country.” That disconnect grew as she began to write music that veered away from what the label was expecting, even if they wouldn’t see the light of day just yet. “They just didn’t understand me and they weren’t looking to have a nuanced, artsy black girl making rock music. They wanted something pretty down the middle. But all that time I was writing these songs and processing my emotions, and I kind of describe them as lullabies that I wrote to myself.”

Those songs are finally coming out on Annahstasia’s new EP due this spring titled Revival, which not only reflects a different sound, but also reflects a broader shift in her relationship with music. “My choice to make a folk album is because that’s where I started, and that I’m going to bigger, more opulent places with my music. I called the project Revival for that reason, because for me, it was kind of like a rebirth. And my name, ‘Annahstasia,’ means resurrection in Greek. I was just playing with that concept of reviving myself as an artist, and coming into my power and coming into my voice.” Contrary to streaming norms, she’s planning it as a vinyl-only release, emphasizing the value of both creating and consuming something in a personal way. “There’s nothing better than discovering an album, taking it home and listening to it, and falling in love with that artist, purely off of the chance that you walked into the right record store that day.” She appreciates the experience music can provide, and it’s only reinforced something she’s always known. “The art is for me. If anyone else likes it, I’m ecstatic. But I come from the place of, did I do myself justice in putting this here? And how do I make sure that I respect that in how I present it to the world? You know, as an ethos, you have to ask for what you deserve.”