Anna Känzig (35) was already very musical at a young age. She learned to play the guitar at the age of five. Later, the bass and the piano followed, and her school education also took place in the musical field. At the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) she completed her Bachelor’s degree in the jazz department and since 2009, Känzig has been an integral part of the Swiss music scene. With her clear voice, the Zurich native has already thrilled audiences at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Gurten Festival, Energy Air and the finals of the Elite Model Look 2016.
She has been under contract with Sony Music Switzerland since 2014 and has already produced three albums, the first one still on the Nation Music label. She produced the album “Sound and Fury”, which also features on “House of Cards”, together with music producer Georg Schlunegger from Hitmill, and Lars Norgren, who also works with Swedish pop musician Tove Lo, mixed the album.
In 2016, her song “Lion’s Heart” was the anthem of the fundraising campaign “Every Rappen Counts”. Anna Känzig is the first woman to contribute the official song for the fundraising campaign by the SRF and the Swiss Solidarity organisation “Glückskette”.
“House of Cards”
For “Music for Tomorrow”, Anna Känzig performed and recorded the song “House of Cards”. On the play, she says: “The song actually describes the current situation very well. It is about the fact that situations can change from one day to the next and despite meticulous planning everything can suddenly be different. The song was written a few years ago and has been a fixed part of my live programme ever since.
Anna Känzig, what does your working day as a composer/lyricist look like during the corona pandemic?
I try to use the resulting compulsory break as creatively as possible. At the beginning of the corona crisis, I found this extremely difficult, as the whole situation paralysed me. Every day new concert cancellations fluttered in, and the planned single release suddenly didn’t seem to make much sense anymore. At some point I was able to free myself from this lethargy and found my creative flow again. I dug out a lot of song ideas that had been lying fallow until then and barricaded myself in my band room with them. Meanwhile many new songs have been written, at best material for a new album!
What does this crisis mean for you personally?
Due to the crisis I suddenly had to deal with myself and my work much more intensively again. The collective foreclosure triggered a creative impulse in me. Since no more live concerts were allowed to be played, personal contact with the audience broke off abruptly. Many concerts have been moved to the internet, which I personally didn’t really like. I understand that alternative forms have to be found, but especially with streaming concerts an essential part of cultural enjoyment is lost for me. In the meantime, smaller concerts are allowed again, and I notice more than ever that this exchange of energy between musicians and audience is simply irreplaceable.
How can the audience support you at the moment?
In quite a classic way: Buying albums and songs always helps. Of course, this does not always have to happen via the large platforms. It helps us most when the music is bought directly from us, via our webshop, or upon personal request. Streaming is also possible, but here the revenues per stream are very low. Social media certainly also play a role in supporting the artist. A Like is not a payment, but the attention and sharing of contributions in social media helps us to expand our reach and, at best, to gain new fans.
Would it help if people on Spotify and Co. streamed your music more often?
Streaming helps to a small extent, sure. But it would be much better if people would consume the music on platforms where they can buy the individual tracks. It would be nice if this crisis would raise awareness and people would be more willing to pay for the consumption of culture again.
In your opinion, what positive things could the current situation bring about?
I hope that the lack of cultural experiences and adventures triggered by the corona crisis will create a new hunger for live encounters among people and that something like a concert visit will be much more appreciated again.
What do you want to give your fans to take away from this interview?
I am looking forward to welcoming my fans at a live concert again soon!
| “Music for Tomorrow” The Covid-19 crisis has hit SUISA’s members particularly hard. The main source of income for many composers and publishers has completely been lost: Performances of any kind have been prohibited by the Federal Government until further notice. In the coming weeks, we will be posting portraits of some of our members on the SUISAblog. They will tell us what moves them during the Covid-19 crisis, what their challenges are and what their working day currently looks like. The musicians also performed and filmed their own composition for the SUISAblog at home or in their studio. SUISA pays the musicians a fee for this campaign. |
Guten Tag Nina,
danke für deinen Beitrag! Ein sehr wichtiges Thema was du da ansprichst. Es war und ist auch immer noch für uns alle eine schwere und ungewohnte Zeit.
Liebe Grüße
Christoph