Start Listening To: Sloe Noon

Anna talks Brighton burnout, creative self-trust and why sometimes the only way forward is to stop trying to get it right.

Born by the German Baltic Sea and now moving between Brighton and beyond, Anna writes songs that feel as exposed as they are immediate. On Principles In The Way of Progress, she leans into that instinct fully, unpacking disillusionment, self-belief and the mess of figuring things out in real time, with a sound that trades polish for urgency.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

I am Anna, born and raised by the German Baltic Sea. My music is pretty much like that - honest, heavy, open wide and very wet.

How did your experiences in Brighton and Germany influence the sound and themes of your latest EP, Principles In The Way of Progress?

Yes, so much so, I couldn’t possibly give a full answer, but I will try to sum it up. I mean, track 1 ‘Principle I” is about experiences I made in Brighton and references very specific things that happened in my life that I was trying to process. Maybe the line “I lost myself in England for a while” gave it away. I think the song “I Happen To The World and It Happens To Me” sums up best the time of transition and disillusionment I was going through. I moved to Brighton to finally start my band and instead learned that the place you live in does not make you a different person and you take all the baggage with you. By hitting rock bottom I learned what self-efficacy is and started creating my own magic. The sound is more straight forward and less poetic, because of that. It felt more urgent to get it all out and was a more immediate process than before.

Can you describe your collaboration with Michelle Hindriks and how her production style impacted the overall feel of the new tracks?

I knew Michelle distantly through her band Ciel from my time in Brighton, but we’d never actually met and spoken. Last year she started producing and asked me if I wanted to record a song with her. When I caught myself hesitating, because I was projecting my own insecurities producing as a female artist, I knew it was a big yes. Working with Michelle was amazing. No fussing about, great time management and communication. I found myself less focused on looking competent and rather just thinking about the song and the moment. I think that freedom reflected onto the sound and of course the fuzz of her favorite Tascam desk.

What’s the story behind the single ‘Youthless, Useless’, and how does it connect to the broader themes of the EP?

I had the words to that pre-chorus in my note book for something close to ten years. It survived all those years of being blocked. I always knew I wanted to shout or scream it and was just never even close. One afternoon I had an hour until I had to leave for a train and just made the demo. I felt it coming a few days before. It’s like you see the puzzle piece finally falling into place from afar and then I just need to go and catch it. It definitely connects to the broader idea of getting your own way and not taking yourself too seriously.

In what ways do you believe your music reflects the complexities of the female experience, and why is that important to you?

Ha, well, I hope it does. I don’t know if it does, does it? ‘Youthless, Useless’ is definitely a little more directly exploring ageism and the impossible weight of fulfilling conflicting expectations of femininity. I think being in the music industry for a bit now and playing in bands with men, I am confronted with my own socialisation in a way I hadn’t been before. I am thinking about the

concept of the gender confidence gap a lot. I think it will become an even bigger theme in my work in the future.

You mentioned writing about emotional overwhelm and regret; how do you approach translating those feelings into your songwriting process?

The only way for me to accomplish anything creatively, is not trying. Here’s a likely scenario: Maybe I’ll sit on a bus, really emotionally overwhelmed or deeply regretting something and I’ll have an idea for a lyric or a guitar riff. I’ll write it down or hum it into my phone. Sometimes years will pass before I make a whole song out of it. Sometimes I will get off the bus, go home and keep digging until it’s done. I can’t force it, ever.

How do you envision the visuals for this new EP, and what concepts are you considering to accompany your music?

For this one my vision board was very informed by colored lights, blurry vision through analogue filters, wobbly shapes and silhouettes, broken rose-colored glasses, wearing those permille goggles from drug prevention class, seeing a warped reality, be it through naivety, substances or hormones.

What role does live performance play in your connection with your audience, and how do you prepare for that experience?

A big one. Although I’d like it to be more. My booking agent recently had to step back due to health issues and booking shows myself again on top of everything else is tough. I wish we could tour 200 days a year. Anyways, I am still finding myself on stage to be honest. I found the more spontaneous I am between songs and within, the more I feel connected to myself, the moment and hence the audience. So I am trying to prepare less, if that makes sense. And I hate being unprepared for things.

Can you share a memorable moment from your time in the studio that shaped the direction of the new EP’s sound?

It’s not really one moment, but it was the first time playing all the guitars, bass and synths for me. I think doing the first song gave me a lot of confidence, because I came alone, played all that, and screamed into the microphone. I thought about 16 year old me reacting to seeing what we’d be up to ten years down the line. That’s a moment I will come back to when in doubt.

How do you balance your academic pursuits with your music career, and what have you learned from managing both?

It’s a whole science in itself running a small creative business, doing a bachelor’s degree and working a side job. I think it helps that I’m a productivity freak. I bullet journal, I make spreadsheets, I prioritize and I multi-task. I have learned that it is okay to ditch something halfway through when you realize it’s too much. It takes a lot of skill in time management, but there’s also a lot of possibility for the paths to cross. I have written term papers about music related topics in sociology for example and I have written a lot of e-mails during boring compulsory classes. It can be done.

What do you hope listeners take away from the more confrontational aspects of your new music and lyrical themes?

That self-reflection rocks. I don’t know. I hope people still find themselves between the lines, even in the more specific moments of the EP and it offers catharsis and solace where needed.

What inspired the title of your latest EP, Principles In The Way of Progress?

The line comes from my favorite film ‘Submarine’. In it, the outsider main character Oliver says to himself, “I must not let principles get in the way of progress,” when he decides to ask his love interest to be his girlfriend, even though she’s a bully. Somehow that line stuck with me when I watched the film for the twentieth time in 2023 on an off-day during a UK tour. I definitely have political and moral principles that I won’t compromise in order to reach my goals, but I do want to let go of the principle that something has to be finished or absolutely perfect before it’s shared or having to look competent in front of men instead of just trying in fear of making womanhood look bad. Somehow the title felt fitting for the first EP that I wrote completely on my own. It’s my reminder not to stand in my own way.

What do you love right now?

I recently discovered surfing for myself. It has a lot to do with letting go of control. It’s great practice for that. Otherwise there’s no ambition there.

What do you hate right now?

The rain in combination with the cold wind these past weeks. I never really mind the rain, but recently I’ve been longing for sun like a normal human.

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

Brand New Eyes by Paramore. I think it re-surged for me with all of Hayley William’s brilliant solo stuff coming out now, but that album shaped a lot of my ambition around wanting to start a band by admiring her as a musician and front woman. I still look to her as an important role model and source of inspiration.

When someone hears your music for the first time, what do you hope sticks with them?

I hope it makes people feel something. A feeling of whatever kind, even if it’s disgust.