INTERVIEW: Anna Arco releases new single 'Trade': "This is a way for me to deal with things that are still too heavy to talk about."
Image: Lovisa Ellegren
Sweden’s Anna Arco today releases the heartfelt new single ‘Trade’, her first new music since the release of her debut album Songs Within the Spectrum in 2019. A haunting, electro ballad the track details the grief from the unexpected death of Arco’s best friend in 2018.
A sparse, gentle opener with a fragile vocal performance from Arco details her coping mechanisms in heartbreaking detail “I’ve grown, I can be alone now… learned to put the pain aside’ she sings. As the track builds into a strong chorus with a swirling beat and understated yet powerful backing vocals, the strength Arco has gained through the process is acknowledge but summed up in a simple yet powerful sentence ‘I’d trade it all for you.’
Like everything Arco does, this is beautifully created, intelligent music infused with soul and emotion that does what all good music should do - draw you completely into Arco’s story while allowing you to recognise your own feelings and stories in the emotions it engenders. Arco is currently working on her second album Sad Secret Songs, due for release later this year, and all the indications are it will be another musical gem.
We recently caught up with Anna Arco to talk more about her new music.
Hi Anna! Great to chat to you again. How is everything with you in this crazy time?!
Of course, thank you! Since everything I do for a living is cancelled due to the coronavirus I’m obviously worried about making the rent…Hopefully something good can come out of this too, like a mobilisation among artists for better and safer conditions.
Your new single ‘Trade’ is such a beautiful song. Can you tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind the track?
Thank you kindly. My closest friend died one and a half years ago and almost everything I’ve been writing since is about that. For me ‘Trade’ is about the complete freaking worthlessness of losing a loved one. Life goes on and maybe even compensates in some ways, but you would still do anything to get them back.
The song is obviously quite personal and close to your heart, is it cathartic to write and record a song like this?
Absolutely. I don’t think about it while writing, but afterwards I can see that this is a way for me to deal with things that are still too heavy to talk about. Hopefully the song can be comforting for someone else who has experienced the same thing or who has had similar feelings.
Who did you work with on this track?
Since I didn’t really have a budget for this, the song materialised itself through some of my favourite musicians recording stuff separately. I’ve been the scientist collecting samples and then putting them together for the final result. So, I wrote and produced it and the musicians playing are Max Häggberg on drums, Björn Eriksson on keys, Jessica Tjörnmark on bass and Alice Petz on choir.
This is the first single from your second solo album Sad Secret Songs. Have you finished the album yet, and can you tell us what we can expect to hear on the album?
All the songs are finished, suddenly there were fourteen of them! So the plan is to divide them into a Part 1 and Part 2. I’m recording now and I hope that the Part 1 will be finished by the end of 2020. Basically it is what it says - sad songs about love and pain and all of those things that are hard to talk about, hence the secrecy. Part 1 will probably be more electronic like ‘Trade’ and Part 2 more acoustic with strings.
What else is on the agenda for Anna Arco in 2020?
Ferret out funding to finish the album! Releasing some singles along the way. Hopefully play more live shows since that is what makes my heart sing.
‘Trade’ is out now. You can download it on iTunes and stream and Apple Music and Spotify.
