Annika Bennett on "Your World" — TWENTY MINUTES LATER

AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNIKA BENNETT ON HER NEW SONG “YOUR WORLD.”

Annika Bennett is a master songwriter. She is unafraid to write about complex emotions, and her new song “Your World” will have you feeling both happy and sad at the same time. In the song, Bennett discusses the idea that people often fall in love as a way to avoid dealing with their own problems. This complicated scenario is not easy to put into words, yet through her honesty, Annika Bennett does it with grace. I got the chance to speak with Bennett about “Your World,” her creative process, and more. Read our interview below.

WHAT WAS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU STARTED TO WRITE “YOUR WORLD?”

I wrote the song at the start of a relationship that I’m not in anymore. We had this day where we were riding around on a Vespa. The whole first verse was me writing down exactly what happened that day. Whenever I write by myself, I end up writing really literally. I think that’s what makes this song feel so much like me.

DO LYRICS NORMALLY COME TO YOU QUICKLY OR DO YOU HAVE TO WORK AT THEM?

For “Your World,” the whole first verse up through half the chorus came at once. Then I had to really think about the feeling that I was trying to express and then wait for the perfect words to finish out the idea.

BUT THAT’S WHAT MAKES YOUR MUSIC HONEST!

That’s partially why I love writing alone so much—because there's no one there to be like, “That's too personal” or “People won’t relate to that.”

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PLACE TO WRITE?

I actually like being in different locations. Even if I'm just at a friend's house and I pick up a guitar, I'm more inspired there than when I was at my production desk. I think getting a change in scenery helps me write a lot. That was something I discovered recently and I’m really glad I did. I would always try to make the perfect writing nook and then I would get there and not be inspired.

WAS ANY PART OF YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS DIFFERENT DUE TO COVID?

I really leaned into writing by myself. I just had the time to be like, “I’m going to spend two days finishing this song.” I also started thinking about my production more. Normally, I would write on guitar, voice memo it, and then let that be it. In quarantine, I started to work with Logic. So now, even if I’m writing on guitar, I’ll be recording into Logic and adding in production ideas as I go.

HOW IS “YOUR WORLD” DIFFERENT FROM YOUR PREVIOUS RELEASES?

It's a little more pop leaning than I’m used to, which I like because I don’t want to be known for writing only sad songs. With “Your Word” specifically, the song was teetering on the edge of being really happy and really sad, which makes sense because when I looked back on the moment I wrote it, I was so happy and so sad at the same time. So I wanted the production to lean upbeat and happy, to contrast with the sadness of the lyric.

WHY WERE YOU SO HAPPY AND SAD AT THE SAME TIME?

It kind of says it in the song. There’s this feeling of being really really drawn to somebody and sort of letting them lead—but there’s also this darker side to it—like I’m trying to fall in love to escape something else. I think now I’m a lot more grounded. I don't think that I would be in a similar situation to the one I was in when I wrote this song, but I definitely associated happiness with that person and wasn’t really trying to find it within myself.

THE SONG TALKS A LOT ABOUT WANTING TO BE A PART OF SOMEBODY ELSE’S LIFE. IF YOU COULD TRADE PLACES WITH ANYONE IN THE WORLD, WHO WOULD YOU TRADE PLACES WITH?

I would want to be whoever Joni Michel’s best friend was in the 70s.

WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE TO PUT SUCH A PERSONAL SONG OUT INTO THE WORLD?

This might sound so masochistic, but it makes me feel like it was worth it. It’s like, “I was feeling so shitty then, but I’m better now, and I have this song that came out of it.” Also it’s genuinely so therapeutic to sit down and think about what I’m feeling for long enough to put it into a song. And there’s something about saying things out loud that gives them less power and makes them easier to deal with. That alone makes me so content to write songs forever, even if nobody ever hears them. It adds a whole other layer when a song is out and people can relate, but I’m so new to releasing music that I don’t really think about that aspect.

IS THERE A LINE IN “YOUR WORLD” THAT GIVES YOU THE MOST AMOUNT OF RELEASE TO SAY OUT LOUD?

“I wanna deal with your hurt instead of mine.” It’s really simple, but when I thought of it I was like “Ohhh no.” It's funny because I have such a bad memory, but I remember so clearly the moment when I wrote that line.

“YOUR WORLD” IS OUT NOW. LISTEN ON STREAMING SERVICES LIKE SPOTIFY AND APPLE MUSIC, AND MAKE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE TO TWENTY MINUTES LATER FOR MORE INTERVIEWS LIKE THIS ONE.