Tempo Talks: A Conversation with Zanne Hanna

THE RELEASE

Zanne Hanna is a versatile indie artist, writer, and producer hailing from the dynamic music scene of south Florida. Graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2020 with dual degrees in Music Production and Engineering and Electronic Production and Design, she honed her skills in music creation. Zanne's unique electronic-inspired style draws inspiration from a diverse array of artists including Sylvan Esso, Maggie Rogers, CHVRCHES, The Japanese House, Maude Latour, Radiohead, and Phoebe Bridgers. Her musical journey began at the age of 13 when she picked up an acoustic guitar and started crafting songs. Since 2017, she has been recording and producing her own music, driven by an unwavering desire to share her authentic feelings, emotions, and ideas through the harmonious blend of sounds and words.

"In My Dreams" is a moving musical voyage of emotional growth and self-discovery expertly constructed by Zanne Hanna and Los Angeles-based producer Austin Atlas. The song, which was inspired by Zanne's contemplative post-abusive marital journey and her fight with OCD, provides a therapeutic release, merging her impassioned voice and evocative composition with Austin's skilled production. This captivating collaboration not only showcases Zanne's artistic evolution but also highlights the transformative power of music in healing and self-expression.

THE INTERVIEW

If you had to create a Mount Rushmore of inspiration, what four individuals molded the artist you are today?

The first would have to be Maggie Rogers. In fact, I’m typing this in Asheville, NC where I took a last-minute flight to see one of the last shows of her 2023 tour. She is the reason I began producing my own music and exploring the possibilities of what I could sound like. I grew up listening to John Denver thanks to my parents who’ve spent a lot of time in Colorado. I know he’s not technically the best singer around, but no one can sing his own songs like he can. That’s why I sing my own songs - my voice isn’t the strongest, but I know how to tell the story. I adore the professors I had at Berklee, and among them, Dr. Susan Rogers was full of wisdom, passion, and she helped me believe that I was an artist. Lastly, my late grandmother Barbara belongs up there. A teacher and a storyteller, she attended all my gigs in high school, and she was a light in my life. When the flashiness of modern artistry clears away, all that’s left of me is a voice and a song that my grandmother believed in.

Austin Atlas:
An interesting combo: Billy Joel, John Mayer, Virtual Riot, Madeon!

Were there any specific experiences or events in your life that influenced the song's lyrics?

This song is about how I processed the end of a five year relationship that was quite toxic. By the end of it I didn’t feel like a whole person with my own thoughts or ideas or opinions. In my notes app on my phone, I kept a list of thoughts that felt like they came from my own brain and experiences, as well as a list of triggers for OCD that I developed in college. This song kind of pieces those realizations together to say that yes I am a person, I can be right about things, and I can have my own opinions.

Can you share any interesting anecdotes about the song's development with your co-writers or producers?

Austin Atlas produced this song, and in fact, we grew up together in south Florida but hadn’t collaborated until now. I always had a feeling we could make something really great together, and we communicated so well over the course of sending vocal tracks and instrumental demos to mixing and mastering the track. He is an incredible producer and musician and a blessing to work with.
For this song, one of the lines was actually written by my best friend, who is a not a songwriter but actually a computer engineer. We were driving one day and discussing breakups, and she brought up how it felt strange to grieve someone who was still alive. She said, “to lose someone but not in death” which is the final realization of the song. If you hang around me long enough you just might get a writing credit!

Austin Atlas:
Having gone to middle school together, Zanne and I always talked about collaborating over the years, but never found the time while we were in high school and college. Over the summer, we randomly ran into each other at a popular hometown bar and decided there and then that it was finally time to work together on a project!

What was the biggest takeaway or lesson you learned while creating this song?

I have never collaborated with anyone before due to perfectionism and an egotistical tendency to want to do everything by myself. It’s been exhausting to be the artist, engineer, producer, and label all on my own. I took a chance on sharing a creative vision with someone else, and it really paid off and opened me up to collaborating with both Austin Atlas again and other creators in the future.

Austin Atlas: 
My biggest takeaway from producing, mixing, and mastering “In My Dreams” was the importance of creating space for the vocals and maintaining a balance between the vocals and the instrumental elements. This was (and is always) a priority for me in both the production and mixing phase because I wanted to ensure that Zanne’s incredible voice and lyricism stands out and that her message can be comprehended by the listener.‏

How has your recent growth as an artist influenced the direction of your future work?

For so long I thought I had to do it all to impress everyone around me, and I never asked for help. I put so much pressure on myself do every aspect of making a record perfectly because I had the ability to do everything on my own. Although that’s true, it took a toll on me mentally and creatively, so when I finished a song, I was too tired to share it or make another one. But a huge part of making music is making community, from the people a part of the project to the people listening to it. Keeping that alive is my goal moving forward.

Austin Atlas: 
I would say that my biggest growth as a producer in the past few years is in deepening my knowledge of mixing and mastering. While I have produced music for many years, I stayed away from engineering my own tracks. However, after a lot of learning and practice in the past few years, I can now confidently blend my own engineering style with my established production sound, and I look forward to continually growing as both a producer and an engineer.

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