Interview with Anna Arden

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ukrainian artist Anna Arden, a singer-songwriter whose musical journey spans children’s choirs, piano, songwriting, and cinematic storytelling. From performing across Europe to creating music that blends emotional depth with striking visuals, Anna shared how her experiences shaped her artistry, her perspective on international audiences, and her mission to bring Ukrainian music to the world.

 1. Your musical journey began in a children’s choir and evolved into solo performance, songwriting, and filmmaking, how have these early experiences shaped who you are as an artist today?

My musical journey actually began even earlier. At the age of five, I started studying piano, and one of my earliest memories is standing in my crib while a TV concert of Ukrainian pop artists was playing in the next room, I was already singing along instinctively.

Music has always been part of me. Music school, choir, and later stage experience shaped my discipline, persistence, and professionalism as an artist. When I began writing my own songs more consciously, I put my entire inner voice into them, my emotions, my pain, my truth so that others could truly feel what I feel.

The cinematic approach to visualizing my music feels natural, because I’ve always perceived music as a complete, vivid film rather than just sound.



2. You combine strong visual storytelling with music. When you’re creating a song and its video, which comes first, the sound, the image, or the emotion?

Emotion always comes first.
For me, emotion is the source, sound and image are simply different outcomes.

Most of my songs are born from pain, even the brightest ones. I often try to transform that pain into a kind of utopia, to show how things could have been if the story had a happy ending or sometimes, to reveal the truth as it is.

Sometimes the emotion becomes a melody first, sometimes it appears as a visual scene. I don’t separate them in my mind. A song already carries its own visual logic, and the video is simply a way of revealing how I see it internally.

3. Having performed across Europe and competed internationally, how does performing in different cultures influence your creative perspective?

Performing in different cultures made me realize how universal emotional communication truly is. Even when audiences don’t understand the language and many of my songs are in Ukrainian they still feel the energy, the intonation, and the emotion I convey through my voice.

This experience made me more open and fearless creatively. Some people describe my music as Eurovision-like, others feel nostalgia for the 2000s. Everyone hears something different and connects in their own way beyond language or mentality.

4. You’ve talked about your mission to make Ukrainian music known globally. What’s one cultural or musical element from Ukraine that you feel deserves more attention on the world stage?

Emotional depth and honesty.
Ukrainian music has a very direct relationship with emotion, strength and vulnerability exist side by side. There is a deep sense of memory, resilience, and inner freedom that feels especially relevant today.

It’s not only about tradition or folklore. It’s a living emotional language that continues to evolve and deserves to be heard on a global scale.

5. Your voice is described as rare and distinctive. How do you think your contralto range affects your songwriting and the kinds of stories you choose to tell?

My contralto range allows me to explore darker, deeper emotional spaces. I’m drawn to stories about inner strength, vulnerability, pain, time, identity, and transformation, things that exist beneath the surface, within the hidden layers of the soul.

Because my voice sits lower, I don’t feel the need to rush or decorate emotions. I can let them breathe. I believe my voice naturally invites introspection, bringing emotions to the surface, touches the depths of the soul, and this influences both the themes I choose and the way I tell my stories.

Talking with Anna Arden was truly inspiring. Her insights on emotion, creativity, and storytelling remind us that music is more than sound, it’s a living, emotional language that connects people across borders. I hope this conversation gives you a glimpse into her artistry and the passion she pours into every note, melody, and visual.