KATIE BROWN - 18 DEC 2020

Freshly graduated from Massey University with a commercial music degree, Wellington artist Anna Wild is very excited to be releasing her first EP, Wool, today. It’s a special project for Anna: the three tracks form the soundtrack to an accompanying video, which is an abstract exploration of grappling with a diagnosis of endometriosis.

With solid experience under her belt as a session drummer and having drummed for many local acts, Wool proves Anna to be an excellent composer, instrumentalist and producer in her own right. She played all of the instruments on the EP herself, with her former drum teacher, Michael Barker, helping out with marimbas on the track “Reflection”.

The music itself is purely instrumental, and reminiscent of the likes of Explosions in the Sky and artists from the Erased Tapes label (a favourite of Anna’s). Layers of analog synthesizers combine with drums and acoustic percussion to create emotive soundscapes that are a perfect fit with the visuals of the video, and commendable standalone works in their own right within the ambient/alternative genre.

The visual EP formed Anna’s final year project for her study. From the outset she knew that she wanted to include a visual element with her music, and as she began to write, ideas for the visuals began to flow naturally. Two years ago now, Anna was diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition that affects up to one in ten women. This diagnosis became the central concept of the project: she saw it has an opportunity to tell her story and to raise awareness of endometriosis in general.

There was much to be dealt with in learning that she had the condition. As Anna says, the initial diagnosis can come for many as something of a shock, and then, as a young woman, having to grapple with its implications was another challenge to be faced. Questions like “what if I can’t have kids when I’m older?” would regularly cross her mind. Eventually she reached a stage of acceptance, thinking “this is something that I have, this is something that I deal with, this is something that I live with.”

Filmed by Taizan Yamada, who also did the animation, the visual EP is strung together in three parts corresponding to Anna’s journey of diagnosis (the initial shock, wrestling with its implications, and then learning to accept it).

It begins with actress Myah Miranda’s character exploring the emotions associated with a diagnosis, which throughout the video is represented by the character Logan Macallister plays. Following on from this opening sequence, the video shifts to an animated section, which is a cleverly-crafted abstract representation of the character grappling with the diagnosis. The final section shifts back to Miranda’s character reflecting on what has passed and reaching a state of acceptance. The three sections are represented by the three tracks of the EP, with names thematically linked to the segments: “Eyes”, “Four” and “Reflection”.

With the whole project, Anna hopes to raise awareness of a condition that is not widely spoken about or even understood. She would like to see discussion of endometriosis normalised, including the way it is treated in the workplace, and was encouraged by the response the visual EP received at her graduate show, with several coming to speak to her about it afterward.

Wool, with its layers of depth in sound, visuals and meaning, is standout as Anna’s debut EP offering. Anna holds much promise as a multi-faceted artist and skilled producer who does not shy away from wrestling with life’s challenges in her work.

Stream the EP here and watch the video below.

Follow Anna on Instagram.