In this conversation, I caught up with Australian musician Karen Harding who has just released a brand new single titled 'Anxiety'. Having followed Harding's music for a while, I was delighted to interview her about the meaning behind the track and the importance of highlighting the impact lockdown had on our mental health. We also discuss Harding's platform 'Sounds On The Couch' and her advice to anyone who may be struggling with anxiety during these unprecedented times.
Hi Karen, how are you?
I am well thank you Keiko
Could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Absolutely.. I am a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter. I love creating in general, whether it’s music.. art.. various other creative projects and I can get passionately obsessed with whatever I’m creating at that moment! Outside of that, I am a coffee addict and completely obsessed with my beaglier dog, Mojo, who pretty much runs my household and I love getting into nature at any opportunity I can get.
How would you describe your music?
It’s interesting because my latest song, ‘Anxiety’ is so different from the other tracks that I have released. My music is generally very vocal based, I love to sing! The sound of my previous tracks was very emotional and was predominantly me singing and playing piano with the addition of other instrumentation such as strings, brass instruments etc. ‘Anxiety’ is also an emotional vocal based song but in a different sense, I wanted to bring out the feel of what anxiety feels like. The track is based over an exotic drum beat and bouncing synth. Through the verses there is the feeling of anxiety building and the bridge has sounds of haunting higher pitch vocals that are almost ghostly.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, apart from writing music what have
you been doing in your spare time?
Thank you for taking the time to interview me and for supporting my music! I am someone who tends to get myself very booked up with lots of projects. During the weekday, I work as a manager in an accounting firm and have the most incredible team of people that I work with. Outside of work hours and outside of my music, I run a platform called 'Sounds On The
Couch', which was developed to help musicians as the pandemic began. The platform began with online performances and developed into interviews with artists and experts in the music industry, a blog, a podcast and workshops. This takes up a lot of my time, but I absolutely love getting to know so many amazing artists and people within the music industry. I also love to paint, do yoga, beach/forest/bush/nature trips and shopping!
You have released your third single ‘Anxiety’, a track that invites the listener to discuss
their thoughts and anxieties of being in lockdown. Could you tell us a bit about the
meaning behind the track?
This track was absolutely out of the blue. I had planned to record an EP, which was lined up
with my producer and the recording kept getting delayed due to Covid lockdowns in Melbourne. I sat down and started to record this song, which just flowed out of me. At the time there wasn’t a lot of thought around the song itself, however, anxiety had definitely been very present in my life throughout particularly this last lockdown. I was then able to work remotely with my producer to bring it to life. I believe that the song has come alive at the perfect time. In Melbourne, we have been in and out of lockdowns for almost 2 years and a huge side effect of that is the anxiety that many people are feeling, both through lockdown experiences and with the challenges of coming out of lockdowns.
Anxiety is something that while so many of us feel it, so often it goes unspoken and it can feel very isolating. I felt that this song was a good opportunity to be able to bring this discussion to life and allow people to see that they’re not alone in their experiences of
anxiety.
The artwork for the single is incredibly powerful, it feels slightly claustrophobic but mirrors
the lyrics within the song. Why did you decide upon this photo as the artwork for the
single?
I wanted to create an artwork that portrayed what it feels like when you’re in the heart of anxiety. This image shows me looking a little insecure as hands are reaching out and invading my space, that’s what it can feel like when you experience anxiety.
I feel like imagery is so powerful and can say so much more than words can say alone.
In the lead up to the release, I have been sharing with my audience, artwork that different
people have created from their expression of anxiety. I decided to do this because as I began to speak to people about the release, I realised that it is an incredibly hard subject to
talk about for many people. By sharing imagery and discussing without people having the
need to be so vulnerable, it made the discussion so much more accessible.
Looking back, how did you cope with lockdown? Was it a difficult experience for you or did
it give you time and space to reflect/slow down?
It’s very interesting. I am a very introverted person, so at the beginning of the first lockdown even the second lockdown, I was in my element! I could work from home, I had more time to create and take care of myself. I could still talk to people remotely and I was happy. I know that wasn’t the experience of so many at the beginning...but that was my truth. As time went on, it got harder and harder. I live alone which had it’s positives but it could be lonely at times. I found it harder to do the things to take care of myself, my routine went out the window on many occasions. I was overthinking everything and even my introverted self was craving people more than anything. I think that none of us ever expected to spend so much time in lockdown and as humans we are not designed to be disconnected from people for so long. We need people in our lives and I have learnt how much I need this as well.
I established my blog during the height of the pandemic as a way of supporting artists
during lockdown, as an independent artist did you find it difficult to be creative during
that time?
I love that you spent your time doing this as well! For me, there were times where I was more creative and there were times when I found it harder. I was very lucky that throughout the time, I have still been connecting to people through great coaching sessions, online singing lessons, online courses that I have attended, meditation group sessions online, connecting with people at work.. These connections gave me more motivation, support and experiences that I could take away and create with.
"Anxiety is something that while so many of us feel it, so often it goes unspoken and it can feel very isolating."
What do you hope your listeners take away from your single ‘Anxiety’?
My biggest hope is that if a listener does struggle with anxiety, that they will know that they
are not alone, that they can find some peace knowing that others share their experiences.
They’re not crazy, they don’t have to keep it a secret and they can begin to explore what lies
behind the feelings that they feel.
What advice would you give to someone who may relate to some of the sentiments
explored throughout your song?
A couple of things. Firstly, if you are in the moment, know that it will pass. Feelings don’t remain...breathe through it and you’ll get to the other side.
Secondly, speak to someone about it. I’m certainly not an expert or a professional in this
area, nor am I claiming to be anxiety free! The best thing that I ever did was begin to allow
myself to be vulnerable and speak about the way I was feeling.
What is the best advice you have received?
To just start...to be messy... make mistakes and figure out the details as you go!
I have spent so much of my life holding back from doing things because I didn’t believe that I was up to scratch. I would compare myself to others and had a lot of trouble with
perfectionism, but I have learnt that there is no such thing as perfect and you’ll never
improve if you don’t get in there and learn.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and congratulations on the release
of ‘Anxiety’
Thank you so much for having me!
Check out Karen Harding's latest single 'Anxiety' in the links above and hear the song in full on my Spotify Featured Artists Playlist (link in bio).
And if you need support or additional information regarding the topics discussed in the interview then please click the link below to access the UK mental health charity 'mind'