Q&A: Words From the Heart in Ananya’s “My Darling New York”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY ZARMEEN AKHUND ☆
Photo By Melody Berkery
A SOMBER BALLAD—Ananya’s latest single “My Darling New York” addresses the city she once knew so intimately. Born from a sense of loss, yet rooted in affection, the song reads like a quiet declaration of love.
Looking back, the singer recollects memories of home and heartbreak in a chapter marked by challenge and unparalleled change. In writing the track, Ananya gives new meaning to a place that in many ways, hurt her, but also grew her. With acceptance, she bears it all in a poignant retelling of a time wrapped in love, grief, and becoming.
Through her earnest lyrics, she admits, “I’ve written pages for you, that you’re oblivious to, since you split me in two. And still I’d start brand new, forget all I knew, if you asked me to.” The artist nods to the crushing weight of not being loved the way she needed and still finding it in her heart to accept the ways in which she was held.
We sat down with Ananya to speak about her sense of inspiration, work as a multidisciplinary artist and her connection to closure. Read our conversation below.
LUNA: Can you tell us a bit about your musical journey so far?
ANANYA: My name is Ananya. I grew up in Zimbabwe, and was lucky enough to go to New York for university. I studied fashion design, but music has always been a part of my life. I was maybe six years old when I first picked up a guitar, and since then, it's been a constant. It’s been my best friend, really. It’s one of those things where I was never necessarily taught how to write music but it was more second nature. As I grew up, it just became like a journal but for song. Ever since then, I've been writing and creating.
LUNA: Is there any crossover between your visual art and music making?
ANANYA: I think the crossover is mostly there when it comes to telling a visual story. So for example, what I want to wear in an album cover or in a music video. That's where I feel the two worlds collide the most. But my creative processes are quite different.
LUNA: Congrats on the new single! I’d love to hear about the inspiration for the song.
ANANYA: With “My Darling New York,” it was really important to be able to capture overcoming a difficult feeling and being fragile about it, but then also turning that into love. I think sometimes, because we all have different ways of healing…the best way to get over things is to be angry about them and leave them where they are. And that's how I deal with a lot of things. But in this case, with a place like New York which is just truly my favorite place on the planet, it's hard to hate it. It's almost like you love it so much that it doesn't matter what you went through. Everywhere has good and bad. So it's almost like you choose to overlook the moments that you didn't love in order to appreciate New York. So I think the inspiration for the song was closure. I think that captures it. And closure doesn't always mean forgetting. With other situations in my life, I've felt that it does. With New York, it was almost like an unconditional love.
LUNA: Yeah, that’s so beautiful. Like reimagining that place for yourself, but also making peace with other parts of it. You’ve also referred to the song as a love letter of sorts. What was it like to compose on an emotional level?
ANANYA: I think music will always feel healing to me, because it really does feel like writing in my journal. I know going into the writing process that I'm ready to be vulnerable, and I'm very lucky and grateful that whoever's listening has allowed me to be vulnerable, because sometimes it's scary. “My Darling New York” is more healing than I had imagined it to be. It’s like a wave of acceptance, and then you only feel good about a situation or a person or a place.
LUNA: Totally. “Man Ray” feels kind of similar, with that sense of nostalgia. Is there a connection between the two songs?
ANANYA: I definitely feel like there's a connection. That’s so interesting. You are the first person who actually picked that up, so thank you. They're connected in the way that both were set in New York. You know, there's the bridge in “Man Ray” where I say “West Village on a Friday night”. It's that longing, but also overcoming being angry. I think it's just a new maturity. That’s really when I've felt strongest in overcoming anything. There’s other areas of my life where I haven't been able to be mature about it. It takes years and every situation is different, but I think in this instance, in these two songs, it's definitely coming from a place where I feel a lot more grounded.
LUNA: There’s that line, “Because even though you make me bleed, you're always such a dream to see New York.” Has anywhere else carried the same weight for you?
ANANYA: To be completely transparent, it's definitely only New York. I don't know if I've ever been able to write a song dedicated only to one place. I love New York with all my heart.
LUNA: How did you decide on the cover art?
ANANYA: I'm very lucky to work with these two incredible creative women. Their studio is called Gaussian Studio. Jess and Ines are these incredible brains behind most of my covers. I usually just hand them a photo, and then I explain a little bit about the song, and they help come up with these incredible images. We went through a couple things we were thinking like maybe Times Square or the West Village. The subway just really felt like everyday New York.
LUNA: Awesome. Any projects you’re looking forward to in the new year?
ANANYA: Definitely, I'm writing a lot of music at the moment, and even though things are still in the demo phase, I am so excited about the sound. And bringing fashion and visual aspects to it, creating a world out of that.
