You can’t catch Karin Ann

Karin Ann has never been one to fit neatly into boxes — and she doesn’t intend to change that. Her work spans both music and acting, and the Slovakia native splits her time between London and Los Angeles, carrying her Syrian and Czech heritage along with her. Trained in figure skating, aerial hoops and, most recently, knife throwing, Karin Ann’s hobbies are also decidedly niche. And, as one might expect, she makes music that’s just as eclectic, blending brutalist folk and pop with influences from the likes of her mother’s Queen and Beatles records, Disney soundtracks and Czech musicals.

At just twenty-three, she’s built a reputation for lyrical honesty, tackling themes of identity, mental health and belonging with an openness that’s resonated worldwide. Both bold statements and surreal milestones have already defined her career — defiantly holding up a pride flag on stage in Poland in protest of restrictive laws, slipping queer love stories into her cinematic music videos and making it her mission to create a “safe space” for queer listeners. She’s even been featured as the first Slovak artist on Spotify’s EQUAL Music Program, as well as being dubbed by Vanity Fair as an “icon of the LGBTQ+ community in Eastern Europe”.

Her earnestness has, in turn, earned Ann the loyalty of a dedicated fanbase, as well as the recognition of some of the world’s biggest music acts. From gracing the cover of NME to opening for YUNGBLUD and Imagine Dragons, to releasing her single, ‘i was never yours’, co-written with Suki Waterhouse, Ann is well and truly cutting into the industry — despite, as she puts it, being “just, like, a random bitch, literally from a village of a thousand people”.

Sufiya McNulty: You grew up in Slovakia and now live between LA and London. Is there one place that feels most like home to you?

Karin Ann: I haven’t had time to really settle anywhere yet, and I feel like you can’t call a place home until you’re settled in…

SM: At what point did you realise you wanted to pursue music?

KA: I always wanted to do it. Ever since I was a child, around four years old, I knew that I wanted to pursue music and acting, but I didn’t think it was possible until much later on. I like to think that everything happens for a reason, and the fact that I found my way to it means something to me.

SM: You’ve just released ‘i was never yours’, marking a shift towards a more folk and country-influenced sound. What inspired this musical evolution?

KA: I wasn’t sure if I could [pursue folk music] because English isn’t my first language and folk is storytelling — you have to know how to use your words — and I didn’t know if I had enough skill or vocabulary in English to give it a try until now. Folk uses a lot of metaphors, and you have to be able to understand them — and not just understand them, but also come up with them. When something isn’t in your first language, it can be quite a daunting task.

SM: The track was cowritten with Suki Waterhouse, amongst others. How did that collaboration come together?

KA: It came about really fast. I did a cameo in [Waterhouse’s] music video last year, and then we had spoken about maybe writing together sometime, but the time was never right — this time, the time was right. We wrote the whole song in about half a day. I already had pre-written part of it in my notes, so when we got into the studio, I was like, Hey, guys, I think that this could be an interesting idea. Would you maybe find it fun to explore this with me? And everyone was on board. The rest came about really fast, but I also think it’s down to the fact that we all had really good creative chemistry — you can’t force that.

SM: What helps feed your creative process?

KA: I would say that, when you’re creative, anything you do — however you live your life — is going to somehow affect your creativity. It’s not like you choose to be creative or not in a certain moment, you can’t really schedule it. I have been crocheting in the past few months. I also started throwing knives. It’s so funny to me, because it’s, like, such a contrast — crochet, throwing knives. I used to do archery, so I don’t think it’s such a leap for me personally. But I’m home right now in Slovakia, so whenever I’m here, I love hanging out with my dogs and my family — especially in the cabin that we have in the mountains. I love nature.

SM: You’ve been open about your experiences with mental health challenges. How’s that journey influenced your music?

KA: I find it quite therapeutic. That’s why I first started writing because it was like my form of therapy. Mental health is kind of still stigmatised where I’m from, so I didn’t know how to talk about it and I started writing about it. But in terms of how it affects me, it’s kind of the same thing as what I said about being creative — it’s a part of you.

SM: In 2021, you made headlines for displaying a pride flag during your performance in Poland as a protest against its restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights. What inspired you to do that?

KA: It’s important. It needs to become normalised to talk about the fact that queer people have always been here, and they’re always going to be here. I know that some people find it helpful to come out, but to me, it’s always been a weird concept, because nobody’s coming out as straight, so why would we need to come out as queer? In Eastern Europe it’s always been harder, so I’ve always felt the need to talk about it. But I feel like, now, it’s even more relevant everywhere in the world. Without going into depth about it, we can all see what’s going on and it’s a very scary time. I am definitely not planning on being quiet about it now — if anything, I feel like we should talk about it even more.

SM: Looking back on your career so far, what’s been the most surreal moment?

KA: One that I often reference is from a couple of years ago when I opened for Yungblud in Prague. In 2019, I went to his first show in Prague, and it was in a small venue, maybe three hundred to five hundred capacity. I remember this one specific person in the crowd because they and I were the only ones singing the opener’s lyrics. In 2022, when I opened for YUNGBLUD, it was a bigger venue, with a capacity of around five thousand, and right in front of me, in the front row, was the same person from that 2019 show. They remembered me, too, and we were crying to each other. That was a very surreal moment, because back when I went to that show I was writing music, but I hadn’t even released anything yet. Then, a couple of years later, I was on the stage.

SM: So, what’s on the horizon?

KA: I have a couple of songs coming out this year that I’m really excited about (as I’ve mentioned about ten times). The first indie movie I’ve ever shot will have a world premiere at some point in the next year. I’m definitely trying to explore acting a bit more, and it’s always been my dream to be in musical theatre, so that’s what I’m trying to get more into. I’m always working on new music and I’m always doing a lot of different things, but I don’t really like to tell people what I’m working on, or when things are going to come out, because I don’t like the pressure of it. I like to take my time.