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Hanna Andrea’s upcoming EP is her most vulnerable yet powerful offering to date – distilling a moment of real personal growth into a tight, narrative‑driven collection of songs. Blending polished pop with cinematic emotion, she reflects on self‑acceptance, pressure, and the courage to stay true to yourself.
With her single Get Off Your Phone already striking a chord and MUSE! Shakespeare The Musical heading to the Edinburgh Fringe this August, Hanna spoke with Polly Havelock about the stories and creative leaps behind Braveheart.
Hi Hanna, how are you?
Great!
You’re releasing your next EP, Braveheart, on August 21st, which you’ve described as a journey of self-acceptance, imperfection, and personal growth. Did you consciously write the songs around these themes, or did they naturally come together as a cohesive collection?
I’m a very story driven writer. Especially on this EP most of the time we would start from a concept or experience and a track if we were writing to one. So all of the song topics were very intentional. The overall thematic progression of the EP, though, I would accredit more to that I tend to write based on my personal experience, so the things I felt the need to write about naturally ended up fitting together and creating a story.
Your recent single, Get Off Your Phone, channels flashes of 2000s rock nostalgia while offering a sharp commentary on social media and doom-scrolling culture. Why do you think the song has resonated so strongly with listeners in the digital age, and what made it the ideal choice for the lead single?
I think it’s a very relatable topic nowadays. Our phones are such a big part of our life. We’ve probably all been on our phones when we shouldn’t be or felt ignored by someone else who is distracted by their phone. The song was chosen for the lead single because it stands out a bit on the EP. It is sonically different, and has a very pointed message, and also of course relatable to a lot of people.
The title track, Braveheart, is a great example of your ability to blend cinematic soundscapes with polished pop, centred on embracing your flaws and rejecting the pressure to be perfect. Can you share some of the personal experiences that inspired the song, and what message you hope listeners take away from it?
I wrote Braveheart because at the time I felt I was being asked to fundamentally change myself in order to meet expectations. I didn’t really know how to deal with this and a part of me wanted to go about changing myself, but that’s almost impossible, and at the end of the day I would say unnecessary. So I wanted to write a song to process what I was feeling and the decision that I didn’t have to change to get what I wanted in life. I hope that when people listen to it they will feel the strength to keep going even when it’s hard, and I hope that they will feel a new confidence in themselves.
Do you think Braveheart serves as a good representation of the EP both lyrically and musically, or should listeners expect a broader range of sounds, textures, stories, and emotions in your signature narrative-driven style?
There is definitely a range of styles on the EP, but they all follow the same narrative-driven foundation. I do think, though, that if you like Braveheart, you will be able to find other similar songs on the EP to enjoy.
How do you feel your songwriting has evolved on Braveheart compared to your earlier releases, and what does the project say about where you are in your personal and artistic journey right now?
The songs on the new EP were all written in co-writing sessions which is really exciting because prior to writing this EP I had never written with other song writers before. The fact that I’m writing with others naturally makes the songwriting process a bit different. The songs are not just a reflection of me but also have parts of all of the other writers in the room in them, which is beautiful.
Alongside your career as a rising pop artist, you’ve also written songs for MUSE! Shakespeare The Musical, which will be showcasing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. How does writing for a musical differ from creating songs inspired by your own personal experiences?
Writing for a musical is very different because there are so many factors you get to take into account. Not only do you get to step into the shoes of the characters to tell their stories but you also have to take into consideration the arch of the full show and what needs to be communicated in the moment. For our show I also got to think about the characters’ personalities and stories in their original Shakespeare plays vs. in our play and how I wanted to combine original lyrics with Shakespearean quotes to fit the patterns of the dialogue in the play. It’s really fun.
What initially drew you to musical theatre, and what did the creative process of writing for MUSE! involve?
I was originally drawn to being a musical theater performer because I loved singing, acting, and dancing, as well as the aspect of storytelling and being able to make audiences think. I’ve also always loved the idea of stepping into other people’s shoes and viewing the world from their perspective for a little. I ended up working on MUSE because I was cast in a group of students tasked with creating a showcase surrounding Shakespeare’s work. We ended up devising the play together and since I did songwriting I was asked to write the music for it. The first batch of songs I wrote by taking a week reading the play of the character singing that song and sketching out a bunch of different ideas until I had a song or maybe a couple different options to present. Then at the end of the week I would meet up with my producer and we would finalize the idea, find chords, and plan out the production of the songs.
Are there any musical theatre soundtracks or composers that have particularly inspired you?
When writing MUSE musically I was mostly approaching it the same as I would one of my pop songs. I wasn’t trying too hard to make it musical theater. I did take inspiration from various 80s rock songs on one of the songs though. That being said I do love musical theater music and I think it influences me just in general as a songwriter, having spent so much time listening and singing it growing up. I like the music from Tuck Everlasting and also a lot of the musicals on Broadway around 2019ish, like Dear Even Hansen, Beetlejuice, and all that.
For anyone attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, why should they make time to see MUSE!?
It’s a really fun show and it has something for everyone. It can be understood by people with a limited Shakespeare background, but has jokes and references woven in for people that are more familiar with Shakespeare. It’s family friendly and entertaining for everyone but with enough substance for adults to find a lot to explore. It’s really silly, but it also has serious moments and carries a message with real depth and meaning. And if I do say so myself the music is pretty good.
Once Braveheart is out in the world, what do you hope listeners will feel – or learn – from the EP? If there’s just one thing you’d like them to take away from it, what would it be?
I hope that people will be able to take away from it the message that it’s ok to set yourself free from all the pressure and to take the time to enjoy life and explore who you are and want to be.
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