Annika Kilkenny’s music is a harmonious blend of inspiration and originality. In our conversation, the twenty-year-old Irish songwriter opens up about the influences that have shaped her music and the way she is finding her own path. Last May, she was the first musician to record a session during The Influences’ visit to Kilkenny Roots. Upstairs at Bridie’s Bar & General Store, she played her brand new single Out In The Garden and covers of Mac DeMarco’s The Way You’d Love Her and ABBA’s Dancing Queen.

Finding Mac DeMarco was a gamechanger

Annika’s introduction to Mac DeMarco last year was a gamechanger. The Way You Love Her became the soundtrack to her university life. “His EP, Another One, was on repeat for me. The chords and progressions he uses in The Way You’d Love Her have deeply influenced how I write my music today,” she shares. Although her relationship with his music is relatively new, DeMarco’s work has left an indelible mark on her creative process. “The way he structures his music and melodies. I owe a lot of my music to him. You know when you just listen to an artist and you are like ‘whoa, they’re sick, they’re so cool.’ And then it is just like you are obsessed, and it becomes a daily habit; you have to listen to them.”

Another noteworthy earlier influence was Lizzie McAlpine, who Annika discovered at 16. “She’s really paved the way for folk indie artists,” Annika says. It is not just the lyrics but the musical elements that draw her in. Like DeMarco, McAlpine’s chord structures resonate with Annika, “They’re so musically intelligent and you can really hear that in their music.”

The nostalgia of ABBA

Annika’s choice to cover Dancing Queen by ABBA is rooted in nostalgia. “It’s a song tied to so many memories, you hear it at every party,” she reminisces. “Their choice in chord progression is just insane. Dancing Queen subconsciously shaped how I listen to music and what I search for in music.”

Early influences and current tastes

Growing up, Annika’s playlist was diverse. Mika, with his prime around 2008-2009, left a mark, as did the melodies from Disney movies. “My music taste and writing style are more influenced by what I listen to now, rather than what I grew up with,” she reflects. At 20, Annika is in a formative period for her musical identity, recognizing the significance of these years in shaping her sound. “One of my lecturers in university told us that you should listen to as much music as you can before you are twenty-five. She said those are the years where your brain kind of latches on to things that you like. And so much of your life develops and happens and forms in that period of time.”

Music in community

Annika values her musician friends, drawing immense inspiration and support from them. “I have connected deeply with my friends who are musicians. We learn from each other,” she notes. This camaraderie has been pivotal in her development, she reckons. “I listen to Laufey, she is this Chinese-Icelandic jazz musician, and she is incredible. She is very tuned in I think, just musically so talented. Lizzie Lyon, Mac DeMarco. A bunch of my friends I listen to. Abby Powledge, she is based in Texas and Nashville, she is incredible. My friend Marie Dresselhuis, she is so cool too. Yes, they are just incredible.”

“I do not think I have connected with a musician more than I have my friends. And so, I have learned a lot from them. They have influenced me, and I think that feeling is mutual. We have had multiple conversations about how we learn from each other and whatnot. All my friends growing up, they were artistic people, but in different ways than how I am. One of my friends in school was a dancer, one was a painter, one was an actor, and I was a musician. So, it is cool to have friends in the same genre of art.”

Songwriting

Annika’s foray into songwriting began in secondary school, driven by the need to channel her stress creatively. “I started writing when I was 17, taking it seriously at 18 when labels began reaching out,” she recounts. This transition from outlet to potential career was gradual but significant. “It is the process of feeling comfortable and confident in writing music and releasing music. It all comes from having that community support or like societal support with friends. And that came from TikTok, where I first initially started posting music. It is very cyclic; you post stuff on social media, you make friends, you feel more comfortable, so you post again. And it is this cycle of niceness.”

Shortly after we recorded this session, upstairs at Bridies in Kilkenny during Kilkenny Roots in early May 2024, Annika went to London to record her second EP “It is like the ins and outs of getting older and becoming acquainted with yourself. Finding yourself over and over again through what you write. I heard this quote: ‘Ideas belong to everyone.’ And I agree fully. Everyone inspires everyone in some capacity. It is what you do with it.”

Photos

Keep watching

Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these earlier ones we filmed at TakeRoot festival.