INSIDE 831: THE SERIES – ANELLA ON HIS NEW ALBUM AND HIS CREATIVE PROCESS
North Carolina-born singer-songwriter Anella refuses to be confined by a single genre. Through blending influences of pop, hip-hop, R&B, country and punk emerges a sound that is uniquely Anella. At just 23 years old, Anella has amassed over 359k monthly listeners and 31.8 million total streams on Spotify. Dubbed as a “genreless wonder” Anella aims to tap into the human condition.
Crave Music Magazine had the opportunity to attend 1824’s press conference with Anella on June 25 where he shared details about his first full length album 831: The Series and the story behind the project.
Graphic by Haley Petrone (Crave Music Magazine)
Over the past year and a half, Anella released five EPs under the title “Season Series”, each curated around different emotions. Anella says he chose to release them this way to allow every emotion he has had to fit into his art. Releasing tracks in EPs over time gave Anella the space to grow and learn throughout the process, while also helping listeners adjust their expectations — not to a specific genre, but a level of quality. 831: The Series with its genre-bending experimentation used to tell a range of stories and emotions, offers a deeper glimpse into how Anella grew up and the person he has become today.
But if you ask Anella who that person is, he will be the first to tell you: he is still figuring that out.
“I’m 23,” he says candidly, “I don’t think I’ve necessarily found who I am.”
That honesty is central to what makes his work so resonate — he is not chasing a perfect image or trying to please anyone but himself. Which Anella says is the hardest thing to do. That intuition, sometimes chaotic, always drives everything he makes. His stubbornness and tunnel vision is what keeps him grounded. “Just doing what I want to do, because that changed 24/7,” he says.
While the sound might shift, the glue that holds it all together is unmistakable: Anella himself. His voice — raw, distinct, and direct — makes everything make complete sense.
831: The Series is more than an album; it is a chaotic, heartfelt snapshot of Anella’s early twenties. “The album as a whole is just a good reflection of how not specific life is supposed to go and how unexpected life really is […] The point is there is no point […] do what you love.”
The number 831 has been with him since he was sixteen; it is tattooed on his chest and has been the planned title for years. On the surface, it is shorthand for “8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning,” but to Anella that “one meaning” can be a million different things; “I hate you”, “I love you”, “I miss you”, “I know you”, “I need you”. “I want you”, “I have you”, “I feel you”, “I hear you”, “I echo you”, “I made you”, etc. Referencing several titles from his “Season Series” Anella rattles them off with ease, each phrase a different interpretation.
“It's personal to everyone, it's whatever you make it,” he says. “Regardless of what you’re feeling, there's something in there that you can connect to.”
That being said, Anella knows there is more to success than just creating something meaningful. “The higher my confidence, the more aware I am that if something doesn’t go good, I look like an idiot,” he says. “I could be doing great and making the best music of my life and if I don’t portray it well on the internet it won't be heard in the right light.” That is why he focuses on everything — not just the songs, but the visuals too.
When asked about the most unexpected lesson he has learned as an artist, Anella does not hesitate, “Being okay with knowing I don’t have it all figured out.” That sentiment lives at the heart of 831: The Series.
Anella is branded, but never boxed-in. At the core of it all is the human condition: ever changing, hard to pin down, but always worth connecting to.
Keep up with Anella + stream 831: The Series now!
Website / Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram / TikTok / YouTube
