Toronto, ON-based songstress Molly Annelle’s new single “Dior” is a lavish look into her wildest dreams of riches and luxury.
Penning her first song at age five, Annelle has music on her mind from the beginning. Many years later, her talents caught the attention of 604 Records’ Jonathan Simkin where she debut her first song, “Winter Waves”, which earned over 300 thousand Spotify streams. Annelle, now a Toronto-based artist, moved to the city at 18 with her pop/R&B-infused vocals and take her budding career to the next level.
Her latest single with 604 Records, Dior, is a fun introduction to Annelle’s signature luxurious vocals and R&B essences. We caught up with the songstress to learn more about her musical past, present, and future.
Having tapped into your musical talents so early, writing your first song at five years old, when did it shift from something you were experimenting with to a tangible career choice? And what kind of encouragement did you receive from friends and family?
This is a really beautiful question but I have no definite answer. Music was always number one for as long as I can remember, it was never a hobby in my eyes. On top of that I come from a family of passionate music lovers, so they have been supporting me since day one. I could even skip homework, or eat dinner in my studio if I was really in the songwriting zone, because my family knows how happy it makes me!
What has the partnership with 604 Records been like, especially as a young artist still developing her sound?
My team and colleagues at 604 Records are the best people in the world. Only being 15 when I was first signed with them was daunting, everyone was so excited and supportive. They have helped me expand my sound in ways I can not even begin to express. Pinching myself everyday at the fact that I’ve been working with them for three years.
What do you gravitate towards most when it comes to the early pop and R&B fusion in your songs?
I am such a sucker for good R&B. Louise Burns, my mentor and producer at 604, and I freak out over 90s R&B on the regular. There is a lot of influence from Aaliyah, Mariah Carey, and Lauryn Hill in my music. On top of that I live for contemporary stuff like Daniel Caesar, Sabrina Claudio, and SZA, especially when it comes to inspo production and beats.
Give us an insight into writing “Dior” — how did you and your co-writers come up with the concept and what was the recording experience like with such a fun song?
Before Dior was even a twinkle, I really wanted to feed my love for all things lavish, feminine, and fancy. So, that idea was already in my head going into the session.The fun thing about working with Louise and our very talented friend Parker Bossley on this song was how there was absolutely no pressure. The three of us were just laughing our asses off and coming up with lists of words that sounded ‘expensive’ to us. We made a whole Google doc of words like Shea Butter, Vanilla, Lavender, Sapphire, and through that the song was born. It came together really quickly, to be honest, because we were so in the zone!
Can fans expect an album to follow “Dior” or are you leaning towards releasing more singles for the moment?
I’ve been really prolific lately, especially since I’m currently in Toronto studying Theory and Digital Music Production. I’m having a lot of fun using what I’m learning and applying it to my songs. So I would say the fans can definitely expect at LEAST an EP 😉
If you could collaborate with any artists on a future EP or album, who would you love to work with?
There are hundreds of artists I would die to work with but my number one would always be Sabrina Claudio. Her album About Time changed the way I wrote music forever. I would also love to have Doja Cat or Tyler, the Creator drop a sweet verse on a song. They are huge inspirations of mine too!