Ana Kallas, a senior Theatre major and English minor, started writing music just before starting college at Biola and now posts her originals on her TikTok account.
Music was a metaphorical destiny for Kallas as she grew up in a musical family. Before getting married, Kallas’ parents were a part of a worship band together. This encouraged an atmosphere for young Kallas of constantly listening to and being surrounded by music, which has become a critical piece in how she communicates.
“Silence is something I struggle with sometimes, and music helps bridge gaps in that and in my own emotional processing. It lifts my spirits and relates to me when I can’t imagine another person would,” Kallas admitted.
Similar to therapeutic journaling, Kallas’ music is not inherently created for public consumption.
“[Music] is an outlet of sorts to process information and try to figure out how I felt about all the changes happening in my life,” Kallas said. “I admire songwriters who so clearly write for their own processing. While I want people to enjoy my music, that isn’t why I do it. It’s an outlet for me. Artists like Elliott Smith and Adrianne Lenker seem to do this too.”
Kallas gets inspiration from listening to other artists, watching movies, and reading books. Most central to her lyrics, though, are her personal experiences. That does not mean her music is a play-by-play recollection of her relationships, but rather, it’s a projection of how she perceives the world around her.
“I’ve written songs about things I can relate to, but sympathize with too,” Kallas explained. “I’ve written a song about the energy that almost every month has. ‘January,’ ‘February’ and so on… If the month of July makes me think of escapism from the school year and responsibilities, the song exemplifies that.”
A question relevant to Christian artists is how they wish to be perceived by the public. Whether they want to be seen as a Christian singer/songwriter or a singer/songwriter who is also Christian.Kallas talked about how, though Christ might not be the “forefront” in her music, He certainly inspires the values and questions wrestled with in the lyrics.
“I think that the topics of a lot of my songs are rooted in Christianity, but aren’t the forefront focus,” Kallas said. “A lot of my songs provoke questions. In a song that I wrote called ‘Flightless Bird,’ I ask, what do I do when anxiety takes over and I lose my words? Christ can help provide support in those times of questioning. But I don’t attempt to answer those questions through the lens of Christian faith. I ask. I don’t know if I answer.”
Kallas hasn’t released any music outside of TikTok yet, but hopes that her current content on TikTok brings comfort to someone.
