HANNA ROOS TALKS SOMEBODY I USED TO BE
"Everything has its time and place"
Daniel John
Though this marks a debut, you’ve built up a lot of experiences, and have a wide repertoire of performances behind you. How far back does it all go?
It actually goes very far back, I remember myself at the age of five or six, even though I was quite shy, I just knew I wanted to be a singer and a songwriter when I grew up. I started playing the piano when I was eight, and performed a lot at weddings, parties and events in my hometown in Finland during my high school years. I spent six months busking in Sydney before moving to Stockholm to study music, which I did for eight years. And now for the past years I’ve been freelancing as a singer and pianist both in Sweden and Finland.
You also have lots of experience as a model, in various campaigns and commercials. How did you get started with that?
It all started in 2017 when a classmate invited me to be an extra on set for a television show. I then became intrigued by the job and I’ve now been working as a commercial actor and model for the past eight years. It has been an amazing experience, I’ve gotten to work with so many creative and skilled people and I’ve even got to shoot in a few different countries around the world.
Your music seems all the more make-up free. Both in lyrics and melodies there is an authenticity to it. Is keeping it real and personal important for you on this side of creating?
It’s very, very important. Personally I’m drawn to music for its ability to bring out emotions, both happy and sad ones, as well as bring people together, either by listening or making music together. Or dancing to it! My dream is to make music that can move people in some way. And I think the way there is to create it from an honest and authentic place. That’s also why I want to record mostly live instruments and work with other musicians that put their personality into the songs.
What is this first song about?
The song came about quite a few years ago, and through the years I kept going back to it and visualized someday releasing it. In 2024 I started composing the arrangement for the string quartet, and recorded everything in a studio at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where I studied music production. I’ve always been fascinated by how the smallest things can really change the outcome of your life and who you turn out to be. So, in a way that is the core of the song, although it is mostly written from the perspective of a relationship that has ended. It could be about growing apart from a partner or friend or just a feeling that you've changed into another version of yourself, or started a new chapter in your life.
On the topic of change, how does it feel to finally be on the other side of the first song?
It feels incredible. Releasing music has been a goal of mine since forever, but somehow it has been hard to find the time until now, having studied full time and working on the side. But I guess everything has its right time and place, and I’m really happy that I now can devote my time to music full time, and be in this artist-journey quite stress free, really. The past six months working on my EP has actually only felt joyful and exciting so far.
So there is an EP too, another first for you. How long have you been working on what we’re getting now?
I’ve been writing songs for over ten years, and I think that time only has helped me shape my sound and figure out what kind of artist I strive to be. I love to perform music live, and that’s kind of the vibe I’m going for with this EP, that it has sort of a live-feel to it. Though my work for the EP started last year, with most of the recordings and mixing being made this year, in 2026.
Do you mostly tend to write by this piano?
Usually a lot of my song-ideas come when I just sit by the piano playing and singing as a meditative moment. I always keep my phone nearby though for recording ideas that I like. Sometimes the song is finished within that session, and sometimes it takes a few weeks, or months, to finish. But generally I like working on both lyrics, melody and harmony at the same time. Recently I’ve really enjoyed writing songs on the guitar as well, which is fun because it makes my melody making a bit different. For some of the tracks for my EP, I’ve been fortunate to bring my songs to a live session with all the musicians together in the same room. I’ts fun to hear the vision come to life and it makes deciding what the arrangement should be like easier, because it feels like the music happening live in the room helps to show the way, somehow.
Do you have all the songs written, are you still recording, or how close are we to your EP release?
I actually work really well on quite a tight deadline, it makes my decision making faster and I get to trust my intuition instead of overthinking too much. So right now two of the songs are still in the recording process and I’m working on a few adjustments on the arrangements. And simultaneously I am also working on the visual content, like cover art, videos, and ideas for promotion. So it’s of course a lot of work, but I absolutely love the process!
