***KUTX Artist of the Month is powered by PNC Bank***
By Jeff McCord
Our February KUTX Artist of the Month, Anastasia Hera, released her wide-ranging and ambitious album, Way Outside, at the end of 2024. Hera’s recording and stage shows have earned her many raves (from the Austin Music Foundation, Sonic Guild and others), but her work is also multi-faceted. Despite the challenges of being a single mom, she has also built up her non-profit organization CAKE (Creativity Abundance Knowledge Elevation), guiding and educating other women looking for careers in music. And a few years back, she launched her own brand of rum, HERA.
The nonprofit record label, Spaceflight Records, will release that album on vinyl this month and Anastasia Hera will celebrate with a show at ABGB, February 28th.
On the occasion of her recent Studio 1A session, Anastasia answers a few questions about her work:
Why is your new album called ‘Way Outside’? Outside of what?
This project represents me stepping “way outside” in a few ways. I stepped out of my comfort zone and challenged myself on every song – musically, vocally, content-wise. I reached way outside my creative bubble to collaborate with some fantastic creative minds. I stepped way outside my home; I traveled, learned, and lived real life out in the real world. And I think that this work is way outside of anyone’s expectations for a Rap album.
How was working on this new album different from your previous recordings?
I evolve so much between projects! But I think that’s my job as an artist; to keep growing, to re-work and re-word ideas and themes, to self-reflect and assess, to give the unexpected.
This time around, it was important to me to create on my own terms and on my own time. So I set up my recording studio in my bedroom and worked intuitively. I found I was able to be completely myself, wild and unjudged, which I hope comes through in the music.
You’re an Austin native. What changes have you seen to the city you feel are positive, and what other negative things stubbornly persist?
I may be biased because Austin is all I know, but I like to say that this city takes care of its artists. Going back to my childhood years here, there’s always been amazing art of every flavor. Now, as a working artist in this community, I see meaningful support in the form of grants, aid programs, access to legal counsel and accountants, and equity initiatives. All of that tells me that Austin understands the importance of the arts in our society.
As I’m sure is the case in any city, though, there’s still the reality that who you know (or who knows you) can oftentimes be more important than the quality of your product. I’ve sometimes felt that I’ve had to work twice as hard to get the attention my material deserves because I’m not friends with precisely the right people. I’ve come to accept this as part of my journey as a creative – the challenge has made me stronger – but I hope that we’ll eventually find a better way to get talented artists heard and exposed.
What prompted you to organize CAKE, and how has your supporting women in music influenced your own work?
CAKE was created to pay forward the gift of self-expression as self-care. For 15 years of my life, I was so busy surviving that I did not create at all. I had no voice, no outlet. It wasn’t until I got access to the equipment, the education, and the mental/physical and space to make my own art, that I realized what had been missing in all those years.
I want to give those tools, that access, that joy to other women and girls who might be in that same valley.
You’ll find some aspect of CAKE in every song. Self-determination, resilience, authenticity; you’ve heard me revisit these topics again and again because I want to be a beacon to other women. I want them to hear that their voices matter, that they can have an impact, and that they can choose their own paths.
You’ve got so anything’s going – community outreach, teaching, curating an award-winning rum brand, and of course, your music. How do you make it all work?
OK- weird answer – but I make it work by listening. Over the years, I’ve found that there’s a rhythm to the artist’s lifestyle. We repeat the same cycles: creating, promoting, performing, doing community service, continuing our education, resting, growing, pruning. I take the time to weigh what’s most important at any given time; where I should channel my focus. And when the universe tells me it’s time to move on to the next thing, I listen to that too!
Musicians:
Anastasia Hera – vocals; Evita Bermudez – vocals; Luciri Nazario – vocals; Chip Belton – bass; Samuel Davis – keys; Justin Hights – drums; Taishawn Tayler – guitar
Credits:
Producer: Deidre Gott; Audio Post Mix: Jake Perlman; Video Edit: Renee Dominguez; Audio Engineers: Jake Perlman, Reyna Silvilla; Cameras: Renee Dominguez; Patricia Lim; Will Whitworth; Russell Crawford; Portraits: Russell Crawford; Session Host: Laurie Gallardo
