A Chat with Dissonance

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Ana, the lead vocalist of hardcore punk band Dissonance, to talk about the band’s evolution. She opened up about their rebranding, reflected on past performances, and offered insight into their original track, “Leave Me to Rot.” Paired with an exclusive photoshoot, this feature dives into the creative process, identity, and direction shaping Dissonance’s sound today.

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KO: Dissonance recently rebranded! Tell me about your thought process for the new logo design and the kind of energy you’re aiming to embody as a band.

Ana: I think that logos are really important for bands because they embody what the band’s about and what they want to say to the world. I made our old band logo with all of the members in mind. At that point in time we had a different singer, so our band's energy wasn’t nearly what it is now. We had a more chill sound and although I can’t speak for all of the members, I know most of us were kind of bored of it. Things happened as they usually do in bands, and I ended up being the singer. I personally love singing heavier music so we took it to our advantage and decided to make Dissonance into something special. We wanted to be able to get important messages out through our music. The world is going through some crazy shit right now and I think it’s important to have an outlet to be able to speak about it. In our case, it’s music. I made our new logo with this thought in mind, and we decided to make the “A” in our name an anarchy symbol as it reflects what we’re about. You guys can thank Emma for that sick ass idea.

KO: On November 21th of this year, Dissonance played at St Anne’s Anglican Church. Was this your first time in an atmosphere like that? What did you think of the energy?

Ana: I go to a lot of local shows in Toronto with my best friend Danica, and we fucking love being part of the scene. My first show ever, I remember seeing ManIsFive and Tribunals. They were insanely talented and it inspired the shit out of me. That night on the way home, I turned to Danica and told her I was gonna get there at some point. I am so unbelievably grateful I did end up getting there. Even though it was just that one show, it was the best fucking feeling ever. The other members of my band haven’t been to a show quite like the one at St. Anne’s before, but they loved the energy so much, and of course, so do I. The audience was respectful and they all had fun which is always the goal. I’d like to thank my awesome friend Ivy for setting that whole show up. Since I met him, we’ve talked about how it was our dream to perform and he made it a reality for the both of us.

KO: Tell me about the thought process behind the songs you played!

Ana: Our song choices were very much influenced by our political views and what we want to put out there. We chose multiple RATM songs because all four of us love the band and the things they had to say to the world. Plus the bass lines are pretty fuckin’ sick. Bullet in the Head was definitely our favourite to play, as it talks about how we need to stop letting ourselves feed into the bullshit we are being force fed by the government. We gotta start challenging them and standing up for our rights. They want us to fight because if we are all separate, they gain easy power over us. We need to work together and stop hating each other, because then we can create a safer world. It sounds cliché as hell but it’s true.

KO: On that night, you played an original song, as well! Tell me about the writing process. What message did you hope to convey?

Ana: Leave Me to Rot was written by me about a year ago when I was scrolling online and saw a post about anti-homeless architecture. Putting spikes under bridges, and rails on benches because having homeless people in their streets is “unaesthetic”. They take down their shelters and expect them to find other places to live other than their streets? I promise that your streets are the last place they want to be. I remember getting so fucking mad, I decided to grab my notebook and write a song from the perspective of a homeless person trying to live peacefully. I pitched it to the band and we worked on it together for a couple weeks before our performance which was quite tight but we got it pretty decent. I’m really happy I got to play it in front of such an awesome crowd and it’s amazing to get other people thinking about the same issue that inspired me. There is so much we can do to help the people who need it. Donate, make little survival bags to give out especially in the winter, or just go buy them some water. They are people too, and it’s disgusting that some people think otherwise.

KO: How do your practice sessions look? How do you work as a band to put together songs?

Ana: Our practice sessions are always super chill. The band comes to my house and we use the equipment in my basement to practice. When it comes to getting songs together, we usually just fuck around until something sounds good. If one of us has an idea or a song, we’ll just pitch it and everyone will add their ideas to make it better.

KO: In terms of performances, when can people expect to see you on stage again?

Ana: We have a couple ideas and offers for performances which I’d like to say I am so so grateful for. Our next performance will likely be in late January, but we don’t have all the details for it yet. As soon as we know, there will be posts up on our Instagram.

KO: What’s next for Dissonance?

Ana: That's a great question. I’m not really too sure what’s next for us. We are all graduating high school this year, so I do think there will be some tough choices to be made. But right now, I think we are just enjoying what we have and where we got in so little time. I am insanely proud of Dissonance. They helped me through a lot and they will always be family to me, no matter what.