Alexa Dark – Ungrateful

By starrymag | April 14, 2022

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I would say it’s cinematic, retro, a little Western with a lot of darkness.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I’ve been influenced by a broad range of artists. I love 60s French music like Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy. From a young age those artists taught me a lot about who I wanted to be as a singer-songwriter. I’ve also been very influenced by artists like Jack White, bands like Portishead and more classic singers like Patsy Cline.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Ungrateful.”

 

A) “Ungrateful” started off as a voice memo of me strumming the guitar, wanting to bottle up the feelings brewing inside of me – feeling unsteady and unsure in my life, yet feeling like I had to figure it all out perfectly. Simultaneously navigating a night out and sifting through my past, “Ungrateful” became a kind of reclamation, an anti-apology, telling the world (and more importantly myself) to accept my mistakes because I’m never going to grow if I’m too scared to make them.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) We all have such different stories and struggles, but I think no matter who or where you are, you can connect to the feeling of struggling to accept yourself.

 

Q) The video for “Ungrateful” was directed by Nick Collingwood and Stephanie Haller. How did their vision for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) We actually shot these scenes without knowing it was going to become the visuals for “Ungrateful.” We had all this Super 8 and 35m footage from a hazy summer day in Brooklyn, as well as some road trip footage. And when I finished recording “Ungrateful,” I knew that was the footage to bring the song to life.

 

Q) You were responsible for editing the video. What made you want to tackle the task?

 

A) I had a vision for what I wanted the visualizer to look like. “Ungrateful” is self-reflective and so personal, like looking at yourself through different lenses. I wanted to bring this to life in editing the visualizer to capture the vintage, dreamy fragments of old memory like watching a home movie with the lingering nostalgia for adventure.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) It really depends. Sometimes the mood of the music dictates the lyrics and sometimes vice versa.

 

Q) Matt Chiaravalle handled the production for “Ungrateful,” but how much of a say do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) Matt and I are super collaborative in the production process. When I brought this song into the studio, I had such a vision for it, which he not only brought to life but added so much to.

 

Q) Will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future?

 

A) Definitely!

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) I grew up performing at bars in London, so I always have a soft spot for those live venues. I also love performing in downtown NYC where I really grew into myself as an artist in that scene.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) It’s by no means new, but I’ve found myself returning to Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood’s 1968 Nancy & Lee It’s a classic and I love that Western feeling.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) There are so many pros and cons to social media, but I love being able to engage directly with fans and it’s a chance to create more of a world with my music.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I’d say thank you! Also, I’m so excited to be releasing more music soon.