Britt Allen – Looking For Another

By starrymag | June 11, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) Dark pop that makes you want to move and feel and tries to be about something with substance.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) Christine and the Queens; Robyn; St. Vincent; Lorde; Sigur Ros; Nine Inch Nails

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Looking For Another.”

A) I wrote it on a summer day in Toronto. Toronto in the summer is bustling and filled with people. In Trinity Bellwoods Park there are always a ton of people socializing and having parties and BBQs. I felt really alone even though I was surrounded by people. And I just recorded ideas into my iPhone as I walked and walked and then raced home to get it all down. I had just gotten the VST Serum and some of the core sounds were born from that synth.

 

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

A) I think we’ve all felt this way before, as if we’ll never find someone who truly gets us, as if we’re alone in our own thoughts and maybe as if something is wrong with us. I think fans connect to the universality of the feeling “Looking For Another” and it’s also a track that gets in your head and you want to play on loop.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

A) The video explores loneliness and feeling like you’re not enough. I worked with a great younger actress, Charlotte Lindsay Maron, to explore the insecurities we all – and perhaps especially young women – face to be something other than yourself.

 

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

A) I usually create both at the same time, though if anything is going to come first, it will be music. I’ll start humming a melody and then lay down some scratch vocals where I’m pretty much singing gibberish and then I’ll listen back and try to decipher what I might have been trying to say subconsciously. Then, it’s a process of figuring out how to build the track from that initial hook / phrase and that is trial and error and trusting my gut. You know when you’re struck on to the most satisfying transition/build. It gets me in my body and I try to move as fast as possible to get it all down, both lyrically and production wise. You can edit after but to start it’s about what sounds resonate most in my heart with what I’m feeling and trying to express.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music? 

A I do all my own production and I also mix my tracks. I record and treat my vocals as well. I have a very minimal setup, and I do all my work on my laptop. I love how portable it can be. I work in Ableton. It’s my happy place.

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live Britt Allen performance?

A) My goal with my live shows is to give the audience something they’ll remember. I want to affect them and empower them. I try to be as free as possible on stage, really let go of my inhibitions to let the audience know it’s safe for them to go there too.

 

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

A Yes! I’m going to be putting my EP out on vinyl through Burning Witches Records. They also released my original score for the film What Keeps You Alive. I’m working on some new music now, inspired by the current state of the world.

 

Q Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) Jack Antanoff. He’s pretty f’in brilliant and has an incredible pop sensibility.

 

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

A) I’m loving Nine Inch Nails’ newest album Ghosts V: Together. It’s perfect ambient, dark and moving music that is both encapsulating our current reality and allowing me to transport to a focused, creative place within myself when I listen to it.

 

Q) You are also an actress and we loved seeing you on “The Boys.” What were some of your favorite scenes to film?

A) “The Boys” was all around a very special project to be a part of. I loved shooting every scene. Popclaw was such a great character to inhabit.

 

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

A) I think about what I appreciate in the people I follow on social media and I try to carry myself with the same intentions for my own page. I’m finding social media to be a much more genuine place in the wake of this pandemic. People are letting down their guards. It’s incredible to watch Patti Smith give a performance from her living room and everyone is being more honest and considerate of other people. I hope we hold on to that when all of this passes.

 

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

A) Thank you for supporting my work! It means so much to know when it’s affected one of you. I can’t seem to stop making art of all kinds, so there will be much more on the horizon. Hope everyone is keeping safe and well right now. Sending my love!

 

 

 

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