By: Lisa Steinberg
Photo By Paige Margulies (@drelladarko)
Q) Your music is often described as “alt-pop,” but how would you describe your sound?
A) I love the idea of describing my music as “messy pop.” I always write with a different sonic influence in mind and sometimes I end up more on the Y2K end of the spectrum, sometimes I end up somewhere very weird and different altogether. Everything I write is lyrics first, so sonically I’m a little bit all over the place.
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) Halsey and Banks are absolutely the two artists that have influenced me the most. I actually had quit music right before Halsey’s Badlands album came out and I remember hearing it and going…”Oh my god, I wish I wrote that,” and I started writing music again. I also really love Sofia Isella, Adela and I’ve been a massive fan of Britney [Spears], Christina [Aguilera] and Regina Spektor ever since I was little.
Q) Talk about the story behind your new EP the deluge.
A) Half of the songs for the deluge were written before I had the idea for the EP and the other half were written afterwards. I actually got the idea for the concept because I noticed that I gravitate towards metaphors surrounding water a lot – I feel like fire gets a lot of credit for being powerful and destructive and water rarely does even though it can be just as powerful and destructive, just in less obvious ways sometimes – and saw the songs I already had written and realized I wanted to make a project centered around that. the deluge explores themes of pleasure and pain through metaphors centered around water, while also taking you on a journey through moving on with life and healing.
Q) It’s got such a great vibe, sonic energy to it. Is that what you think will make it popular?
A)I actually think that the lyrical content will be what resonates most with people. The EP as a whole definitely has a really cool sound that I’m very proud of, but I really like that the project as a whole represents that feeling of “everything’s fucked; just kidding, we’re so back!” over and over again that a lot of people seem to experience.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) I always start with lyrics first. Before I wrote with other people, my process was always writing the full song in lyrics, then melody and then I’d move to the guitar or piano for chords – a process that I discovered once I started writing with other people is VERY backwards from how most people write. I need a concept or idea first more than anything and for me that always comes from words – sometimes from lyrics from another song, sometimes from a book, sometimes something someone has said in a movie (although rarely the last one since I don’t watch movies very often).
Q) How much of a say do you have in the production of your music?
A)It really varies! I’ll have specific ideas when it comes to production for certain things, but otherwise I really enjoy choosing collaborators whose creative ideas I trust so much that I can let them have some freedom on what the production sounds like. And I always love hearing how my ideas can be interpreted through other people, since sometimes they’ll come up with something that I never would’ve thought of that works so perfectly.
Q) What are some themes you’ll be exploring on the deluge?
A) Pain, pleasure, not wanting to be here anymore, finding my will to live again, my general struggles of being a deeply intense but also a deeply sensitive person. The usual…[smiles]
Q) the deluge drops soon! How do you plan to celebrate the release?
A) I’m actually currently in talks with the dating app Feeld about hopping on an event with them for release night, so fingers crossed that goes through!
Q) What do you hope lingers with audiences that explore this EP – either as an emotion or message?
A) For me, the goal is always to make people feel more connected and more understood. I wrote a lot of these songs after getting out of a very tumultuous relationship that left me feeling very isolated and alone and I would love for anyone going through the same thing to feel a little bit less alone in their experience. Remember: after every “everything’s fucked,” there’s always a “we’re so back.”
Q) Which tracks off this EP out in March are you looking forward to playing at live shows?
A)Definitely “Surface Tension” and “CHOKE”
Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?
A) I honestly haven’t played live super frequently, so it’s tricky for me to answer this question. But ask me again in a year and hopefully I’ll have an answer!
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Sofia Isella, Banks, Cashmere Cat – if any of y’all see this, hit me up!
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) I’ve been revisiting UPSAHL a lot recently since I’m teaching myself to play bass and love learning her songs! She’s actually the artist who made me want to get into playing bass in the first place.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) I love y’all so much and it truly means more than I can ever express that y’all rock with me the way you do. You have my heart forever and I can’t wait to eventually meet every single one of you. Mwah!