By: Karen Steinberg
Photo By Kate Garner
Q) How would you describe your sound?
A) Indie pop and folk-leaning rock with intimate, diary-like storytelling and a cinematic emotional undercurrent.
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) Lyrically I’m very inspired by punk leaning music – Dinosaur Jr, the replacements, x ray specs, Fugazi. 90’s era Beck will also always be a touch stone for me, as will The Sundays and Joni Mitchell.
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Helium Balloon.”
A) “Helium Balloon” is about the quiet collisions of emotion that make up the human experience. It’s loneliness in a crowded room and the bittersweet hush that settles after a party ends. The image of a single balloon, an object designed to signal joy, drooping in the corner, became the perfect metaphor for that strange, tender space where happiness and sadness coexist.
I started the song on my vocal loop pedal and played it live around LA for over a year before recording it, so the final version stays very true to that live feeling.
Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?
A) I think people connect to how familiar that feeling is. Most people have experienced being surrounded by others but internally somewhere else entirely. It’s that disconnect – when you’re carrying something heavy and still trying to show up like everything’s fine. The song gives that feeling a place to exist without having to hide it.
Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?
A) I loved the idea of my “Heavy Hair” – so full of unexpressed emotion it’s weighing me down – being lifted by a balloon that’s trying with all its might to lighten the load. For me, that represents the feeling of trying to shake off whatever you’re carrying and allow yourself to be present in the moment.
There’s also a scene of me with Rapunzel-length hair in the eerie aftermath of a party. The song itself feels surreal, so I wanted the video to mirror that same dreamlike, slightly off-kilter world.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) It’s usually lyrics first. I keep a journal full of lyric fragments – phrases, poems, observations or emotional snapshots. So, when I sit down with chords or go into a session, I’m already pulling from a world that exists.
Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?
A) My songs start with just me, my vocal loop pedal and a guitar and then I bring them to collaborators to flesh out.
Q) What are some themes you’ll be exploring on your upcoming EP Heavy Hair?
A) Connection in all its forms – platonic, romantic, the pull toward community and the relationship you have with yourself, both past and present, and how that connection shifts and evolves over time.
Q) This is said to be your most introspective work to date. What inspired you to summon the courage to finally explore these various sides of you that you’ve kept hidden?
A) I’ve always written from a character perspective – my songs were personal, but I was often reimagining my experiences through someone else and acting more as the narrator.
While writing Heavy Hair, my life pushed me into a much more vulnerable place. I had gone through an abusive relationship, come out the other side, fallen in love for the first time, been evacuated from my home and was dealing with chronic illness. At a certain point, there was no character I could create that could tell those stories better than I could in my own raw voice.
Q) Luna Li is amazing on “Meteor.” How did the two of you come to connect for the song?
A) She is amazing! She’s one of my best friends, truly a pillar of my life. The collaboration happened very organically – I played her the skeleton of the song and then we sat on her bed and flushed it out. It was some of the most fun I’ve had writing.
Q) “Emergency Contact” and “Unrivaled” are my personal favorite tracks off the EP. Which ones hold a special place in your heart and why?
A) Thank you so much! It’s like choosing a favorite child… but right now “Helium Balloon” and “Keeper” hold a special place for me. They’re both really vulnerable songs where I’m laying everything bare, and that kind of storytelling always lingers—whether I’m the one telling it or the one receiving it.
I finished “Keeper” while evacuated from the Eaton Canyon fires, so it’s tied to a really emotional time in my life. It always brings a lot up for me when I listen back. Luna Li played strings on it as well, and when they come in, it feels so cinematic and evocative.
Q) What do you hope lingers with listeners that explore this new EP as a whole – either as a message or emotion?
A) I hope they feel inspired to shave their proverbial “heavy hair” and express whatever they’ve been holding back – to release it, to face it or to finally let it go.
Q) What songs off of Heavy Hair are you looking forward to performing live?
A) “Emergency Contact.” I feel like that’s going to be one where everyone can get in a primal scream.
Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?
A) I love playing at a DIY backyard show. LA has so many good ones put together by such passionate people. Put me outside on a warm night in LA playing with my band and I’m very happy.
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) Beabadoobee! Beatopia is one of my favorite albums of all time.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) I’m listening to Arima Ederra’s new album a lot. Her voice sends shivers down my spine and she’s a real poet.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) Thank you for letting me be a small part in the narration of your lives, it’s an honor.