Where are you currently based?
I’m based in Vancouver, BC!
How did you first start playing music?
For as long as I can remember I’d always loved music, but I didn’t start performing until I was 9. I first started with singing competitions in my area and then worked my way up to solo gigs in bars and restaurants where I’d sing and play the guitar for a couple hours at a time. It’s very funny being a young performer, sometimes you’re not actually allowed in the spaces you’re performing in. Once I had to be walked by a chaperone between the stage, green room, and bathroom so the bar wouldn’t get in trouble for having a 15 year old wandering around by herself.
What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been?
Recently I’ve been writing and planning my future releases after ‘False Love’ drops. Pre-Covid I was already a bit of a social recluse, so not much has changed socially for me, but I’ve really missed performing. I’ve done a couple outdoor and online shows, but it’s not quite the same as things were before the pandemic.
Your new EP ‘False Love’ will be out on July 30, what influenced the sound and songwriting?
While writing this EP, we (myself, Tavish Crowe, Ryan Stewart, and Troy Samson) were inspired by a lot of different artists, including Dua Lipa, PVRIS, Doja Cat, Carlie Hanson, and Tate McRae. Writing this EP was a learning experience for me. A lot of personal and musical growth happened for me throughout its creation and I think you can hear that throughout the tracks! In two of the songs on the EP (Is It Cool If We’re Lonely? and Nothing To Bleed For), I started dipping into a slightly darker pop sound, which is something I see myself continuing with in the future.
How did you go about writing the EP?
Spending lots of time in the studio! I like to think of myself as a pretty quick songwriter, all of these tracks were written in under five hours. ‘Is It Cool If We’re Lonely?’ Was definitely the fastest, Tavish and I wrote it over Zoom in less than two hours! We’re both pretty efficient songwriters (when we’re not getting distracted on random tangents), which makes working together very quick and fun! I believe that over thinking your music takes away a lot of charm and authenticity. Worrying too much about whether or not other people will be able to immediately understand a lyric or if a melody is catchy enough distracts from the process, and can make songs sound kind of rigid and flat. I tried to apply that philosophy to every song on this EP, letting the song tell us where it wants to go, instead of forcing it to be something it isn’t.
Where and when did you record/produce/master and with?
This EP was mainly produced by the incredible Ryan Stewart, except for ‘Is It Cool If We’re Lonely?’ Which was produced by the also incredible Tavish Crowe. I always think that once you find your people you should stick with them so your music doesn’t start to sound disjointed or repetitive. All of the songs on this EP were written and recorded in Vancouver, with the earliest song (Scar Tissue) recorded in early 2019, and the latest (Is It Cool If We’re Lonely) written in February 2021. The songs were mixed and mastered by Jason Van Poederooyen (aka JVP).
How did you approach the recording/production process?
Throughout the writing process for ‘False Love’ I gained a lot of confidence in my abilities as a songwriter and contributor to the final version of a song. Most of the time, I would send a couple references to Ryan or Tavish, and they would come up with a track that took inspiration from that. I learned over time how to express more specifically what I wanted things to sound like, but I’m still not super great with a lot of production terms, so a lot of the time I just have to badly beatbox and hope they understand what I’m going for. On a high note, I’ve gotten pretty good at singing like a distorted bass haha.
What programs/equipment did you use?
Ryan and I use Logic, while Tavish prefers Ableton. For the most part I only really record myself for covers and demo vocals if I’m writing over Zoom, but my mic is an Aston Spirit. I don’t know what microphones were used for the final productions as all the songs were recorded at very different times and in two different studios, sorry!
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I’ve been going through a bit of an emo revival recently, so a lot of My Chemical Romance and Paramore, but I’ve also been really loving Olivia Rodrigo, Willow, and Måneskin. I’m loving this late 90’s to early 2000’s rock/pop punk revival as that’s a lot of what I listened to growing up!
What do you like to do away from music?
I love photography, photo editing, and creating videos. Those interests are very helpful with creating content for my music career, so I spend a lot of time on both sides of the camera and hunched over my laptop. I actually created the art for the EP myself with a projector, my camera with a self timer, and many hours of photoshop.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2021?
More music! I hope to release at least one more single before 2021 is over. I’m really excited about the new music I’ve been creating recently and I can’t wait to share it with my listeners!
Favourite food and place to hangout?
This might be a little bit weird, but I’m kind of obsessed with fried cauliflower. Something about it is addictive and I can eat so much of it. It’s kind of like the best of both worlds: it’s yummy and deep fried, but also a vegetable, so I’m not being too unhealthy when I eat an entire plate of it myself. My favourite place to hang out with a friend is thrift stores. I love that every time you go in, there’s different stuff to look at, and a lot of it is really cool or funny. It’s also much more sustainable than shopping for new stuff all the time, and super rewarding when you find a really good item.
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