Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have been singing my whole life. I didn’t start writing music until I was 15. I went to an Ed Sheeran concert and I knew that what he was doing was what I wanted to do with my life.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Lizzy McAlpine. I love the way she constructs her songs and her storytelling is crazy.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences?
A: Ed Sheeran was the one who first got me into writing and performing, but some artists I’d say are my strongest influences are Jeremy Zucker, Alexander 23, and LANY.
Q: You have just released your new album, ‘made in LA’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Yeah, the story behind the album is just telling my story. The main theme throughout the album is love. It starts off with a love of life and the career that I’m chasing, then it takes you to me falling in love, loving my friends, falling out of love and heartbreak, family love, and finally self-love. I wanted to tell a story that people could find themselves in and relate to. Each song is based on something that happened to me.
Q: What is the message of your music?
A: I always try to make sure my music reflects who I am. I can be fun and stupid while also being deep and emotional and I never want people to take me too seriously. My end goal for my music is for people to connect to it in a way where it means something to them. Whether its the song they had their first kiss to or a song that helped them get through a hard time. If someone can listen to one of my songs and find themselves in that situation, I feel like I’ve done a good job.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: I’d say my sound is pretty raw and homemade. I’ve made every song out of my bedroom and didn’t have a big team behind me helping me construct the perfect song. A lot of my songs are just real straight-from-the-heart songs and may not be the most technical in terms of how to create a hit. But I care more about the story I can tell than chasing a hit.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: I think if I expect something out of this I’m gonna be let down no matter what. I always try to shoot for the stars in my goals but I need to be aware of the reality that is the music industry now. There’s a lot of people chasing this same dream and a lot of songs get released daily. I’m proud of the work I’ve done regardless of how many streams or recognition I get from my music. If those things come my way, I’d be ecstatic, but in the meantime, I’m happy with where I’m at.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: With a lot of my songs, I sit down with my guitar and try to write the lyrics first and construct the production around the lyrics. Recently, I’ve tried to create instrumentals before lyrics to try to match the lyrics to the feel. This also gives me a little bit more creativity with sounds than just making chords and textures around my lyrics.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: I think the mental battle of comparison to people in the same situation as me. I’ve seen so many people go from 0 followers to over 100k and It’s mostly just the fact that they had one video do really well and their song ended up doing great. I have yet to have that viral moment and I find myself looking at these other artists and wondering what I’m doing wrong. But it comes in waves.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: I’d say my first gig with a band. I had done a lot of acoustic gigs at restaurants, weddings, and other types of parties But in 2022, I had my first real gig at a bar in LA with a band and it was the first time I felt like a real artist. I can sit in my room all day and release songs and never have any interactions with the people that hear my music. But, after that gig, I felt like I was doing something right.
