Q: Welcome back, Alina! It’s fantastic to have you with us again. Since our last conversation, a lot has happened in your musical journey. To kick things off, could you share some highlights or pivotal moments that have shaped your artistic path since our last interview?
A: It’s a pleasure to be back with you! Wow, a lot has happened in the last year or so. The biggest things will be settling in Brighton, ending a long-term relationship and managing to be able to call myself a professional singer – I’ve been performing consistently around Brighton for about a year now and I’m absolutely loving it. Being surrounded by such a rich scene has definitely seeped into my songwriting and production style. I think this EP emulates that raw, live feeling that you get from submerging in a live music scene. I sold out my first headline show last year, I’ve been working with new artists and producers, and I’ve been acting young and saying YES!
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Alina in three words?
A: Insightful, flirty and rambunctious.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: I stay connected with them largely through social media, I try to share what I’m doing, post a clip of a new song I’ve written or a snippet of a gig I’ve performed. I’m also very keen for conversations at my live shows – I think there’s nothing worse than an artist who leaves immediately after their show, especially if there’s only a small number of fans who want to chat! I love meeting and interacting with anyone who feels a connection to me through my music, it means so much to me and every single person who buys a ticket or streams a song is the reason I can keep doing what I love.
Q: You have just released your new EP, ‘Cordially Invited’. Is there a story behind it?
A: There is! ‘Cordially Invited’ is a meticulous collection of songs I wrote over the last 5 years that I was too nervous to release. Some of them are very close to home, somewhat emotionally incriminating or just felt too raw at the time to share. I am so happy to have finally curated, recorded, and released them though, as they’ve been some of my favourite songs to play at gigs over the last few years. ‘Cordially Invited’ is of course the name of the EP and title of the lead single, and it’s a play on a wedding invite, or in my case an invitation to have access to some of my deep cuts.
Q: What is your favorite track from the EP and why?
A: It changes ALL the time (of course). I adore ‘Cordially Invited’ (the lead single) but at the moment I’m hyped for ‘Horribly Right’ – I think she’s got some sass and a heck of a lot of untapped potential. I genuinely love and am proud of each track though, aren’t I lucky!
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the EP, “Cordially Invited”?
A: As I said, most of these songs were written a few years ago, and I’ve been performing them live but never released them. I decided it was time to put my big girl pants on and get these songs out there, as has been requested by fans over the years! I reached out to Jack Grace, the fabulously talented producer for the EP, and told him I wanted to do something a little more indie-pop-rock and, being an owner of one million guitars, of course he said YES. We spent a weekend together in Bournemouth and recorded every track, adding production elements and guitar riffs as we went. The only track we didn’t re-record was ‘I Think…’ as we decided to keep the original demo vocal I’d recorded in a cabin in Wales in 2024 with friend and co-producer Thea Kay. The real life birds in the background and rawness in my voice were too good to scrap.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for Alina so far?
A: I recently partook in two separate singer-songwriter competitions and made it to the semi-finals of both! The quarter final for the Future Icon competition was at The Folklore Rooms in Brighton (a favourite venue of mine) and I had an unbelievable amount of support – it’s the first time I’ve had almost an entire room sing my lyrics back to me, dozens of friends dancing around and singing along. It was pure magic.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: My last single before the EP ‘Loverboy Leave’ certainly kicked my career ahead for me. However, for this release, I’m gonna say ‘I Think…’, and that’s because the version we chose to release is literally just a one take vocal and a piano. I take pride in my lyricism in all my songs, I always say I’m a singer-songwriter before I’m a musician, and maybe that’s why ‘I Think…’ holds such a special place for me – I can play it live exactly as it’s recorded. The song was written half way through a relationship as it turned long distance after a new job, and I wrote the song the day they first left, but I stayed for over a year after that. Looking back, this song was so therapeutic for me, dealing with all that at just 23. I’m so proud of it and so pleased that it’s out in the world now, and no longer just mine.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into Alina’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: I so often start with a poem. I’ll write a line or two in my notes app, or write a journal entry that has musical undertones and then sit at my keyboard or with my guitar, and slowly begin building the world of the song. To pick a key I honestly tend to go off vibes like ‘do these words make more sense in a minor key? Should I include a lot of 7ths?’ Things like that. I generally get a grasp on verses pretty quickly and then I’m faced with the challenge of BIG CHORUS. The trick is generally to have fun with it and pick notes outside of a key if it suits the theme, or stick to a really simple chord structure but play melodically within that. Once I have the basics of a song down, I voice note it, usually send it to Thea, and then I or we start on a demo, building a much bigger world for my song.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: I really and truly just want to bring people together through music. I’ve met some of my favourite people through the music scene, and realised so much about myself through writing songs and performing them, learning something different at each turn. I was listening to Hazel Hayes’ podcast ‘Out of Love’ recently, and she asked singer-songwriter ‘dodie’ why she makes music, and I have the same answer: ‘I have no choice’.
I urge fans to keep the grassroots scene alive! Buy tickets to shows, go to open mics, grab merch off your favourite artists, whether they have 1,000,000 or 100 monthly listeners. Your support is the reason we can keep creativity alive, it’s the whole damn point.
