Q: Is there a lyric you’ve written that feels especially personal or meaningful to you? What makes it stand out?
A: Yes, it belongs to an unreleased song that is coming out very soon, called “Remember me”. The whole concept of it is quite devastating; it’s a letter I wrote when I was having a really hard time and I thought it would be the last thing I’d ever say. Many years later, when I turned those words into a song, I felt vulnerable and relieved. Releasing it feels like closure. You can really feel the desperation, anger and agony behind the words, and that’s what makes it special.
Q: If someone had never heard your music before, what three songs from your catalog would you play to introduce them to your world, and why those?
A: My first pick would be “sleepless nights”. It’s honest and raw, the result of long nights and days of numbness. I first wrote it as a way to let everything out. Many years later, I had the courage to keep working on it and finally produce it. Releasing it felt like letting go of that haunting pain I felt back then and I think people can definitely relate to that.
Secondly, “ON MY KNEES”, a dark and sexy song that navigates love and lust while battling mental health problems. It has a great epic atmosphere and it’s powerful, hot and kind of twisted.
Lastly, I would recommend “Remember me”, a song that will be released in a few weeks. It’s my most sincere and crushing song and it navigates the feeling of wanting everything to end. I think it’s a crucial song to comprehend my project as a whole.
Q: How has your definition of ‘success’ changed since you first started pursuing music?
A: When I started writing I didn’t have a music career in mind; it was just a way to articulate how I felt. Later on, when I started releasing songs, ‘success’ was measured by numbers: followers, comments, streams… After all, it was what those around me were asking about, and it felt truly overwhelming. Now ‘success’ is a more complex concept; it’s still defined by numbers - partially - but being proud of what I do and the work I’ve put into my project is what carries the most weight.
Q: Do you ever feel pressure to fit into a particular genre or image? How do you stay true to yourself while navigating the industry?
A: Oof, what a question! Yes, I feel pressured but less than what I used to, luckily.
I think that there’s this unspoken rule of sticking to one genre, and for a long time, I used to worry about that. Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t write a more folky and acoustic song and then release a heavily produced single with synths and more experimental sounds.
There’s also a tendency to listen to small artists and compare them to some icon of the music industry, which is a double-edged sword: it’s a huge compliment but it also feels like being put in a mold you can’t - or shouldn’t - break.
Right now I just do whatever I feel like, with hope that someone will relate to my music and get something out of it, but without that being my main goal. There are plenty of people making art just to sell it to an audience and I don’t feel comfortable with that approach.
Q: What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned from releasing music independently or as an emerging artist?
A: That most people don’t care, at least not until you ‘make it’. It’s important to accept that no one knows you and that they have no reason to listen to your work. Promoting your music - even if it feels embarrassing - is something you have to go through until you find people that connect with you and your songs. You have to work hard to make them care, it’s kind of a ‘make them buy what you’re selling’ situation.
Q: How do you protect your creativity from burnout while constantly creating content and promoting your work?
A: Honestly, I haven’t yet found balance in that. I’m well aware that a finished song doesn’t mean that my job is done; I have to promote it and nowadays the best way to do it is on social media. That means planning content, filming and editing it and, even if you’ve put lots of effort into it, most of the time fewer people than you’d like will see it, let alone interact with it. So to avoid burnout I try to be proud of what I post, have fun with it and don’t measure its success strictly in numbers.
Q: Who are the artists that have influenced you to become a better songwriter or performer?
A: I’m a big fan of lyricism, so I look up to artists that capture me with their words, such as Noah Kahan, Phoebe Bridgers, Jake Minch or, my favorite artist, Lizzy McAlpine. I am in awe of everything she does and I believe she’s one of the best songwriters of our time. Her songs are masterpieces and her lyrics are unreal. She’s unfiltered, sincere and brave. Lastly, it’s inevitable to mention Ethel Cain, whose singer and writer, Hayden Anhedönia, has an undeniable gift in storytelling and a very powerful performance.
Q: If you could collaborate with any three artists—regardless of genre or era—who would they be, and what do you think each collaboration would bring out in your music?
A: First of all I would say Lizzy McAlpine for obvious reasons. I would be honored to learn from her and to even observe how she works. I think it would help me be more genuine and confident and it would just be a dream come true.
I would love to collaborate with Billy Joel because he’s an absolute icon to me and he was one of the first artists I started admiring when I was little, thanks to my dad and our long car rides with his music playing. I think I’d learn to have more fun and be more experimental with my songs.
Lastly, I’d say Guitarricadelafuente, a Spanish artist that I greatly admire. This collab would maybe help me go back to my roots and add a little bit more of where I come from into my music.
Q: If you could leave a message for someone who's about to hear your music for the very first time, what would you say?
A: Everything you hear is self-made and has purpose. My partner and I compose, produce, and mix every song - kind of like a Billie and Finneas dynamic -. We have little resources but we make the most out of them; we actually record my vocals in a closet we emptied out and sound-proofed. Enjoy it and listen carefully, since there are always little things hidden in our stuff.