Having already earned herself coverage in established publications including American Songwriter and found herself featured on both Tidal and Spotify playlists, Alita might be a relative newcomer to the music scene but she’s certainly making herself – and her talents – known. Hot off the back of recent singles “Human Nature” and “Too Close”, Alita dropped her latest track “Bodies” earlier this month and PopWrapped caught up with her to chat long-term goals and artistic inspirations.
What made you decide that music was the career path you wanted to take? Do you come from a musical family or is it just a passion you’ve had for many years?
Alita: That decision wasn’t an easy one for me, and it’s something I stepped away from for some time when I went to college. I grew up around music – my mom put headphones on her stomach when she was pregnant with me, and her side of the family is made up of singers, musicians, and performers. As a child, it was the only future I saw for myself and I never questioned it. As I got older, I started facing those common fears around the practicality of the dream, and I put my dream to the side for a few years. All throughout my college years, I would have these cyclical realizations that I wasn’t doing what I wanted, and wanted to go back to music. Once I got out of college and had a little more maturity, I started to recognize the pattern for what it was, and I recommitted to the career.
Growing up which bands and artists were you most inspired and influenced by? Have those influences changed much at all and how might you say they filter through into the music you make?
I really loved India.Arie, Adele, Mumford & Sons. I was also really obsessed with musical theatre growing up. I think all of them taught me a lot about song-writing and storytelling, each of them have such a distinct style. My influences today honestly change daily, I’m obsessed with finding new artists and finding what’s new in the industry! This past year, I’ve fallen in love with LEON’s work. She’s unbelievably talented. I’m not sure there’s a conscious connection to the music I’ve put out this year, but mostly because all of those songs were written 1-2 years ago so they feel very outdated for me. Right now, a lot of the inspiration that’s driving me is around blending production styles I like & deepening my own storytelling in writing.
Is there a story or meaning behind your latest song “Bodies” and what made you think it was ideal to release as a single?
“Bodies” is a song I wanted to write for a long time, but honestly didn’t have the courage to. I’m almost always the only woman in the studio, and I always felt like the unconscious biases in the room would infect my ability to be honest and raw in conversations around intimacy, sex, and body confidence. Eventually I just got over that, and brought my initial demo idea to my team. I initially decided to release it as a single because my manager is so hyped on it. I trust her ear – she’s always very honest with me when I share new music, and when I sent her an early version of the song, she was like “we need to release this as soon as possible”. I also think the message is important right now – women are hypersexualized in the music industry, yet we’re discouraged to write openly about our own experiences. There’s still this nasty fetishization in mainstream music, so releasing this song felt like a middle finger to that. It’s also just a fun record.
You created the visuals for the track yourself – how did you find the creative process and is it something you might consider doing again in the future?
It was honestly really hard, but mostly because the idea of it overwhelmed me and not because the actual implementation of the work was impossible. I did everything on my iPhone – writing the concept/treatment, filming, editing, everything. I’m a very visual person, and I see music video treatments in my head really clearly once I wrap up a song. This definitely inspired me to lean into that instinct moving forward, but I have to say – I’m excited to have help from people who are more talented than I and can work on something other than an iPhone.
Has the Corona Virus affected any performance or release plans you had in the works and how have you been keeping yourself busy over the last few months?
Definitely. I was planning to spend a lot more time in LA this summer, and all of that has been on pause. I’m lucky in that I had a few releases lined up already once quarantine hit, so I’ve been able to stay focused on those. Now we’re coming up with the creative challenge of working on new material and the next project in quarantine.
Both personally and professionally, do you think the world as we know it will ever truly return to normality or is our society forever changed by this outbreak?
I want to believe the trajectory of our world is moving toward more peace, love, and justice. A lot of darkness is coming to light right now. I think society will be forever shaped by this outbreak, no doubt, but only time will tell. I certainly will remember this for the rest of my life.
Given the impact it’s had on the economy and businesses like the music industry, how would you rate the chances of recovery?
I believe 100% recovery is the only option, but there has been a lot of destruction so far and there will continue to be. It breaks my heart knowing how many touring artists, crews, venues & their staff have been impacted especially. I’m not sure how much time it’ll take, but we will bounce back.
What’s the first thing you’re looking forward to doing when any sense of normal life resumes?
Mostly – the peace of mind, knowing my family and loved ones aren’t at imminent risk with this virus. Outside of that – traveling, sitting down at a restaurant, enjoying a night out. Normal things.
As a modern-day artist, do you believe it is at all possible for musicians to achieve success and a following without being socially interactive on social media platforms? How do you find such sites and do you think society as a whole relies on them too much?
I think it’s possible, but an artist building a following offline only would certainly be an outlier. Incredibly difficult. I’m not sure how independent musicians could do it sustainably.
Finally, with everyone’s plans for this year sent awry, have you started planning for 2021 yet? What are your long-term goals as an artist and what message do you want people to remember when they hear your music both now and many years down the line?
Finishing it off with some big questions! Love it. My manager and I are thinking a lot about 2021, because that time-frame seems a lot more reasonable for touring, traveling, etc. This year, we have a big project underway toward the end of the summer/fall, and some big goals over the next month. It’s going to be a lot of heads down work time. One huge goal we have is identifying a strong label partnership for future projects.
In terms of message, I just want listeners to feel good and feel more connected after hearing my music. The heart of my legacy outside of that is pretty undefined. I don’t know the answer to that yet.
Check out “Bodies” below and for more information on Alita, follow her on Twitter and Instagram or subscribe to her YouTube channel.
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