Audrey is a new musician with two hit singles in the indie world, Chai Tea and 2 A.M. I was bought to the knowledge of her through her first catchy cafe single, Chai Tea, and I just had to interview her!
M: I was really lucky to be suggested your music via Spotify and immediately, after hearing chai tea, I fell in love with the chill yet somehow aesthetic sounds and vibes your music gave off. What kind of vibe do you aim to make with your music?
AUDREY: First of all, thank you so much! that means a lot and I'm so glad you enjoy the song! I really aim to create an aesthetic with everything I do. My room, a certain song, an outfit, etc. I'm still figuring out what kind of overall aesthetic I'm going for musically. It's "bedroom pop" as of now. I love that "made in a bedroom" sound. Definitely in the indie realm. I'd love to be considered an "indie-pop/alt-pop." artist. Even though my sound is constantly changing, I'd say it all falls under that genre. Then again, I don't love the idea of being in a specific box. If the music evolves and travels to other genres, then it does!
M: You only have a couple singles out but you already have over ten thousand listeners per month. Did you ever think you’d reach those numbers?
A: Absolutely not! I'd hoped and dreamed the "Chai Tea" would be successful, but I was being realistic with myself. I don't have a huge platform or many followers, I don't have a manager or anyone helping me, so how would the music get heard? I promoted it on my Instagram and I remember there only being about 300 streams which were just family and friends. I wasn't surprised, and I figured that would be it. A few months later, somehow it got swept up in the algorithm. People messaged me saying it had appeared on their "DIsocver Weekly" playlist on Spotify. It eventually kept growing and growing. It's surreal, to be honest. The numbers go up at least one thousand a day, which BLOWS MY MIND.
M: when was the first time you realised that your music was becoming successful?
A: I'd say when I saw a steady increase of streams a day. First, it was 10,000...then 20,000, and it just kept going. I kept waiting for it to become stagnant or plateau, but it didn't!
Then I started getting the nicest messages on Instagram of people telling me how much they loved the song and it helped them study, or got them through a bad day. At the end of the day, I created the music originally for myself as an outlet for my emotions and self-expression, but there's nothing more rewarding than having people appreciate your art. It's so fulfilling. It reminds me this is my dream and what I believe to be my purpose in life.
M: Although you only have a couple songs out, are there many more in the process of recording or even releasing yet?
A: Yes! I have tons of demos on my computer. Half-finished songs, songs that will never be heard (for good reason), and songs I'm planning for future projects. I've become a bit of a perfectionist, so any time I make a song I'm not satisfied with, I see it as a learning experience. Producing is something you've never fully mastered. There's ALWAYS more things to learn and I've learned so much by making tons of music these past couple years. Since I do produce and record myself, it has been more time consuming, but the wait will be worth it.
M: when it comes to music videos, are there any ideas you’ve had in mind?
A: Yes! As I'm making a song, I always imagine what the music video would look like. Unfortualnty I don't have the resources right now to make professional ones, but I love the idea of homemade videos. I always made little music videos with my friends growing up, and getting back into that would be a full-circle moment. I had the idea for chai tea, but life got so busy it got swept under the rug, I'd still love to make one even though it's been out for a while now. I love the look of film; that vintage, organic look. I don't see it being overproduced or too polished. I'd love to film it at a coffee shop, but obviously that's not possible right now due to the virus. For 2 A.M. however, my friend Becky and I literally made a storyboard and play by play of how the music video would go. There's a clip on my Instagram that was from us just planning it out, but it turned out looking sick, so I uploaded it as promo for the song! But hopefully, in the future, I can make what I see in my head become a reality for future songs as well.
M: Both your Instagram and the covers for your songs are aesthetic - are visuals important to you?
A: They're everything! Originally, I was set on having the cover for 2 A.M. be blue and purple. The song was written and made before chai tea. But once Chai Tea came along, I also had a visual in my head. Alejandro, my boyfriend, is a photographer and took the photo at a local restaurant. He nailed it. (Here's is site if you wanted to see his work! https://alejandroabarcacg.squarespace.com ) I knew I wanted all my songs to look nice next to each other. It's that little attention to detail I know I appreciate when looking at other artists' discography, So I gave up the blue tone fantasy for the cover and shot the 2 A.M. cover myself in my room! Visuals are always in my head when producing a song though. I even imagine how I'd dance or perform them, as silly as it sounds. But it really helped me channel the emotions and sound I want. Music and visuals just go together. I feel you can't completely have one without the other.
M: what’s the process like when coming up with covers for your singles?
A: I'm super indecisive, so initially, it's stressful as hell for me to decide on one singular idea. Do I want art or a photograph? Do I want to be in the photo, or not? Does it match my other two singles? Should it be HD or more film-like? I'll think over it for days until finally being happy with an idea, Other times though, I know exactly what I want and the hardest part is executing it.
M: Chai Tea, in my opinion, seems to be about a relationship and I loved the lyrics ‘i said i know right if we didn’t we might not be a thing’, the idea that music brings people together is beautiful. Was it written about a specific someone or more so a story?
A: I agree music is a universal language. Yes! It's about my boyfriend of over a year, Alejandro. He inspired this song 100%. It would not exist without him. We would go to cafes after his classes and I'd always get chai tea. The lyrics are also pretty verbatim to conversations we've had. Even though it's a lighthearted song, it's also vulnerable to me. Those are precious memories and being mushy in a song without sounded chessy can be difficult! The first time he heard the demo of it, he flipped. He said, "This is so good. This needs to be your first single. You need to finish it like, tonight.". He LOVED it which made me so happy because his opinion mattered most. He's not afraid to be honest and tell me when something isn't his cup of tea...pun not intended.
M: What’s the next thing you’re releasing that you have in store for us and can tell us about?
A: I don't want to give too much away, but there is a single coming for sure. I'm most excited about it because I'm finally finding my sound. It's not like 2 A.M., but it's not much like Chai Tea either. It has layers of harmonies, a relaxed dreamy sound, but still a good beat to bop your head to. It's a solid indie bop. That's what the files titled in my computer because I don't have a title for it yet, but it's mostly finished. I just want to make sure it's perfect before I release it out into the world. Besides that, I'm constantly writing and creating potential new songs. Releasing an EP would be amazing too. Maybe within the next year.
M: I love ending on fun ones so, if you could hear either of your songs play publicly somewhere, where would you like it to be?
A: A coffee shop for sure! Chai tea playing at a coffee shop...come on. That's everything. That song was MEANT to be played there! If I ever heard it overplaying as I'm sipping on a drink I'd probably cry. Maybe one day!
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