ALMOST ALIVE
Q: Your song “Scorpion Queen” is replete with these bright, violent images. Would you mind sharing what inspired the metaphor of the “Scorpion Queen”?
She’s always been in my head, a character I’ve constructed that embodies our willing destruction. The Scorpion Queen is the poison we worship.
Q: Addiction appears to be the greater theme within “Scorpion Queen”: “Paper blunt,” “put the needle in me.” How do you approach writing about such heavy and personal topics?
To be honest, writing about heavy and personal topics has always come more naturally to me than light-hearted themes. I’ve got a natural inclination to romanticize melancholy and dark themes, so my approach is simply to organize my thoughts in a way that articulates and complements the thematic aesthetic of the song. Sometimes I feel the more uncomfortable a lyric is for me to write, the more I have the responsibility to put it out there.
Q: There’s almost this sense of conflict in the lyrics of wanting to get away from something, but being pulled back into it. I mean, is this sort of dynamic based on a personal experience or something you’ve observed?
Both, I think that internal conflict is quite a universal human experience.
Q: You talk of “burnt paper” and “haunted by the ghost in my back seat.” Can you explain what those images mean to you and what you were trying to say through them?
It’s no secret that I’m a compulsive smoker — “burnt paper” refers to our/my smoking vices, as well as being a nod to the addictive, if frustrating, process of writing music. Regarding the latter… You know we all have ghosts in our backseats haunting us through our rear view mirror.
Q: There seems to be an element of using drugs and substances as a coping mechanism, and I think that comes through in your lyrics. Do you feel like music, in a way, helps people process their battles with addiction or trauma?
Most definitely
Q: How much of “Scorpion Queen” did you take from your personal life, and how much of it was more imagined or told through storytelling?
I mean, all of it was rooted in my personal life, but the degree and intensity was dramatized for a specific intention.
Q: You seem to write a lot about the more darker emotions, like pain, obsession. Do you find that cathartic, or does the challenge even outweigh that?
I think as a writer your emotions are often at the forefront of your thoughts, and placing those thoughts down definitely relieves you of them — even if it’s only temporary. I often process and accept experiences as I’m writing about them.
Q: The relationship in this song is toxic but also kind of seductive. Do you think there’s almost an instinct to crave what hurts us?
Of course! We love pain; it makes us feel alive.
Q: Your lyrics seem so poetic sometimes, I almost wonder if you take your influences from writers or poets when writing your songs?
It feels almost blasphemous to say yes, since I don’t think my work comes close to most poets out there, but yes definitely. In the realm of lyric writers, I’m quite fond of Damien Rice, Leonard Cohan and Alex Turner.
I often write out my lyrics in a poem format before I convert them to fit my songs.
Q: Do you ever have concern as to how listeners will interpret your more personal or intense lyrics, or would you rather leave them open to interpretation?
Not really, my style of writing often requires you to interpret it through your own perspective. There’s an intentional vagueness is my words.
Q: Has your approach to songwriting changed as you’ve grown as an artist, especially concerning difficult themes as in “Scorpion Queen”?
The songs on this album were written more than 5 years ago, so my approach has definitely evolved alongside me. Lately I’ve become a lot more aware and intentional with my phrasing and word choices.
Q: What does your creative process look like when you’re writing lyrics? Do the words come first, or is it the music that helps shape the story?
It often starts as a song title or a specific lyric that has enough ‘substance’ behind it for me to explore further. It’s often just me, my piano and my notebook in the late hours of the night.
Q: How do you feel about performing songs with such raw, emotional content live? Is it harder, or more freeing?
Performing live will always be easier if there’s emotion behind the music. Having a medium through which to relive your life is an emotional experience that can only be freeing to a performer.
Q: There’s an underlying current of power dynamics in relationships on “Scorpion Queen” that seems pretty strong. Is that something you felt actively you wanted to explore?
Yes, power dynamics is an underlying current for everything I write.
Q: Are there any other artists or albums that you particularly feel would cause such an influential effect on the lyrical direction of your work?
Of course, Arctic Monkeys, the Neighborhood, Gorillaz, Damien Rice, Lana Del Rey and more everyday…
Q: Are there any conceptual elements or themes that you don’t feel you’ve tapped into with your lyrics as of yet, but you may want to work on in the future?
Yeah there’s a few I’ve been touching on in our next project, topics like bisexuality, identity, polyamory and as always the complexities of interpersonal relationship dynamics.
