Photography by Anna Haas
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
This project honestly feels like a lifetime in the making! I spent many years living in Brooklyn doing everything on my own – from writing to producing to performing. I felt for a while that my power came from my ability to be self-sufficient and not needing anyone else to make my ish happen.
Then I came to Nashville in 2016 and met my producer turned life partner and learned so much about the power of collaboration. I think my new record, “Wake Up, Dreamer” is a really amazing example of how two minds are greater than one! The final product is the result of passionate compromise and working on something until it’s as close to perfect as can possibly be. It’s definitely been a journey, but I’m super excited to finally have a product out there for people to hear that I am truly proud of.
What should a song or piece of art communicate in your opinion?
As a Certified Sound Healer, I am, of course, a huge believer in the power of sound to heal. I think music does this, whether we intend for it to or not, when we are deeply honest in the writing stages.
Not every song needs to communicate something we are hugely passionate about, that would be impossible right? But they do need to communicate experiences and emotions through a lens of honesty.
Many of the songs on my record are a bit elusive lyrically – which is something I like to do to allow for people to create their own interpretations of them and make them personal. However, they are all deeply personal to me: from writing about a relationship on the edge to my struggles with my meditation practice to my longing for alien contact 🙂
Who were your top 3 artists last year?
One of my favorite artists period who also happens to be a local friend of mine is Notelle. I am super inspired by her attitude, honesty and talent and it’s been awesome to watch her music and live performances take off so much in the short time I’ve known her. I’m also really into most everything that LP does.
I’ve had tickets to see her at the Ryman for over 2 years and it keeps getting pushed back – hopefully this will be my year 🙂 One more artist that fell on my radar towards the end of last year was Caroline Polachek. I saw Chairlift perform a number of times when I lived in Brooklyn so it’s been awesome to hear her solo stuff!
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
Play my crystal singing bowls! This is actually exactly the reason I got into Vibrational Healing in the first place: while exploring ways to move through creative blocks without the need for any drugs or alcohol.
The frequencies from the crystal bowls entrain with your brain’s natural frequencies and help to activate the theta state and the Default Mode Network (which is where the brain has creative thoughts and daydreams). I highly recommend sound healing to anyone hoping for a healthy dose of inspiration!
What are your 2022 projects and goals?
My biggest project for this year, in addition to continuing to grow my business as a Sound Healer, is releasing my debut full LP, “Wake Up, Dreamer”. I’ll be releasing a handful of singles over the coming months with the final 8 tracks out in the early Fall. My next single, Memory, will be out on March 17!
Outside of that, my goal is to approach both of my dreams for growth in my music and business with as much peace as possible. I definitely have a tendency to worry about things like money and success which totally taints the experience of life.
I’ve recently discovered that I can be just as productive and a whole lot more peaceful if I choose to have faith that the universe has my back!
Favorite movie or TV show?
I’d have to say Schitt’s Creek has been my favorite show in recent history. It’s one of those feel-good shows that I can watch whenever I need a laugh. Moira is my spirit animal.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about.
My latest release, “Another Side” was the first single off of my upcoming record. It actually came about in my dream – as most of my songs do – and I ended up also writing it about the dream world.
I am a super vivid dreamer and feel so fortunate that I get to spend my non-waking hours having adventures. I often connect with men and women and wake up the next morning wishing I could see them again.
Plus, sometimes it’s nice to have a little freedom to get away with things that I never could in this reality. As the song says, “Watch as another sin dances on the wind – there’s no love lost here…” 🙂
What is something you would want to change in the music and entertainment industry?
I think right now one thing we can all agree on is the abominably low royalty payments that artists get through streaming services.
While these companies are making billions off of their platforms while we make a few bucks a year from streams, it’s easy to feel the unfairness of it all and like we are being exploited.
That said, I’d love to see these streaming platforms close the pay gap and share the wealth with the artists who are the reason their platforms can exist.
Can you outline your creative process?
As mentioned above, my songwriting process almost always starts in my dreams. Through the years, I’ve actually gotten pretty good at being able to recognize when I’m dreaming a song to be able to consciously wake myself up and sing/hum it into my phone.
Once I have the basic idea recorded, I honestly usually go back to sleep and build the song the next day!
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
I can’t say there’s a specific person who inspires my aesthetics – I tend to walk the line between a witchy musician vibe in all black (hey, I did live in Brooklyn for many years!) and flowy healer vibe in all white.
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
I honestly think I am living this moment right now! I’ve had such amazing feedback from my new music with some radio airplay and I recently signed with a licensing company (which was a big dream come true).
It was a huge accomplishment to release my first EP back in 2014 and that’s a close second, but this one is really special and I’m just trying to enjoy this moment while I’m in it as much as possible!
Do you have any regrets?
I hate to give the cliche answer here that everything happens for a reason – but that’s truly how I feel! I am not sure there’s any one thing I would do differently in my past because every decision I’ve made – even the bad ones – have brought me exactly where I am today.
What is some piece of advice you would give to yourself right now?
As the old Louis Prima song says: “Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think!” I am so fortunate on so many levels, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be allowing myself to enjoy every moment of every day. I still have my health, my family has their health and life can change in the blink of an eye. Life is beautiful: soak it all in.
