INTRO BY AMANDA SIGMAN
INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY
Combine a powerful soul-pop sound, inspiring coming-of-age stories, and an independent, punchy attitude and you’ve described Alexandra Rae. Alexandra hit the LA artist scene at the young age of 21, when she decided the city of her dreams was calling her. Since then, she’s released numerous singles and EPs, including her most recent work, Power to Me, an EP packed full of life inspired stories perfectly fused with a heavy pop-rock sound. Alexandra seeks to pour her heart and soul into each and every piece, constantly finding ways to beautifully capture her unique vibe that listeners can’t help but fall in love with. We had the pleasure of sitting down with the charming Alexandra to talk about her roots, inspiration, and music aspirations. Read all about Alexandra Rae below!
For those who don’t know about you yet, what would you tell them about yourself and your music as a bit of an introduction?
AR: “If you don’t know me, my name is Alex and I am from Garland, Texas! I have the MOST beautiful boyfriend named Kurt Doss and we like to eat food, watch Monk and travel. I started singing when I was 2 years old. Yes, on a stage.
My first real performance was when I was 8 at a Christmas concert. I sang “I Wanna Hippopotamus For Christmas” and it was so fun!
I went to college for film in Texas at Baylor University and then left to move to LA. I couldn’t not be here anymore.
When I got here I hit the ground running taking different acting classes which led me to meet my amazing producer, Scott Bennett and a good friend of mine who helped work on the album, Tom Wardle.
I’ve always written music for fun but when I started working on it with the full shebang, I realized a lot about my voice and my strength and weaknesses as a musician and a person!
I’m constantly learning more about myself and ways to implement me into my music through not only my voice but also the instruments, the vibe, and even the production to make it as enjoyable as possible for the audience that chooses to listen.”
You recently released your EP titled Power to Me. How would you describe the overall vibe of it?
AR: “It’s definitely a vintage upbeat vibe. However, there’s a rather emotional song on there too. I want to bring Motown back but in a pop rock type way. I like to call it a modern nostalgic sound.”
What song would you say was the hardest to create on the EP? Or did they all come easily?
AR: “Power to Me was a long one. It was fun, but it took a lot of shuffling instruments around, adding and removing guitars, experimenting with sounds and with the writing this one was definitely the one I was the most stuck on. I just wasn’t satisfied and then I was.”
What inspires you while writing music?
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEXANDRA RAE
AR: “Life, man. Movies, my friends, my family, colors, paintings, of course my feelings, and prominently my imagination.”
What do you hope people take from your music when listening?
AR: “This album specifically, I hope they don’t feel alone. It’s a coming of age album of sorts. It’s about not fitting in on purpose and accepting feelings, good and bad, then growing from them.”
Is there anything else we can expect from you in the near future?
AR: “Absolutely. More music, films and art. I love to create and I’ll spend my life doing so.”