WEBVTT - Anabel Englund 0:00:01.080 --> 0:00:03.600 Hello everyone, and welcome the inside of the studio on 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:06.720 iHeart Radio. My name is Jordan runt Dog, but enough 0:00:06.760 --> 0:00:10.399 about me, my guest today is a multi talented singer 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:13.640 songwriter in DJ and one of the biggest names in 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.919 the dance music scene today. She first gained attention with 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.319 her collaborations with the electronic house group Hot Natured, in 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:25.599 which yielded floor fillers like Reverse Skydiving and Mercury Rising. 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.840 Since then, her career is soared. In the last year, 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:33.560 she scored three dance chart number ones, so Hot, Picture Us, 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:36.440 and Underwater. All of these can be found under debut 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.720 LP Messing with Magic, an instant dance party that was 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:42.920 released last December. Now a deluxe edition is set to 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:46.959 hit shelves on May one, with five new tracks, including 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:50.880 her new single Waiting for You. There's also reimagined acoustic 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.240 versions of Picture Us and Underwater, plus I hastened to 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.279 add she's also nominated for Dance Artists of the Year 0:00:57.320 --> 0:01:00.639 at the I Heart Radio Music a War. It's I'm 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.440 so happy to welcome Annabelle England. Hi, Hey guys, how 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:06.880 are you well. Thank you so much for taking the 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:10.680 time today. Your your new record is incredible. It's called 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:13.080 Messing with Magic, which I think, just right off the 0:01:13.080 --> 0:01:15.880 bat is an incredible title. What does that mean to you? 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:19.560 How do you do you you define the magic? Well? To me, 0:01:19.560 --> 0:01:24.040 Messing with Magic is about kind of going against the grain, 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:28.280 and you know, because I feel like in society it's 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:31.760 it's so often easier to accept that we dislike ourselves 0:01:31.920 --> 0:01:36.560 versus bagging ourselves up or or being our number one fan, 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:40.560 and I kind of want to change the narrative. And 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:43.320 to me, Messing with Magic is about like cutting out 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:48.200 the bullshit, finding yourself love and like saying like I 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:50.720 love myself and I care about myself and I did 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.680 this thing and it's amazing, and being proud of yourself 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:55.960 for that too. So it's kind of a journey of 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:59.160 self love and you know, love with for other people 0:01:59.440 --> 0:02:02.720 and know all that, all that stuff, we definitely need 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.800 more of that. I believe you said that this record 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:09.080 is the debut of the beginning of me. How do 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:11.080 you feel that you've grown and change from all the 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:14.600 incredible work and songs that that's come before this? Yeah, 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:17.639 I mean before I was assigned to Ultra Records, I 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:21.520 was just making music to get it out and you know, 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:24.079 have a continuation of songs. I mean, they all are 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:28.160 still so important to me, but this debut album is 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:32.160 the first cohesive unit that I was able to put out, 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:35.840 and it has some older songs I've written, but also 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.880 some newer songs that I had just written with songwriters 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.519 and producers that Ultra had teamed me up with. So 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:44.160 it was kind of like, like I kind of say, 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.440 it was just kind of like chiseling away at all 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:50.720 the pieces, and then I ended up having this album. 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:55.440 And before people would say what's your sound, like what 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.120 would be your ideal song that you would make? And 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:00.240 you know, so I would have to like go into 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.920 meetings prepared to say, well, I would cut up this 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:05.760 song from the XX and take this song from Robin, 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.320 but then like have this bridge from Madonna. And really 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:11.920 it's like I can only figure out what my sound 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:15.560 is by making music and seeing like I like that song, 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.760 but it's it's not my favorite. And the more songs 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:22.079 I write, the more I'm able to figure out what 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.720 I like and what my sound is. And that's why 0:03:24.760 --> 0:03:26.960 I feel like this album is the debut of me, 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:29.720 because by making it, I've been able to see what 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:32.400 I love and what I'm proud of in making that's 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:34.200 got to be such a great feeling because before that, 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:36.720 it's it's got to be stressful. Think like you just said, 0:03:37.080 --> 0:03:38.800 I'm this, but I'm also this, but I'm also this. 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:41.080 And now you have a document you can point to 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:42.880 and say, this is me, this is my sound, this 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:45.320 is who I am. Take it or leave it. Yeah, 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:48.520 And I think like going into label meetings to like 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:52.280 prove yourself and you know, management meetings at the time, 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.119 and and you know, I have to come with my homework, 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.120 but really it's like you just have to give me 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:00.120 a chance so I can show you and give me 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:03.120 room to grow and to evolve. And then this is 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.960 what happens when when you do. And I think, like 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:09.640 as an artist that that's starting out like years ago, 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:12.640 it's kind of like, you know, people ask these questions, 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:16.520 but you don't really know until you try and you do. Now. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:18.240 You mentioned that some of these songs have been around 0:04:18.240 --> 0:04:20.240 for a while and some of them are written during lockdown. 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.279 What was the breakdown like for that? How much of 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:24.600 the songs are from like the last year. Two of 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.640 the songs from the deluxe album were written in Quarantine 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:31.960 over Zoom, and all the other songs were written previously 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:35.360 before COVID. Actually there are two of my favorite songs. 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.200 And I at first was like, I just I'm always 0:04:39.200 --> 0:04:41.839 open to try anything. Once It's like I'm very open 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:44.679 minded with things, and I'm just like, okay, like let's try. 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:47.360 And I did these Zoom sessions, and to me, it's 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:50.200 almost it's kind of nice because we all have an 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:52.680 open Google doc. The co writer and I are like 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.440 writing our ideas down. We can see it in real time. 0:04:56.200 --> 0:04:59.479 And all I did was like send voice memos on 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:01.800 my phone own and then email them to the producer 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:04.120 to have them put it in the track that the 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.080 producer was making at the time, and and then within 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.360 three hours we had a demo and all I had 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:11.920 to do was go record the vocals and and then 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:15.640 it's done. And a lot of the time, I you know, 0:05:15.720 --> 0:05:18.520 one of the songs called Don't Say Goodbye is about 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:22.880 my grandma and my dog, who I had seen their 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:27.479 declining health. And I was in a really sad mood 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:29.599 and I was like, I don't want to do this 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:32.640 session today, but I went in. I mean, I went 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:36.440 on Zoom and then I just kind of started writing 0:05:36.480 --> 0:05:39.120 about that like that that I'm going to have to 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:41.520 say goodbye to these people that I love so much 0:05:41.560 --> 0:05:44.680 and there's nothing stopping it. And and it's a way 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:47.320 that I was able to be so much more vulnerable 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.200 almost because it's like literally just walking from my living 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:54.400 room to my to my music area and all my 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:56.719 emotions are still with me. And it's not like I 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:58.760 shut the car door and I walk into a session 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:01.000 and I just leave everything be hind it was. It 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:05.160 was really personal and beautiful. So it's been I actually 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:07.800 haven't minded it at all. I've kind of loved it. 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:10.440 I mean, you mentioned the song don't say Goodbye, I'm 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:12.640 not ready. I mean just that song obviously comes up 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.800 such a personal place for you. I know, your grandmother 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.799 really was instrumental in a lot of ways in starting 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:21.000 you on your musical journey. Is that is that fair 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:24.560 to say? Yeah? I mean, it wasn't until she was 0:06:24.640 --> 0:06:30.640 gone that I realized how much of a inspiration she 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:33.880 has been throughout my entire life, because to me, she 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.840 had always been my grandma who was famous, and you know, 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.000 it was cool and all that, but she was always 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:44.719 my grandma. But when she passed, it was like Wow. 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.719 I realized I would not be I wouldn't be where 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:49.680 I am today without her. I wouldn't be the human 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:53.240 being I am today without her in every aspect of 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:57.080 my life. And so it was really I don't know, 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.640 I still miss her a lot, even though you know, 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:02.240 she was older and she just had her time. And 0:07:02.279 --> 0:07:04.920 it's not like I wish that she was still alive 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.120 in the state she was in before she died, But 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:11.240 I just I miss her essence on this planet, I guess. 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.040 So the song is really important to me, and I 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:18.240 hope that many people can resonate with it too. It's 0:07:18.240 --> 0:07:20.440 such a powerful back For those of you who don't 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:25.280 know your grandmother was Cloris Leachman, absolute legendary actress, went 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:28.760 an Academy Award for the Last Picture Show, Amazing Comedian 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:32.880 in mel Brooks Movies, Young Frankenstein, Oh my gosh, Mary 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:35.480 Tyler Moore. The list goes on and on and on. 0:07:35.600 --> 0:07:38.280 So I mean, just what an incredible inspiration. I mean, 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:42.320 did having someone in your life who had that degree 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:44.880 of fame, did that sort of make it feel possible 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:48.000 from an early age that like, yeah, this is something 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:50.040 because I feel like so many people it's like yeah, 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:51.600 I sing, but I don't even know the first thing 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:54.520 about how to actually follow my dream. But you have 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:58.400 someone who's just such an influence right in front of you. Yeah. 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:02.320 I mean I think having her and growing up going 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.640 to movie premieres and just like meeting with famous people 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:08.360 and it just being really common for me and not 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:12.040 you know, I've seen some people who aren't from l A, 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:14.640 who are just from like the Midwest or something, and 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.280 then they see a famous person. It's like, oh my gosh, 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:19.400 that's that's Tom Cruise over there. You know, they just 0:08:19.560 --> 0:08:21.960 don't know how to act because it's a famous person 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:25.080 and they think that they're not a person. And so 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:27.280 for me, because I grew up with it, it felt 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:29.880 just very normal, like I know that, Okay, that's a 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.040 person and I'm a person, and we can just have 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:34.800 a casual conversation. It doesn't need to be this big thing. 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.640 And I think just growing up in that scene, I 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.880 felt like it only made sense, like I already knew 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:44.920 that it was okay, Like I don't know, my scene 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:49.000 is completely different than her scene, and she didn't, you know, 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:51.800 pull any strings for me, Like I did everything on 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:54.400 my own, and people only found out she was my 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:58.000 grandmother until after we had started working together. So but 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:00.200 I do feel like because I saw it in my 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:03.960 mind and I had already lived it in a sense 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:07.400 that it was it was easier to achieve potentially. How 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:08.880 did you when you were first starting out, how did 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.400 you make the jump from from singing to writing your 0:09:11.400 --> 0:09:14.160 own music. I mean, I've always written my own music. 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:18.400 I started by writing songs for ABC Family. They found 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.240 me on YouTube and they asked me to come in 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.560 and play some songs on my guitar. And I self 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:28.040 taught on guitar. I knew like a few chords, so 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.319 I had written songs on my guitar. I mean, I 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:34.040 don't know how good they were, but with just two chords, 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:37.040 but um, they I went in and then they hired 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.760 me for a contract to write and sing five songs 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:44.040 for their network, and then I mean the rest is history. 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:45.720 I just kind of fell in love with the dance 0:09:45.760 --> 0:09:47.959 scene in Hollywood in l A. And I just kind 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:52.520 of like became infatuated with that. And I always wrote 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:54.960 my own music. Wow. So even when you when you 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:57.640 first started singing, that was that one hand in hand 0:09:57.679 --> 0:09:59.560 with with when you were you know, a kid, and 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.640 just just beginning to make your own music that just 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:05.440 came from you. Yeah, I mean I don't. I'm not 0:10:05.480 --> 0:10:08.840 opposed to singing another song that's written by someone else 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:10.920 if I really love it and I feel like it's 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:14.080 super it's spoken to me. But I feel like it's 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:16.800 just I have to write my own music. I just 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:20.040 feel like I narrate so much of my life and 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:31.800 I feel like it just it has to be. Would 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:33.679 you do write? I'm so curious about your process. Do 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:35.640 you start with the beat and go from that or 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:37.120 do you go to a piano and work out the 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.640 melody and kind of put the beat to to the melody. UM. 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:43.960 A lot of the time, I it helps me to 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:47.240 write UM when I hear a producer, when I have 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:50.120 a producer playing a few chords, because I'm able to 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:53.920 hear melodies from chords. I mean, with a beat. It's 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.640 kind of harder for me because it's literally just just 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.360 the drums, and I've already written music to just rounds 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.240 for so long. Like I just i feel like I've 0:11:03.280 --> 0:11:07.160 exhausted all my melodies with just the drums. So for me, 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:09.880 I love hearing someone play chords and then I can 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.240 just go from there and like the words just start 0:11:12.320 --> 0:11:15.160 coming out. And then a lot of the times I 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:18.439 just kind of say a story that I'm I start 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:21.160 singing a story and then I realized how it attaches 0:11:21.240 --> 0:11:24.920 to my current life situation, and then I either write 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.480 about that or I write it from someone else's point 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:29.600 of view, and I just kind of go from there. 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:32.000 One of my favorite songs on on your new record 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.480 is that Picture Us. It's just such an amazing song. 0:11:34.640 --> 0:11:36.880 The song and the video are both so powerful. It's 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:39.839 about love of all kinds. Can you tell me a 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:43.000 little more about about that track. Yeah, So Picture Us 0:11:43.040 --> 0:11:47.000 I'm so proud of too, because, um, I pretty much 0:11:47.040 --> 0:11:50.959 wrote that all the melodies myself. So to know that 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:54.720 something I wrote basically all on my own made it 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.240 to Billboard number one. It was my first ever Billboard 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:01.880 number one was a big comblishment for me. But that 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:05.520 song is definitely it's just about love and it's about 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:09.160 having that one person that you know has your back 0:12:09.280 --> 0:12:12.520 through thick and thin, and you know, finding that light 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:15.679 in the world. An amazing song. I also loved burn It, 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:18.439 which I just think it's such as the album Closer, 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:22.040 it's a stripped down ballad. I loved how just like 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.480 it's it's very there, but you can just the bones 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:27.800 of the song are just so great and so strong. 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:30.080 It really shows up your your songwriting. I think it's 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.200 it's an amazing track. And tell me a little about 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:35.320 that one. Yeah, so burn, it is really important to me. 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:39.640 I wrote it years ago actually, and I started with 0:12:39.679 --> 0:12:43.720 the chords and I just kind of started describing my 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:48.319 situation and I ended up writing it about my relationship 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:52.520 with my mother and my relationship with an X, and 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:56.200 then about a few dreams I had and like the 0:12:56.240 --> 0:13:00.240 swimming Far from Shore a part was was about a dream. 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.560 And so it's really about like holding on to someone 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.559 or something for so long, and its just like, at 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.119 a certain point for me, it was just so painful 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:11.560 to keep holding onto it and I didn't know how 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:13.880 to let it go. It's like I would rather die 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.959 than let this go, but I have to, and so 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:20.040 I will. And yeah, that's what it's about. And I 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:24.199 hope I know, like it hadn't gotten playlisted really because 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:26.880 it's most of my songs are dance tracks, and this 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:28.679 is one of the only ones I have out right 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:32.319 now on Spotify that is just me and piano, so 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.920 I definitely want people to listen to it more or 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:39.520 get in their ears somehow. That's one of my favorite 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:42.080 tracks on the whole album, and on the deluxe edition 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:46.600 that that's coming out one there are acoustic versions of 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:50.679 Underwater and Picture Us. I believe what made you decide 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:54.080 to to revisit those songs in that style. Well, picture 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:57.880 Us is a fan Phaise and so is Underwater, and 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:00.560 I love both of them. I mean, I love Underwater 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:05.160 so much. And you know, I in a sense because 0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:09.840 of Burnett and wanting to showcase more of the dynamic 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:13.360 that I have, which is that I play acoustic instruments. 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:16.240 I sing like I'm not just a dance artist, and 0:14:16.280 --> 0:14:18.520 so I think what we're trying to show is that 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:21.680 I'm not just here to sing and dance, but I'm 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:25.120 also here to you know, sing you to sleep, or 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:28.320 you know. I want to start doing I want to 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:33.040 start doing like acoustic strip backsets, so you know, maybe 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:36.800 one day I can do a show where it's like 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:40.240 me and a guitar and some drums, and then later 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:42.440 that night I d J in after hours at like 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.040 two to four am, to show that there can be 0:14:45.160 --> 0:14:48.480 multiple facets to me. Yeah, I feel a though that 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:51.240 that for so often in in the dance music realm, 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:54.040 it seems to be such a producer's medium and a 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:56.040 lot of times the producer's mail and they kind of 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:59.400 get their name out front and the center. And how 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:01.480 how have you combat at that? Because on yours, your 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.360 your name is is front and center right there. I mean, 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.400 has that been something that was a challenge to kind 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.720 of push past? I mean, at first, I was so 0:15:10.800 --> 0:15:14.000 happy being a featured artist when I was younger, and 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.440 I was like just starting out, like the fact that 0:15:16.600 --> 0:15:19.080 my name was going to be on something that all 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:22.080 these famous DJs names were on, Like I was in 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:24.920 love with that. But then I started making my own 0:15:25.000 --> 0:15:26.760 music and I was like, well, I don't have to 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:31.800 have my career dependent on them. And it happened slowly. 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.880 But now that I'm signed to this label, it's my 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:40.200 project and I am a dance artist, and it is 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:43.800 It is frustrating because a lot of these producers tracks 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:46.320 like get really big, but the big thing about them 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:49.320 is the vocals, and the vocalist isn't even credited. But 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.840 a lot of the time sometimes these women don't even 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.280 want to be credited. So we can't say that, you know, 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:58.560 we don't know the backstory. But all I know is 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:02.480 that I want to make a stand with who I 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.720 am as an artist, and I'm not just here to 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:06.920 sing on people's tracks. I'm here to be an artist 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:10.480 and have my own music, that dance music. When you 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:13.920 when you first started out releasing songs about about ten 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:16.760 years ago, what did success look like to you back then? What? 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:19.000 What did what did you you really want more than anything? 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.520 I mean, honestly, back in the day, I was like 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:26.920 this little tumbleweed that was just gaining so much success, 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:30.120 and all I knew was who I wanted to work with, 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:32.200 and I just made it happen. And I don't know 0:16:32.240 --> 0:16:34.720 exactly how. I just put myself in the places, in 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:37.480 the situations where I would end up meeting the people 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.840 I wanted to work with, and I ended up just 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:45.640 traveling literally around the whole globe performing just these amazing songs. 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.560 And I think it was all happening so fast, and 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:50.840 I was so young that I didn't have the opportunity 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:53.160 to sit back and be like, WHOA, this is happening, 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:55.680 And no one really kind of took me under their 0:16:55.720 --> 0:16:57.920 wing either. It was kind of just like, come on, 0:16:58.000 --> 0:17:01.960 let's go, and and so I went, and I didn't know, 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:06.080 like I it all happened so fast, and now like 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:10.359 I've really I think it was really important. But um, 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:13.359 but now I have a different outlook on my life 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:16.320 and a different trajectory for sure. I mean, you've worked 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:19.040 with so many great artists, even just on this record, 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:22.359 I mean Jamie Jones, Leefoss and of course MK. What 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:24.399 are you looking for in a collaborator? Is there is 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:26.520 there a common thread between all these names or is 0:17:26.560 --> 0:17:28.479 it just just a spark that you you just know 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.200 when you when you're in a room together. It's it's 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:33.720 a lot of the time just a spark. Because like 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:35.800 I said, I'm really open minded and I'm down to 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.600 work with anyone honestly. As if someone says from my 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.760 label or my management team or my lawyer or whatever, 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:44.879 if they're like, I really think you should work with 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.000 this person, then I'll say, Okay, I don't even really 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.119 look into the specs of who they are, what they 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:52.080 put out, if I haven't heard their name, I'm down 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.439 to make something. Because if someone who I know and 0:17:55.520 --> 0:18:00.680 trust in my tight circle, like UM offers and things 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:03.080 that I should work with someone, then then I say yes, 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:07.240 because you never know what can happen from that. So yeah, 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.120 it's just it's more just a spark. And then if 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.760 I make something great, no, and sometimes you know, I've 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.359 made plenty of songs with Lee Foss and some of 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:17.760 them just aren't up to the up to the cut, 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:19.399 you know, and he and I just choose not to 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:21.960 release them. So there's a lot of other songs that 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:25.440 just haven't been released. Are there any wishless collaborators that 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:28.760 that you really want to work with? Yes, I really 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:32.639 want to work with Black Coffee, and I mean like 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:37.200 in the dance scene or anywhere. I really would love 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:42.600 to sing a song with Scissa. And oh, Kate Ronata. 0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:46.600 I really love Kate Nada's album So good. Yeah, put 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:50.040 Madonna on that list too. Oh yeah, obviously the Don's 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.760 she's the easy go to. But yeah, I mean, of course, 0:18:53.480 --> 0:18:56.119 I I definitely want to work with her to some degree. 0:18:56.200 --> 0:19:00.400 I even messaged her and was like, you know, yeah, 0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:03.679 yeah she did. I was just like because we were 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:07.880 messaging because she follows me on Instagram. She's been following 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:11.639 me for years. So I almost had a heart attack 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.719 when when I saw that, but what did she say? Well, 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:18.159 so we were kind of dm ng back and forth, 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.560 just kind of because she has a face line, like 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:25.280 a face line of like lotions and stuff like that, 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:29.320 and they sent me stuff and then I tagged the 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:31.600 face line and then I also tagged her, and so 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:33.920 she was like giving me tips on how to use 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:37.280 the products. And at the same time, I was like, 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:40.840 oh my god, like I was breaking out, but I 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.480 was trying to play it cool. She's the only person 0:19:44.680 --> 0:19:47.720 ever who I don't know, like I think I would 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:51.119 legitimate lee just like freeze and act like a fool 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:54.119 for real, you know, because we had been dm ng 0:19:54.160 --> 0:19:57.080 back and forth. I was just like, you know, she 0:19:57.160 --> 0:19:59.639 says it herself, if you don't ask what for what 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:01.480 you want, you're not going to get what you want. 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:07.200 So following her advice, I just said, um, I basically 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:09.280 I don't remember exactly what the words were, but it 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:10.960 was just like, you know, I would love to work 0:20:11.000 --> 0:20:13.560 with you, whether it be music or video or whatever, 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:17.040 like I have to say. And she was like, oh, 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:28.760 thank you so much. That's amazing. I mean, you are 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:31.320 a true Madonna fan. I think I read that American 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:33.320 life is like one of your one of your go 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:37.719 to Yeah, that's that's that's a how should I put this? 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:40.639 That is an unusual choice for a go to album, 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:42.960 which I think makes you a true fan. Yeah, I 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:46.520 mean I know, honestly, I know most of her songs 0:20:46.560 --> 0:20:49.280 by heart, like every single one of them, which is 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:53.639 a little cray cray, But I literally do absolutely not 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:56.359 is that they go to andy go to karaoke tracks. 0:20:56.560 --> 0:20:58.800 I mean, I haven't done karaoke since I was in 0:20:58.840 --> 0:21:02.880 Tokyo like three years ago, but I don't know. I mean, 0:21:02.920 --> 0:21:05.520