Formula Indie Sessions – Interview with Alexa Kate
Screenshot
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Music has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve been singing and writing for as long as I can remember. I fell in love with storytelling and creating at a very young age and instantly knew that music was what I wanted to pursue. My grandma, (who is now featured on Over Nostalgic (Deluxe)!), taught me my first song.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I swear music is in my veins. I’ve been singing and writing for as long as I can remember, and it’s always been where I turn to express myself and process what I’m feeling.
Creating has always felt very natural to me, and it’s something I can’t imagine my life without. I feel incredibly lucky that music has always been such a big part of my life, and I hope my music can be there for people in the same way music has always been there for me.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
You know that feeling when something is going well and, instead of letting yourself enjoy it, you start preparing for the moment it might end? The title track, “good for long,” is about choosing to stay in that moment, letting yourself believe that maybe it actually could be good for long.
That idea runs through the whole project. It’s about learning to embrace uncertainty instead of constantly bracing for it, and trying to allow yourself to enjoy something without worrying about how long it will last.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Heartache pop. I’d describe it as indie-pop storytelling with dreamy production, but the lyrics are always at the center for me.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Songwriting has always been the way for me to understand myself and everything around me, and I think that’s when the songs become the most real. Sometimes the things I’m trying to make sense of are exactly the things someone else needs to hear.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
A notebook and a pen. Add a guitar or piano in there too.
My notes app and my guitar have heard everything.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Too many to name! I’m always making playlists with whatever I’m loving at the moment, and they’re constantly changing.
We are so lucky to live in a world with music.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
It’s everything. Everything I write comes from my heart, but when I put it out into the world, it’s like releasing it from me and into the hearts of everyone else. That’s one of my favorite things about music. Everyone brings their own experiences to a song in a way that makes it their song too.
I do think living is so important to writing. You need to experience things. You need to feel things. You need to let yourself go through it all. All of that eventually finds its way into the music.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
More than anything, I hope my music makes people feel understood. I think there’s something really powerful about hearing someone put words to a feeling you thought you were the only one experiencing.
If someone hears one of my songs and feels a little more understood, a little less alone, or even just a little more comfortable in what they’re feeling, then the song has done exactly what I hoped it would.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Music is the way I process everything. Whether I’m writing, creating, or just listening, it has taught me so much about myself and about other people.
Something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently is how connected we all are through the same feelings. We can have completely different lives and still hear the same song and feel the exact same thing. There’s something really special about that.
Once again, we are so lucky to live in a world with music.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Madison Square Garden.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website, Spotify, IG, links)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexakatemusic
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexakatemusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexa.
X: https://x.com/alexakatemusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexakatemusic/
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/alexakatemusic
Website: www.alexakate.com
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I’m really excited for what’s next. New music. New experiences. Hopefully a tour.
I always say I’d be making music regardless, but the fact that people choose to listen to the songs I write, and more than that, actually connect with them and, even above that, tell me that they do, is so incredibly special. I just hope I get to keep doing that.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope they learn that being vulnerable and true to yourself is a good thing. Sometimes the parts of ourselves that feel too vulnerable are the exact parts that connect us the most. <3
If you want, you can add a representative YouTube video below the interview 🙂
