Recently we at Rock-Expert had the fascinating opportunity to talk with the talented Australian singer, Aleksiah, who has been actively promoting her new songs. Unfortunately, it took us quite some time before finally being able to share this exciting stuff with all music lovers worldwide, notably fans of the indie rock act.
In the interview, Aleksiah was kind enough to share many insights regarding the writing process for her songs, especially the second single ‘Ant Song‘. She also gives a snippet of her recently released song ‘Pretty Picture’, which has a more rock vibe in comparison to her previous two singles.
Check out who was her music inspiration, her dream collaboration, and whether she has a plan to visit South East Asian countries for a tour in the future.
Without further due, here is our interview section with the lovely and charming, Aleksiah.
Hi Aleksiah, it’s a pleasure for me to have this opportunity to do interviews via email. First of all, congratulations on the release of your latest single, ‘Ant Song’ it’s an enjoyable song.
Thank you!
My first question is, how did you come up with the inspiration to write the song?
I wrote this song sort of as a follow-up to Fern! Fern was about this puppy love
crush I had in high school, it was up in the air, kinda of whimsical, and not very
serious. I then met my long-term partner and I saw love in a completely
different light, it wasn’t airy-fairy anymore, there wasn’t any mystery about it, it
was grounded, honest, and sometimes not very pretty but it was real. It’s
about mature love, like when all the bells and whistles and excitement of a
new relationship fade and you’re just left with the honest love that you feel for
each other! I wrote it when I was on my period and it was raining and it was
bin night, a trifecta of awfulness, and my partner made sure I was ok, took the
bins in, made me a cup of tea, and got me some painkillers, and I was
realized, this is respect, this is unconditional love, something I had never felt
before, and I was so passionate about it I just had to write a song! It came
pouring out of me
This is your second release after ‘Fern’, is there any major difference in
the writing process for ‘Ant Song’ in comparison to the first single?
They were both really simple writing procedures, I wrote both of them in my
bedroom, that’s where I do most of my writing, and I had my lovely and
talented friends Rhys Williams and Pat Byrne do the production for it, the
same people that had worked on Fern as well. It was a really similar
experience making the two songs.
In the media, you stated that ‘Ant Song’ is somewhat your expression of
being in love. Is that kind of feeling what you want others to feel when
hearing it?
Absolutely, when anyone hears this song I want them to imagine that they’re
singing it to their loved one, and really personalize the song to their own lives,
whether they’re singing it to someone they’re in a relationship with, a friend or
mother or father, just someone they love! Love is so important in this world
and should be cherished and celebrated way more than it currently is.
Can you also tell us a bit about the songwriting and recording process
for the song? Any interesting stories that you would like to share during
that time?
Most of the song was recorded in a bedroom on the outskirts of Adelaide,
which is funny. I feel like when most people think about recording a song, you
think the artist and producer are in some fancy studio with expensive
equipment, but most of the time it’s not what you think! I recorded the song
with the person I wrote it about in the room, my partner Anthony, and he
actually helped me record the song, which made it even more special to me.
He played bass on the recording.
Going back a bit, when did you start loving music and deciding that you
want to become a singer?
I’ve been singing since I was 6, I grew up doing church choir, and my nonna
forced me into singing lessons as soon as I started singing the car radio
jingles at home all the time. I found my love of songwriting at the age of 12,
when I started learning about poetry at school and found out I could mesh my
two loves of singing and writing together!
Who got you into music for the first time and are there any musicians
that you look up to from back when you’re starting to this date?
I saw an Australian musician called Julia Jacklin in my hometown of Adelaide,
Australia when I was 17, and I was just in awe. She had an amazing voice but
also this beautiful raw style of songwriting that I fell in love with, and I think
she was one of my first really big inspirations, she still is to this day!
Speaking about other musicians, do you have any dream collaboration?
Or do you already have any plans for work with other artists in the
future?
Working with Phoebe Bridgers or Lucy Dacus would be amazing, both are
also big inspirations for my music, and I really look up to them! I haven’t
collaborated with anyone on any released songs yet so I am very eager to, I
think it would be so fun too, especially for someone who is in a different genre to
me, meshing those 2 worlds together would be so cool!
You will be hitting the road for a tour this August, how is the preparation
for it? Are you feeling nervous or just excited?
Thank you! I’m feeling a lot of emotions, mostly excitement and happiness but
there is some nervous energy mixed in there. Those shows will be my first
headline shows ever, so I’m super eager to show everyone all my unreleased
songs! I had my first show/tour ever supporting the amazing Lime Cordiale
earlier this year, and I caught the bug and got a taste of it. There’s something
so human about traveling around to share music with people, and I’m so
excited to see all these different parts of Australia, and meet all the lovely
people that listen to my songs! At the end of the day, this is about enjoyment,
having fun, and having a little boogie!
Any plan for more tour dates soon? Maybe visiting other countries as
well?
Absolutely! I would love to visit South East Asian countries like Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, and more. A lot of my listeners are from those countries
which is so exciting and crazy to me, that music can reach other continents
and people really like it! I’d love to tour there soon and meet all the people that
listen to my music, and discover cultures different to my own!
Having just started out your musical journey, do you have any targets or
dream in music?
I think being able to make music for a living is my dream, it’s a simple dream in
theory but it’s very hard to achieve, so that’s what I’m going to strive to do! I
also want to be able to tour the world and share my music with people, and
make people happy, I think that’s the coolest thing about music, that it can
influence people’s emotions and make them feel things, that’s why music is so
powerful!
After the ‘Ant Song’ are you planning to release another single or just go
for an album instead? (the new song would be ‘Pretty Picture’ which was officially released on October 17, 2023).
I have another single that I’m going to release hopefully very soon! It’s a different direction to Ant Song, a bit more rock-centered and about an important topic, I’m excited for everyone to hear it when it comes out! I also am working towards releasing an EP, I have so many songs I’ve written and I just want to
release them all!
Well, thank you so much for the time to answer the questions that we
have prepared for you. Hopefully, we can do another interview in the
future.
Congrats again on your new single and good luck with the upcoming tour
and any other future projects.
Thank you
Dewa Nugraha
Rock-Expert
