It was simultaneously re-energizing and sad because it brought up so much of what I miss about touring, traveling and connecting with people. I was grateful people opened up their homes (aka driveways and lawns and decks) to us to capture the experience.

I feel like we were winging it in the best possible way. The shows felt spontaneous and there was so much less pressure being fully battery-powered and fully stripped back. We were at the mercy of the fan’s location, the weather and our environment.

I am so much more confident and comfortable in myself. My voice, my writing, my body and my skin all feel like mine now. Currently, I’m really loving the freedom to experiment and I’m not overthinking what I’m releasing. If I create something I love, I will put it into the world.

I feel like I owe it to myself and my business to place myself in a position of autonomy that has the potential to grow. There are limitless distribution choices and potential partnerships that can exist. Independence has been very good to me and that freedom would be very hard to give up.

Honestly, I don’t know. My work ethic and hustle were instilled in me at birth and I literally don’t know how to function any other way.

The song was so simple and pastoral when I wrote it alone on piano. Producing it out was a test in not fucking up the initial idea. I knew from the beginning I wanted dense, stacked three-part harmonies. The rest of the layers – the guitars, the drum hits, etc. – fit naturally as it developed. Each song and production demand different things, and I try to let the song dictate what happens in the production.

I wrote Younger Women in the first week of quarantine, when my life very much imploded along with the rest of the world. I was severely heartbroken and dealing with a combination of anger and grief and unending sadness. I sat for days writing it out and taught myself a lot about production to develop the track. I feel so proud of the final result. The song is painfully personal to me but is not about women. It’s about a relationship that ended suddenly, without a conversation. Love is so strange. It’s all nuanced. I’m still unraveling it all in my mind.

I wanted people to hear exactly what I was saying. It was a moment of pure, unadulterated honesty and shock. I have no regrets.

All elements of a song need to be blended and balanced. Each song is different. Each artist is different. I hold myself to a higher standard than literally everyone else. I also really respect how diverse music and artistry is. Everyone has their own process and perspective.

Most of my lyrics are streams of consciousness. I don’t plan them out. I find an idea and try to build off it the best I can. I feel like Younger Women and I’ll Take the Blame are some of the most personal and vulnerable moments I’ve had as an artist and don’t hide anything. Sometimes you need to have more levity and don’t want to always have your bleeding heart on your sleeve. It’s a balancing act.

I want to create and connect with people. Music has always been a natural outlet, though I think there are so many things I could do that would satisfy that need.

The conversations I have with fans, the one-on-one interactions, the texts, the driveway tour, etc. are very natural ways for me to connect. I feel like it’s so obvious when I’m putting on a front. Sometimes I like to feel enigmatic but never at the expense of making someone feel as though they are beneath me. We’re all on the same level and I want my fans to feel seen and valued.

I think we’re currently in a season of gatekeepers reigning supreme. That being said, I feel something always comes to open a door and provide an alternate route. I’m not focused on the walls in front of me. There always have and always will be many. I’m focused on the ways I can move forward.

Chloe x Halle are just phenomenally talented and clearly work so hard to be so precise and on point. I respect their work so much.

Performing live again is the furthest from my mind. I am focused on writing and production at the moment. I have a few things confirmed for after this EP.