Encapsulating a personal, edgy and inside view of her perspective on the world, Vancouver Indigenous pop singer Alexis Lynn lays it bare on her latest single, “Fall Apart,” available now! We chatted with Alexis to learn more about her music. —Vita Daily
Hi Alexis! Where, when and how did you get your start in music? What was the process like in terms of “finding your voice” in the industry?
I had been singing since I was young and I remember begging my parents to take singing lessons when I was probably around 10 in B.C! After that I started playing piano and writing songs at 16 and that’s when I remember my outlook changing completely. Songwriting opened up an entire new world for me and it was what made me realize I wanted to be an artist instead of just a singer because I realized I had things to say as and artist and wanted to share those stories with people. That’s honestly one of my favourite things about being a songwriter and artist is storytelling and knowing that people can relate to what you’re going through. I feel like recently I’ve really been finding my voice in both songwriting and my sound. I’ve really honed into what I want to say which right now is writing about tough topics such as mental health, that we don’t always talk about. The music I’ve been writing lately has felt really authentic and it’s a really cool feeling.
How would you describe your music, currently?
Currently, my music has been focused on being very honest and vulnerable. I’ve been writing about mental health, including everything from depression and anxiety to addiction and eating disorders. They can be pretty heavy topics, but I think the conversations are important to have because it’s such a universal struggle. I’m also a pop artist so they’re mostly still upbeat songs! I’d say my sound is edgy pop with hip hop and R&B influences.
Congrats on your latest single, “Fall Apart”! What’s the song about, and what inspired it?
Thank you! “Fall Apart” is about being everybody else’s rock and putting their needs before your own. I wrote it at a point in my life where I felt like I was constantly balancing everyone else’s needs and making sure everyone else was good, disregarding whether or not I was good. I was so burnt out and mentally/emotionally exhausted, and I kept thinking, “when’s it my turn? To just completely crash and burn and have someone else worry about me instead of worrying about anybody else?” and I don’t know if that’s selfish, but I was just so tired of holding it all together. But it’s okay to fall apart and not be okay.
The accompanying video to “Fall Apart” is beautiful; what did you envision in the making of that?
Thank you so much! When I was coming up with the concept I wanted the video to really showcase the chaos of feeling like you have a million different emotions and things going on and giving your energy to so many different people. I wanted it to showcase the feeling of thing fall apart. The fast cuts and different emotions really add to the chaotic energy, which is exactly what I envisioned!
Who are some of your musical role models, and why?
As someone who listens to almost everything, I have quite a few influences! I’d say some of my biggest are Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey. I fell in love with Amy’s raw songwriting and I think she really influences how I write today. She was so unabashed and never strayed away from being honest and it’s something that I really admire and try to emulate as well. Mariah is an incredible vocalist and such a pop star that I’ve just always admired her confidence and persona, and Rihanna is just a badass. I hope to be even half as cool as her.
How does music help you in your personal life, and how have you been able to incorporate your family’s ties to Canada’s First Nations into your work?
Music is super therapeutic for me, as I know it is for most writers and artists. It’s kind of like a giant, very public journal. It’s also so satisfying as a creative outlet to see a song come together. Being Indigenous but growing up removed from our community I’ve been trying to reconnect to our culture and one thing that has always been prevalent to me is how important story telling is. Lyrics are my favourite part of songwriting and I’ve always valued telling stories and using words to paint a picture.
Who do you hope to reach through your music, and is there an overall message you are sharing with your listeners these days?
At the end of the day I hope people can relate to my music. Whether it’s in the joys or struggles I think being able to relate to people is so important, because the human experience no matter how different is so universal. We all struggle and we all love no matter how different the capacity. I have an album coming out in May that is really a project about mental health. I cover everything from depression and anxiety to addiction and eating disorders, and although they’re tough conversations, I think they’re really important ones to have. I want people to be able to listen and know they’re not the only ones struggling and that things can get better, but it’s also okay to struggle. If I can make someone feel a bit less alone then I’ve done my job 🙂
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