Alsy has made a striking entrance with her debut EP “Candela,” an introspective exploration of her Franco-Chilean roots through music. This personal odyssey is marked by heartfelt storytelling and distinctive melodies. Her collaboration with Jimmy Whoo and other artists like Rose and Peter Dallas infuses the EP with a blend of pop, reggaeton, and electronic elements.
Influenced by a diverse range of artists, from classics like Violeta Parra to contemporary singers like Lana Del Rey, Alsy’s songs are replete with passionate lyricism. With previous work on Jimmy Whoo’s “Basic Instinct” setting the stage for her own sound, Alsy brings a unique fusion of Latin rhythms and Parisian flair to her music.
In our interview, Alsy delves into the inspiration behind “Candela,” the nuances of her dual cultural identity, and teases what the future holds for her artistry.
KALTBLUT: Can you share with us the inspiration behind your debut EP “Candela” and the overall theme that ties the tracks together?
When I started making music, I was not expecting to turn it into a project. I wasn’t signed by a record company, I didn’t have a defined aim with music, I didn’t have any expectations. I just had a visceral desire to create music, sounds. At the time, I was going through a period of profound soul-searching, and music came along to shed light and give me a new perspective at a precise moment when I needed it. Once I had a number of consistent demos, I began to realize that I was working on a real project. And “Candela” (Candle in spanish) was the obvious title, because there’s this little light guiding the way, like a lucky star or an almost unconscious inner voice. As a result, the project explores this inner journey and its various stages. It’s definitely a very introspective and intuitive project.
KALTBLUT: Your music has been described as a blend of various musical influences. Could you elaborate on how these influences have shaped your sound and style as an artist?
I wasn’t raised in a musicians family, but there was always music at home, and lots of socializing and partying. My father used to make me listen to genres as different as Peruvian cumbia, son cubano or Enya, Air and Gal Costa. Later, when I was a teenager, I started writing songs, going for even more melancholy sounds with the music of Molly Nilsson or Slowdive. I think Molly Nilson’s “I hope you die” is the song I’ve listened to the most in my life ! And then I discovered, thanks to Soundcloud, the underground Latin American music scene, listening to Dinamarca, Kelman Duran and more exploring electronic music. I was fascinated by this mix of highly emotive chords with reggaeton or drum & bass drums, the contrast between a sound that can make you cry and hypnotically dance at the same time has always amazed me. And I think all these musical influences have one thing in common: the emotion generated by contrasts. I’m very sensitive to the intensity in softness, or the joy in sadness. Finally, I think all this is as much a part of my personality as my music, and is intimately linked to my family history.
KALTBLUT: How did your collaboration with Jimmy Whoo, Rose, and Peter Dallas come about for the production of your EP? What was the creative process like working with them?
Our collaboration with Jimmy began in 2019 when he was composing his album “Basic Instinct”. On the demo for “Still Cruisin”, he had in mind Spanish vocals. It was a pretty haphazard thing to do, so I wrote the lyrics and we recorded with a sm58 in a very sketchy home studio. This first collaboration gave us the desire to pursue it, and for my part to explore even further. I’ve always written and composed to a greater or lesser extent, but I just never felt proud enough to say to myself that a track was finished. I think “Still Cruisin'” has ward off the spell in a way. This experience also enabled me to start having an entourage of musicians and to feel supported. Solitude nourishes me in moments of creation, but to see a project through to the end it’s important to have a musical family, because you can quickly feel lost and alone in music. At the time, Peter and Rose, who are friends of mine, were also starting to work on their respective first projects, so it was quite natural that we crossed paths in the creative process and collaborated together on several tracks.
KALTBLUT: Your partnership with Jimmy Whoo began with collaborations on his album “Basic Instinct.” How has working with him influenced your solo project, and what do you value most about this artistic collaboration?
Following our collaboration on “Basic Instinct”, we started composing new tracks, without knowing exactly where it would end up. I wanted to get more and more involved in the creative process, and while there are tracks where Jimmy’s universe can be found, like “Candela” or “Santiago”, there are others like “Soledad”, where clearly both Jimmy and Peter had to step out of their comfort zones to follow my vision, and it wasn’t easy for them. But it’s also the result of our common and disparate references that make this EP an original mix. That’s what I find interesting. I think Jimmy and I share this great curiosity and a common desire to explore. We’re both very sensitive to textures in sounds, and where we converge the most is in ambient, experimental sounds. We’re both fans of Grouper, Aphex Twin and Jason Kolar, to name but a few. In fact, one of my favorite Jimmy tracks is “Interlude (Full Moon)”, so that pretty much sums it up.
KALTBLUT: You draw inspiration from a diverse range of artists, from Chilean poet Violeta Parra to modern-day singers like Kali Uchis and Lana Del Rey. How do these influences manifest in your music, and what do you hope to convey through your songs?
Each of these women artists has and continues to fascinate me. I’ve listened to them all a lot, admiring and respecting their uncompromising way of making the music they love. I think it’s that kind of strong decision that makes an artist timeless. They’re not the only ones, I’m also thinking of Bjork, Enya, Kate Bush or Amaarae. In any case, they all have in common this way of imposing their artistic vision while staying true to themselves, by getting involved in the whole process of their art, in the writing, the composition, the art direction, the videos etc. It’s a strength I find very inspiring, and their overall creative process is an example for me to follow as an artist.
KALTBLUT: The remixes on your EP featuring artist Dinamarca add another layer to your music. Can you tell us about the decision to include these remixes and how they complement the original tracks?
As I said before, I discovered Dinamarca’s music on Soundcloud several years ago and I’m a huge fan. I listened to all his projects long before collaborating with him and I’m very touched by his musicality, his choices and his artistic sensibility. In 2017, when I listened to his remix of Talisto and Ms Nina’s “Noche de Verano”, I listened to that sound over and over again, and if someone had told me he was going to remix my first single, I wouldn’t have believed it. But that’s the beauty of music. Anyway, my label Cracki Records, who knew I loved his work, sent him “Sensitiva” and it was a direct match. Dinamarca is extremely talented at mixing powerful drums with emotion, and his touch takes “Sensitiva” into an even more radical and contrasting universe than the original gentle bachata, bringing it full circle.
KALTBLUT: In your EP, each track seems to tell a story or evoke a certain emotion. How do you approach songwriting and what messages or feelings do you aim to convey through your lyrics?
When I write, I always start from the first emotion the sound gives me, even if the production is still just a loop of a few chords. If it sounds familiar, if it has the potential to become a song and if I feel that little spark of magic, I get it pretty quickly. I get down to work on it on Ableton Live, alone in my little home studio, which is also my bedroom, and I sing with the headphones. I really put myself in my own world at this point, and I think it’s my favorite creative moment. At first, looking for the sung melody, I take the few spontaneous words that come to me as a starting point for my writing. And these often become the title of the song, as is the case for “Sensitiva” or “Paraíso”. The rest of the lyrics often flow from this, and I like to write pretty quickly, or I feel I’m spoiling the magic if I go over the text over and over again. I like to keep what I’m saying vague and pictorial, and play with the musicality of words, like poetry. I think that’s why my first project is so introspective, because it’s really linked to this writing process. And it’s also for this exact reason that I wrote it in Spanish. It’s my paternal language, which I relate to childhood memories and which speaks directly to my most instinctive emotions. Maybe if I wrote in French I wouldn’t approach emotions and subjects in the same way. It would also be interesting the reverse process to start from the text to create the sound, which is something I’d like to try at some point.
KALTBLUT: As a Franco-Chilean artist, how does your heritage influence your music and identity as an artist?
First of all, there are the South American sounds I grew up with, which are so rich, and which have definitely shaped my musical universe. And beyond music, there’s also my family’s history, in particular the story of my father, who is Chilean. And I think being born in Paris, with origins on the other side of the world, made me dream a lot about this faraway place. So I think music has enabled me to appropriate and make my own this otherworld, which eludes me in so many ways, but which is nevertheless part of me. Of course, this is a very fantasized and idealized vision, and ultimately a rather conflicted one. In fact, the subjects of “Paraiso” evoke an altered paradise, “Santiago” an illusory quest that never comes to fruition, and “Candela” a misty, dreamy adventure. I believe that if the subjects of dreams, vagueness, fantasy and buried emotions are particularly present in this first project, it’s intimately linked to my dual culture. I wasn’t looking for an answer, I guess, I just needed to express all of this very honestly, as I feel it, through my music.
KALTBLUT: Looking ahead, what can your fans expect from you in terms of future projects or collaborations? Are there any new musical directions or themes you are exploring for your next releases?
Right now, I’m looking for where I’d like to go with the second project, gathering ideas and trying things out. I want the second project to be a continuation to the first, while allowing me to explore as much as possible. There’s a lot of freedom and innocence in my first EP, so of course it’s impossible to recapture this. I’m not dealing with the second one as I did the first, but I want to keep that kind of energy. “Candela” is full of a certain modesty, and since then, I’ve been able to open up more and more and to define and assert my musical identity. Now, I’m fairly clear about what’s coming next, and I can’t wait to dive in!
Follow
@alsymaria
@cracki.records
Photos of Alsy by @emma_panchot
Candela is out now: https://alsy.lnk.to/candela/
