Start Listening To: Alix Page
Mysterious music that takes us to the moon and back.
Inspired by icons like Taylor Swift and Regina Spektor, California-based Alix Page has always known she’s gonna make music. After all, it was her first love. Before she learnt how to walk, Alix has already set herself up on a musical journey, making noises and simples melodies. As the time passed, she signed up for the piano and vocal lessons and was binge-listening Orange County’s alternative radio station, KROQ. Even though reminding of Phoebe Bridges gentle vulnerability and Billie Eilish’s raw lyricism, Alix’s soothing melancholia is one of a kind. Today, she shares with us the backstory of the newest single ‘25’, plans for a debut EP and her most recent obsessions.
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Hello hello! I’m Alix Page, I’m 19, I’m from Orange County, California (an hour-ish south of Los Angeles), and I write.
How did it all start?
The way I got into music is all a bit of a mystery. I wasn’t around a ton of music as a kid, no one in my immediate family really plays an instrument or sings, I just started making noises when I was a toddler and no one stopped me. My mom saw how much I loved it and got me into piano and voice lessons from a young age and I started learning Regina Spektor and Taylor Swift songs from there. I fell more and more in love with it and auditioned for arts high school, which is where I really found my sound.
If you were to describe your sound to someone who’d never heard you before, what would you say?
I have a soft voice and I grew up listening to KROQ.
How do you produce your music?
So far, I’ve essentially brought a completed song to my producer, Brett Kramer, and then he takes it to the moon and back when we make a demo. Every time I’ve brought in a song it ends up being so much bigger than I thought was possible, which I love. Once we get the demo to a place we feel good about, we bring it to Jonny Bell and his studio in Long Beach, and again, it just gets bigger. Jonny has so many amazing vintage instruments and we always end up finding a super unconventional way to record things.
How are you feeling about the release of your new single 25?
Feeling really good! Itching to play it live. Ultimately as long as I feel like I’m really proud of what I put out, I’m happy.
Can you tell us about some of the themes on this new single?
Loss is huge. I think a lot of growing up is experiencing loss and having to move past it, and realizing that moving past it means potentially leaving it behind forever, and that’s really scary. As you get older and develop longer friendships/relationships, it can feel like you don’t know who you are without that person in your life, and that’s even scarier. You’re never fully sure of who you’re still gonna be co-existing with down the line. That’s the heart of the song, I think.
What inspires your music?
I’m a big detail person. Especially with people, I love people watching and learning random things that don’t really matter but do if you pay attention. Things like learning their everyday habits and the way they fold their shirts and hearing them think out loud - all of that is super special to me and always has been.
Can you tell us something interesting about yourself that has nothing to do with music?
If I wasn’t doing music there’s a 90% chance I would move to Europe and be a barista and live a very anonymous and independent life.
How does it feel being compared to Phoebe Bridgers?
I take it as a huge compliment, honestly. My voice has sounded the way it does since I was 12 but I’m not gonna deny that something with my songwriting definitely clicked when I heard Stranger In The Alps for the first time. Hearing a female singer/songwriter be so descriptive and honest and a little morbid really resonated with me, and I hadn’t been exposed to anything like that before.
What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to you?
Listen to the artists who influence your influences and listen to stuff that would’ve never crossed your mind to listen to. I had a session with a producer a while ago that showed me a KCRW video of Frou Frou from 2002 and connected that to a few Madonna deep cuts that were also produced by Guy Sigsworth. I literally went home after that and listened to like 3 Madonna albums and had the time of my life. Weird connections like that are so sick if you look into them. Going along with that, try as much as possible to surround yourself with as many inspiring, creative people as possible.
If your music were a film or TV show which would it be and why?
Beginners. LA-based, intentional, colorful, emotional, human, appreciative of little things and moments.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s important to you?
Hot Fuss by The Killers. To this day I think at least one song from that album comes on whenever I turn on the radio. I remember as a kid, I always got excited when one of their songs came out and I would recognize it because no one’s voice compares to Brandon Flowers’s. It’s so unique and I wish more people knew more of their discography. Battle Born and Sam’s Town are definitely honorable mentions. I’ll never forget hearing “Read My Mind” and “Miss Atomic Bomb” for the first time.
What do you hate right now?
LA’s dry weather season
My phone, sometimes
The amount of music theory homework I have due tomorrow
What do you love right now?
When Harry Met Sally
Yogurt pretzels
Sweaters
Fruit loops
My new film camera
Headphones
Is there any new music from 2021 that you’re enjoying?
SO much! Del Water Gap’s debut album, “Valentine” by Snail Mail, True Love by Hovvdy, Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice, “Crying During Sex” by Carol Ades, everything by Dora Jar, “Little Things” by Big Thief.
What comes next in the Alix Page story?
I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say but a lot of things that would make 15 year-old me freak out and scream and cry about, probably.
I’m turning 20 in a month, so that feels really weird and big for some reason. An EP that I’m crazy proud of, coming out at the top of next year. A mini tour in cities I’ve never been to, opening for someone I’ve looked up to for a long time.
