Interview by Carol Wright | Photos Courtesy of Arden Alexa
We got to chat with singer/songwriter Arden Alexa about her single “Strawberry Pie,” her biggest music inspirations, and her advice for aspiring musicians.
Have you had an interest in singing and making music since a young age?
Yes! When people ask me this question, I always say that I started singing the day I was born, which is an exaggeration but not by much. Everyone in my family is very musical, my dad sings opera and progressive rock, and my older brother does musical theater, so this heavily influenced me as a child. The first ever movie that I watched was The Phantom of the Opera, which kickstarted my obsession with music. I’m told that I would go around the house singing songs from Phantom. Funnily enough, my parents say that I was actually horrible at singing as a child, and it wasn’t until I got older and began taking voice lessons that my singing improved.
Who are some of your music inspirations?
My biggest musical influence is definitely Taylor Swift. Ever since I was little, she has been my biggest musical influence. She was the reason I started playing the guitar, songwriting, and thinking of music as an actual career I can pursue. Another big musical influence of mine is Harry Styles. I so admire his bravery to be original in an industry where so many of the people are conforming to the norm.
Tell our readers about your song “ Strawberry Pie.” What story are you telling through the song?
Almost all of the song is based in truth. I met this guy freshman year of high school and was pretty much immediately in love with him. We ended up dating for around 6-7 months, and towards the end of that school year, I noticed he was feeling down so I decided to make him a strawberry pie (a recipe that actually has been in my family for multiple generations). I blame it on teenage stupidity, but when I gave him the pie, he essentially told me he didn’t like strawberry pie and then we broke up later that day. We were involved again senior year (it was all very full circle), but as life goes, all good things come to an end. When writing this song, I knew that I wanted it to be a fun and sarcastic anthem, not a sad breakup song.
What inspired the sound and style of “Strawberry Pie?”
In the studio, one of the first things we do is sit and listen to a couple hours of music to pick out any particular sounds or genres that we want to include in the song. For this song in particular, we listened to a lot of indie artists such as Gracie Abrams and Claire Rosinkranz, really looking at what makes each indie artist distinct and what unifies the genre. Then, we spend a significant amount of time listening to 50s and 60s music such as Elvis, Dean Martin, the Everly Brothers, and the Beatles. We thought it would be interesting to include the bluesy, old-timey feel to the song, so we took a lot of inspiration from these older artists as well.
The music video for “Strawberry Pie” has a DIY feel. Was it fun to create?
This video was so much fun to make! I filmed it with my best friend in and around my house. Since I knew that I wanted a more home-style video that introduces the viewers to my world and my personality, most of the footage we got in the video is just the two of us fooling around and having fun. Everything about the filming was super casual; all of the props were things I found around my house and for a camera we just used my iPhone!
What advice do you have for aspiring musicians?
My advice for aspiring musicians is to just go for it. For a long time, I was really scared of committing because I was worried of failing or letting down the people around me. It took a lot for me to sit down with my parents and tell them that I didn’t want to follow the traditional path of going to college, but now I get to do what I love, and I’m so happy. So go for it! Don’t wait because you’re afraid!