I came across this cute list of “get to know me as an artist” questions. Naturally, I poured a glass of wine, typed from my heart, and didn't proofread a single thing! So…get to know me! Authentically & unfiltered. 

MUSIC & ARTISTRY

1. What first inspired you to start making music? What an interesting first question. Making music feels loaded–I have been producing sound forever, but the intentional study of creating music for me began when I was just 7 or 8. My childhood best friend had performed in a show at a local theatre (shout out Amelia & Denair Gaslight) and had to join in on the fun. It was very obvious that I had an inclination for music and was quickly enrolled in 1:1 lessons. I remember so vividly being 8 years old, my voice teacher making photo copies of songs from the classic yellow “24 Italian Songs & Arias” book. I’m pretty certain I could sing that entire book cover to cover. I started producing my original music as an adult, and dabbled around on Logic for ~10 years before I ever got around to releasing anything. More on that journey, later.
2. How would you describe your sound in three words? Angelic, clean, consistent. 
3. Which artists or genres shaped the way you create today? What a spectrum! Genres: What do I dance to when I’m home alone? Tech house, all night. Formative? Classical. The middle of the ven diagram? Ambient electronic. Honorable mention? Organic house, which probably occupies my ears most often. The artists that inspire me mostly live along that spectrum. ABBA is my all-time favorite, from early childhood. I adore Sofi Tukker. I love their sound, their use of hybrid organic & electronic components, and their ability to write songs that make you want to dance and drink too much and question whether what you’re hearing is total nonsense. I was also a die-hard Dirtybird fan for a full decade, until Claude Vonstroke bailed on the label. I still love him, but the label isn’t the same.
4. What’s your favorite song you’ve ever written — and why? This is a difficult one, because as any writer/producer knows, they’re all your favorite in different ways and at different times. I’d have to say overall goes to my song “Reflection”. It’s kind of safe and probably a bit blasé to most, but for me it was the first song where my inner world was authentically recreated into my outer world. It’s floaty, innocent, soft, yet still super upbeat and bright. It wasn’t received as well as I thought, but I didn’t/don’t care because I love it so much. Plus, I put it on every yoga playlist I make for the classes I teach ;)
5. Where were you when you realized “I’m meant to do this”? I’m meant to do a lot of things. But I’ve known from a very young age that I was never a person, that my purpose here was never to work a traditional 9-5, and that my path would be unconventional. We all have purpose here, and with every fiber of my being, I know that I was put here to create some sort of masterpiece. At the age of 33, I’m still not positive what that masterpiece will be, but I do feel like I’m getting warmer than ever.
6. Which song of yours was the hardest to write emotionally? There are a few that come to mind. On my first album, there is a song that opens up with my grandfather’s voice being sampled, and I don’t listen to it now because it makes me cry every, single, time. He’s my favorite person ever to exist (yes, even more than the members of ABBA), and I pretend he’s here with me in my studio sometimes. He obviously needed a feature. 
7. Do you have any rituals before you record vocals? Meditate. Lip trills. Glass of sauvignon blanc with 6 ice cubes. Boom.
8. What’s your go-to plugin chain for vocals right now? Nectar 4 for sibilance control, Waves Vocal Rider, Channel EQ, Baby Audio Smooth Operator for dynamic EQ, Valhalla Shimmer + Vintage Verb. I feel like there are one or two I’m forgetting, but that’s pretty much the standard. 
9. What’s a dream collaboration you’d love to manifest? Omg, obviously laying down vocals on any track with Ben Bohmer. He’s brilliant. I would quit music after that, nothing could ever top it. 
10. What is the strangest sound you’ve ever sampled for a track? I was stuck at Burning Man during the 12 hour mass Exodus in 2022, and I took a video on my phone of myself and the 3 friends I was with losing our minds, laying down tracks on a Kaossilator (IYKYK), and that is featured as a background texture as one of the songs from my first album. Cute!

CREATIVE PROCESS

1. What does creativity feel like in your body when it hits? Honestly…frustrating 😆 I have quite a few creative projects, and about 37 more creative ideas, and I feel frustrated every single day because I so desperately want to give them life. I envy people that are able to sit down and just…watch movies. I can’t. I become frenetic when I have ideas I can’t produce in some way. But the dopamine hit that comes when you do have the time…yummy.
2. What’s your weirdest or most unexpected source of inspiration? I wouldn’t say that it’s weird or unexpected, but the majority of my inspiration and creative planning takes place while walking. I’m on a walk right now, as I write these answers! I’m an avid walker, and noticing things like architecture, color palettes, the way the other people also walking either do or don’t make eye contact with me, and then coming up with a narrative in my own head of what their story or experience may be today…yep. That’s my fuel. 
3. If someone stepped inside your “creative brain,” what would they see? Fluffy blue, pink, & white clouds. Bubbles. Marble fountains with wine instead of water. Cellos & drum kits spouting wings. Everyone is barefoot, shoes are forbidden.
4. What helps you get unstuck when you’re overthinking a song? I think you already know this answer…it starts with a W and rhymes with whine.
5. What’s one lyric you’ve written that still resonates deeply with you? “I wished for a flower, you grew me a garden” from Aphrodite’s Blessing. My boyfriend, Nick, has made all of this possible. I could have done all of this on my own, but I never would have, because I didn’t believe in myself…at all at all at all. From the day I met him, he saw straight through me, felt my heart's deepest desires, and encouraged me with love (many times the tough version), provided me with all of the resources and equipment I needed to do this damn thing on my own. And I did. Booyah. 

LIFE, ENERGY & SPIRITUALITY

1. How do you stay grounded when life gets chaotic? A reminder that doing a little bit each day is so much more effective than doing a lot all at once. Consistency is key. As a forever musician, I learned early on to simply practice something. Anything. 
2. What role does spirituality or ritual play in your creative process? It’s paramount. I have rituals for everything in all of my processes, creative and otherwise. I visualize the situations I’m attempting to create sonically. I spend the first few moments of working on a new song with my eyes closed in a concentrated meditation on the moment or emotion I know I am trying to convey in a piece. According to the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali is clear that it is concentration that leads us to meditation. It’s the idea of becoming so focused on an idea that you become one with that thing. There becomes no separation. And that’s what we do to invite you into our worlds :) 
3. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? “Finished is better than perfect.”
4. What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you? I used to be a neurotic perfectionist as a classical vocalist, which pushed me into a years-long hiatus from singing and music all together (except karaoke nights lol). When I decided to pursue music again, I made a promise to myself that I would only do this if I relinquished that mindset, and did it for the love & authenticity that initially sparked my love of sound. So now, I’m very laissez faire about the whole thing. I try to keep myself consistent with writing and releasing, but I don’t overthink the minutia and simply produce songs and sounds that I like.
5. If you could spend a day anywhere in the world, where would you go? I am DYING to visit Morocco again (specifically the blue city, Chefchaouen) and stay in a beautiful riad for 2 weeks to write an EP or short album. I’m also craving a similar writing trip in Northern Italy where my grandparents are from in Liguria, to honor my lineage!

PERSONALITY & QUIRKS

1. What’s your sun/moon/rising (if you want to share)? I strictly follow Vedic Astrology! My big 3 are: libra sun, capricorn moon, sagittarius rising!
2. What’s one smell, sound, or texture that instantly brings you comfort? So many, but probably ylang ylang essential oils, the Aladdin soundtrack, Nick’s face resting on my chest when we fall asleep at night. Mostly the last one.
3. What song would soundtrack your life right now? Lol, “What Dreams Are Made Of” from the Lizzie McGuire Movie
4. What’s your favorite time of day to create? 8am-12pm! I love a fresh brain and clean ears!
5. What’s a hobby you have that people might not expect? All of my friends know, but I LOVE (and teach) aerial yoga. It gives me a ton of creative fuel. I also love any task that is tedious and/or redundant. I love using my hands and becoming hyper-fixated on something, like untying knots, or tangled jewelry. 
6. What’s your current comfort show / movie / book? Show for life is…Sister Wives HAHA. Movie: Aladdin (both animated and live action). Book: cliche, The Essential Rumi. I always have it in my backpack, plus a copy in my top drawer in the studio. 
7. If you weren’t doing music, what would your dream job be? I wish I had become a therapist. It’s never too late, and I think about it at least once a week…we’ll see ;)
8. What’s your guilty pleasure… but in a cute, harmless way? Just general delusion. I LOVE believing that I can successfully do everything myself all of the time. I’m not sure if that counts as an answer, but I’m sticking to it.  
9. What are three things currently inspiring you? 1) I’m taking an in-person DJing course, and it is challenging me in many good ways. I've been DJing (poorly) for the past 6ish months, and admitting that and taking steps to improve has been…humbling. 2) A few situations in my personal life that have made me deeply question my own discernment. Quite a few songs on the next album swirl this concept. 3) That independent artists have more opportunity than ever to create their own sounds and monetize in unconventional ways. Some artists think this is a drag, to me, this feels liberating.
10. What’s one message or feeling you hope people take away from your art? Life is full of choices. We have more choices than we think. We can choose the places and areas in which we give our attention, the ways we spend our time, the people we choose to surround ourselves with, even our emotional response to uneasy situations. You get to choose. I hope you listen to this music and realize: you have control over your destiny, the narrative and the life that you’d like to create. The uneasy choices are often the ones that lead us to that beautiful, sparkly disco ball on top of Mount Everest (it’s real, look it up). Decide what you want, focus on it, and your reality will align.