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As an artist you have been de- scribed as 'alternative' and 'in- die'... yet your musical forma- tion (including a degree in Jazz) suggests a more traditional ap- proach. How do you, yourself, define your own music? My music is all self-written and was lately produced with three incredible musicians in Rotterdam – Hanyo Van Oos- terom (multi-instrumentalist, producer, ambient artist), Ocki Klootwijk (bassist, sound en- gineer, producer) and Marien Okkerse (cellist) – for my debut full-length album 'Wild Honey'. I suppose it takes inspiration from early jazz standards and 60s/70s' folk music of musicians such as Nick Drake, Joni Mitch- ell and Van Morrison. I built all the songs centred around the finger-picking on the acoustic guitar, using a va- riety of tunings with my vocals sometimes floating above. I al- so took inspiration from west African guitar picking patterns and the drone approach in raga music. It's a very minimalistic, dreamy kind of album. I was go- ing through a period of mourn- ing and longing for a safe place to land. The music came easily and the words were incredibly vivid in my mind. The sight of the full moon was utterly inspiring in a song like 'Candles' and I was in- spired by the chiaroscuro tech- nique of Caravaggio's paintings in 'Muscle and Blood'. 'Wild Honey & Thyme' was a passionate ode to the Maltese countryside – quite a patriotic song, really. Perhaps if I'd sung it a bit more forcefully it could have been more anthemic but at that point in my music, I found subtlety so much more intrigu- ing. I wanted people to feel the love I feel for nature and not necessarily shift the focus onto its destruction. Can you outline the stages that led to an international record label deal? How easy/difficult was it to get to where you are today? I threw myself all into the pur- suit of writing songs to the best of my abilities from the begin- ning. I decided to go and study abroad because I wanted to go on an adventure and leave the comfort of my own home, while also learning about the history and evolution of contemporary music through the study of its foundations – that being jazz music. The Malta Arts Scholar- ships were incredibly generous in offering their support during my study at the conservatory too. All I did was throw myself into making music and the rest has come down to… luck, I suppose? I always sought to try and make my presence felt online too, and play as many concerts as possi- ble to improve my skills. I was always very shy and I needed to work on my stage presence. So I was always very, very persis- tent. I've always kept myself in the company of people whom I consider ridiculously talented, hoping it might rub off on me at some point too (haha!), and who have always been encouraging. Were there any moments of self-doubt? I do have moments where I se- riously doubt all that I'm doing. It's also a part of the artistic pro- cess, I believe. Self-doubt is in- strumental in making sure that you are on the right path. Sometimes I think a simpler life would be a lot easier. I hope one day that I can take a step back and have a garden with chickens, a vegetable and herb garden, luscious fruit trees and a kitchen to bake pies in and qui- etly write songs by the window onto the garden... or a house by the sea, where I can read novels all day. I've got it all planned in my head, but I think it will be a few years before I settle down to my rocking-chair… There was one night which changed everything, though – I was playing a solo concert at my school and I had written some new songs in a different tuning, so I was excited to finally pres- ent them onstage for the first time. It all went terribly wrong, though: halfway through my set, my tuner stopped working and I had to tune by ear for about 10 minutes – thus taking up the rest of my performance time. It was a disaster. The reactions after were really sweet though – I think people must have felt a bit bad for me... One person came up to me and told me something along these lines: 'Man, that was really good. If you ever want to play togeth- er sometime, let me know. I'm a cellist and I'd love to play with you'. Obviously I was complete- ly taken aback. Little did I know this would be the person who would put me in touch with two incredible Dutch producers who would then offer to help launch my internation- al career with the recording of 'Wild Honey', signing me to 'MARS Worldwide' for distri- bution and 'Earthbeat Bookings' for bookings… Do you see any contradiction between your own career as an original, independent artist, and your role as an X-Factor Malta judge: which is associat- ed with more mainstream, com- mercial pop? Association is one thing; real- ity is another. I seek fluidity in my work and I think that, in art, the boundaries that exist are on- ly ones which you create your- self as an artist. Making art is the very defini- tion of freedom to me – you can do whatever you want, however you want. No one else has to like it either, but bonus points if oth- ers like it as well. At least, that is my personal philosophy. However, making a living as an artist is another thing – of course you need to appeal to an audience. Remember that the market is completely saturat- ed, and as an artist you need to stand out in some way. Other- wise, who is going to buy tickets to your concerts? Being up on that podium as a judge was an extension of a be- lief that I have, that any kind of art can be accessible to a wider audience if it is given the right platform. The music industry and any big business can hinge its success on good marketing as well usually. While my music may not be considered typically 'main- stream', it doesn't mean that I am not knowledgeable in music or in the industry it- self. Being an artist comes down to many different fac- tors, and I was very happy to give me own perspective on things: because, after all, art is also subjective when you reach levels beyond the hob- byist, the amateur and the semi-professional. All the judges on the panel came from different back- grounds and different genres of music, and that's part of what made the show so excit- ing, too. Of course, we weren't going to agree on everything, although, many times we ac- tually did. Similar to the way that I was taught by own mentors and tutors, the contestants in X-Factor were given access to information from all across the music industry and it is important to give any young artist the opportunity to learn from many different people in order to find what their true calling is in their art and mu- sic. I also mentioned this during one of the live shows – that for me, the show is primarily about the contestants. I put a lot of personal work on hold to be able to attend to my con- testants whenever they need- ed me. You have received a lot of crit- icism in that role, partly for speaking English. Yet I have noticed that Ray Mercieca, who also speaks English, tends to get criticised less. Do you Fresh from recording her debut album 'Wild Honey', singer, songwriter (and X-Factor Malta judge) ALEXANDRA ALDEN ref lects on her early success as an artist… and the inevitable controversy that comes with it 'I always seek purpose in what I do' Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt 8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 FEBRUARY 2020 INTERVIEW