Awksymoron’s latest work feels like a breath of fresh air, wrapped in dreamy melodies and deeply reflective lyrics. All Bets Are Off: no mistake can change what’s meant for us.
Read our discussion below!
Describe your sound in 3 words
Playful, timeless, multigenre
Tell us a few things about All Bets Are Off. What is the main idea behind it?
I wrote “All Bets Are Off” while noodling on my guitar and watching The Sopranos in bed. I think I may have also been FaceTiming my mom at the same time (multitasking!). Tony Soprano’s menacing rage when he said “all bets are off” after being betrayed by a close friend, really struck me. Though I’d heard the phrase many times, I decided to look it up to have a clear understanding. In Tony’s case, “all bets are off” signaled a loss of control and the unpredictability of the situation, with the potential for really bad consequences for people around him. My lyrics take a different spin, embracing life’s unpredictability as something to look forward to or find peace with.
Your most honest and personal lyric?
“When I am alone with my thoughts in our home, I see you on that day and I feel so afraid” references an experience I had where I brought a friend to the emergency room. “I see you” is a play on words with “ICU.” This is from an unreleased track called “Bring Me Back.”
Artists and people who have influenced you?
Brian Wilson, Kimya Dawson, the Cranberries, Helado Negro, Blossom Dearie, Buena Vista Social Club, Burt Bacharach, Sidney Gish
Do you like the idea of collaborating? Is songwriting a lonely process?
I love collaborating with my band. Generally, I write Awksymoron songs on my own, and then we arrange them together. Songwriting doesn’t feel like a lonely process to me—writing emotional and vulnerable lyrics is a way of opening up. When I share a new idea with the band, it’s often a validating experience. My bandmates are extremely talented musicians, so when they respond positively to my ideas, it makes me feel like I’ve come up with something fresh, smart, and creative.
Do you have an artist that you would describe as a hidden gem that we should know about?
A hidden gem you need to know is Avelo, Marlene Bellissimo’s project in Berlin. Marlene is a prolific songwriter, filmmaker and youtuber and has been a dear friend of mine for years. She arranges and plays strings on 2 songs from my forthcoming debut EP “Good Grief.”
If you could change anything about the music industry what would it be?
I don’t feel like this is anything that hasn’t been said before, but it’s frustrating how the music industry has changed with streaming. Spotify pays virtually nothing unless you have millions of streams. The payout per stream is so tiny that artists end up spending more to distribute their music than they might ever earn back. The system currently in place is stacked against independent artists. Without revenue streams from merch sales, live shows, or support on Bandcamp, Patreon, etc it feels impossible to make a living off music alone. It is my dream to be a rockstar, not to work a job and “do music” when I can afford it, or afford to make time for it.
A song you are convinced was written about you?
The song “Our House” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young feels like it was written for me. My roommate, Scout, pointed it out one day after we listened to it together. The lines, “Our house is a very, very, very fine house with two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard, now everything is easy ’cause of you,” really resonate. We have two cats, and I love our home together. I first heard this song when my cousin and his wife had their first dance to it at their wedding, and I was very moved by how sweet and romantic it was. I find that same sweetness in my home of two years with my friend, who I love very much.
Thank you!
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