Interview and Photos by Jordan Edwards
The year is off to a great start for powerhouse vocalist Alicia Creti. In February, she released the EP Self/Less. The Montreal native followed that up with an appearance on the prestigious COLORS SHOW. Set against a steely blue background, she gave a memorable performance of "Bleeding Me Dry" (Watch below).
As music tastes and trends shift rapidly, Creti presents a timeless, soulful voice that's as unique as it is powerful. We talked to her about recent music, her raw, confessional lyrics, and creating her striking visuals.
Your new single “Self/Less” is emotionally heavy. Is it based on a true story?
“Self/Less” is the title track to my EP, Self/Less. I wrote this song about a difficult conversation I had with my brother to prepare him for me moving to LA. It was something like 2 a.m. in Montreal, and he called me into his bedroom. I told him, "You know, eventually I’m going to move to LA because I want to be a singer, like the ones you see on TV." My brother’s autistic, so me moving out, let alone to another country. He just kept repeating over and over, “You’re gonna leave? You’re gonna leave? How come you're taking a plane and not a car?" I was so scared that moving away would change our relationship, or he would forget me. We are extremely close, and it hurts to be apart. But I feel like I spent my whole life putting everybody before me, because I thought that if I didn’t, I would be selfish. I ultimately found myself feeling “self/less”, like I needed an identity.
What did you enjoy about making the EP?
This EP is a very emotional and vulnerable piece. I loved collaborating with such incredible creatives. I am used to writing on my own since the music is so personal, so I had to learn to share my most vulnerable thoughts and feelings with others in order to produce some music I’m really proud of. Grateful I did, but that was a unique and challenging shift in the creative process that I had to make in order to create what I’ve always dreamed of. The sound is really organic. A lot of piano and real instrumentation.
Why did you choose that direction?
The project starts and ends at the piano. I've been playing since I started writing when I was a kid because I wanted to have the music I was imagining accompanying me while singing my songs. So, it’s been me and the piano ever since. The piano is like an extension of me, it’s where I feel the most at home, and since the project takes place in my head, I wanted listeners to feel like they were in there with me, and can get lost in their own heads as the EP takes you on a journey of self rediscovery.
How much fun was it to break dishes for the “Crazy” video?
It was a lot of fun.
I love the visualizer for “Guilt Trip.” How did the bed and the garden scene come together?
"Guilt Trip" takes place in a garden where the glass house serves as a metaphor for a past relationship. Amidst the spiral of the breakdown you see in the car scene of the video, you see me drunkenly fall asleep in the house where the project takes place, to then wake up in the glass house. As the video progresses, you can see the glass shattering, the ground cracking, the foundation completely disintegrating like when what a relationship is built on isn’t strong enough to support it. If you have no foundation, it will all come crashing down.
How much are you into visuals? Do you like coming up with ideas?
The visual component to a project is something I’m super passionate about. I think it stems from my love for art and drawing. As a kid, I was really into arts and crafts, and as I’d be drawing or painting, I’d be singing and coming up with the next song I’d want to write until eventually I just loved music so much, it’s all I wanted to do. I love how this part of me can be integrated into my music through the visual component and really bring a whole new universe to life.
What’s something you listen to that might surprise people?
I think people might be surprised at the Sleeping with Sirens and Pierce the Veil songs I have in my music library. I had a phase in high school. I was going through it, I don’t know. But it spoke to me. I love “With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear,” the acoustic version particularly, and “King for a Day."
For more from Alicia Creti, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.