London artist Alice Ray is here to spread her alternative and eloquent music style. Growing up with strong musical influences such as David Bowie, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, and Carole King, Alice Ray has always known that the passion for sound and creation was within her. Using her various inspirations, along with her musical intuition, Alice Ray manifests singles that hold meaning and vigorous production. One of her latest creations, "For and Against," features the raw blend of Alice Ray's artistic intentions, and such intentions are meant to be felt all around.
"For and Against" opens with an ambient melody, which is shortly pierced by the calming voice of Alice Ray. "For and Against" follows along with the pleading and realizations of Alice Ray, as she takes listeners along a guiding path of eclectic wisdom. The deep and ethereal tones within this track are what attributes heavily towards a dramatic feel. This component allows Alice Ray's cinematic vocals to be exploited in the most complimentary way. She offers such potent honesty within her tracks, and especially within "For and Against." You genuinely feel Alice Ray opening up more and more as the song goes on, and you might even hear light tones similar to that of artists such as Christina Perri. Alice Ray unravels her soft embrace effortlessly and honestly within "For and Against," and she ultimately allows listeners to feel overwhelmed with emotionality.
Discover the dramatic tones of Alice Ray in "For and Against" here.
Congratulations, Alice Ray, for your release of "For and Against"! What kind of response have you seen thus far from your listening base regarding this particular single? Was there a certain understanding you hoped your listeners would achieve once listening to "For and Against"
Thank you! I wasn't sure how this single would go down as it's a different style from my debut single and slightly more alternative, but everyone has been really complimentary and I've had a lot of messages especially about the lyrics which has been lovely as it's a really personal song for me.
Were there any emotions you wanted listeners to extract from "For and Against"? Do you often hope that your listeners feel the exact kind of emotion you poured into a song, or are you hoping for them to take their own path in interpretation?
This is an interesting question! As I'm writing the song I'm normally writing about experiences of my own and feelings I have/had and felt strongly, so it's quite specific in that sense. But when it comes to performing the song or how I want it to be received, it's much broader, I want my listeners to relate to it in their own way. I often find songs I love that I really feel are speaking directly to me, but in reality, that song may not have been written about the same thing I was experiencing, but it helps nonetheless and the message is still there and applicable to many situations. This song is about not knowing what you 'want' and being so frozen in anxiety that you start to let other people take control of your life. I wanted listeners to find comfort in it, and hopefully a strength to tune back into their own voice.
As a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, how do you feel that your extensions as an artist help with the way you write and record your songs?
I find the ability to play the piano has been hugely helpful to me with songwriting. That's absolutely not to say that it's necessary, but for me personally, I really like sitting down at the piano, once I have some lyrics and playing about with chords and melodies and finding a song that way. If I feel I'm being too 'samey' I'll sometimes move over to the guitar (which I am definitely not pro-level at!) and it just lends itself to a different style of songwriting for me, so I like being able to switch around.
Growing up with an eclectic taste of music, do you feel that your wide range of preference aided in the way you constructed your own music? What kind of influence do you feel inspired the way you created "For and Against"?
Yeah, I think so. I love the lyrics and storytelling of artists like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, the style of Bowie, the versatility of Elton John, the passion and power of Stevie Nicks and I think all these things have definitely influenced me. I remember listening to Sia's early album 'Some People Have Real Problems' when I was younger and just having it on repeat for weeks, same with Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours' album - reading all the lyrics, then listening, again and again, amazed at the songs and just desperate to sit down and play and sing them myself. I don't think I culminate them all into one style but I think I'm quite eclectic in my writing and different songs perhaps reference different inspirations. When it came to having 'For and Against' produced (by the amazing Joe and Nikki Davison of Auburn Jam Music Ltd) I wanted to go down a slightly more alternative route and I was loving the 'Guillemots' at the time (still do). I think the bassline especially is a real 'tip of the hat' to them and I am so grateful to have been able to work with Joe and Nikki as they literally brought to life what I had in my head.
What's next for you?
I have an EP ready and recorded to go! I'm looking forward to putting that out at the end of August - it's got a couple of (I hope) uplifting songs on there and I think that's what people need at the moment. It also has my own personal favorite on there which I wrote about a year and a half ago, so I'm looking forward to finally getting it out there!