Thank you for joining us today! We are joined by singer songwriter Athxna to chat about her music and future in the music industry! We’re excited to learn more about you Athxna, Let’s dive right in. What is your musical background, and how did you get started in the industry?
When I was five years old, my grandmother gave me her piano, there are generations in my family of concert pianists and I followed that route. Unfortunately for them I fell in love with the blues and really haven’t looked back since. I have been in the music industry for over a decade now, and I’ve been playing piano and creating music since I was five years old. I went to school for music industry studies at Loyola in New Orleans, and have learned about the industry behind the scenes as much as possible to benefit my music career.
How would you describe your musical style or genre? Are there any specific influences that have shaped your sound?
This is actually kind of a hard question for me, my genre would be some thing in the R&B, Pop Rome, with a heavy influence of blues. Some musical influences Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Claudio, SZA, Kali Uchis, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Amy Winehouse
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing or composing music? Where do you draw inspiration from?
I kind of feel like I’m all over the place when it comes to my creative process, but I feel like that also makes sense for me ha ha. He can start from writing a poem that turns into a song, I can come from a piece of clothing that I really like, and think it makes me feel like a sugar mama. That’s literally how I wrote my song, sugar mama, I said to my friend “man when I die make sure I’m buried in this jacket because I wanna make sure God thinks I’m worth a lot.” that’s one of my favorite stories behind one of my songs. I draw inspiration from everything around me, but specifically the brand that I have. Burlesque, confidence, dark sensuality, goth fashion and culture, blues and its roots is really the core of my influence, and needs to be reflected in the music that I create.
What have been the most significant milestones or highlights in your music career so far?
There are so many! From releasing my first, EPK, to getting 160k views on my music video. I am so grateful for all the opportunities and experiences that I’ve already gotten as a small musician. I’m excited to see where all this takes me because I’m not going to stop until I achieve my goals. I performed in my first show this year and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life, it really solidified that this is what I’m gonna do and what I wanna do for the rest of my life.
Are there any exciting projects, albums, or singles you’re currently working on or planning to release in the near future?
Oh my gosh, so many things! I pretty much already have an EP recorded.
I am putting together shows on the East Coast for the rest of this year and for spring of next year and honestly, I just want to keep creating and putting content out there.
Share some memorable experiences from your live performances. What do you enjoy most about performing in front of an audience?
Oh my gosh, something insane happened at my last show. The headliners drummer was getting cursed out by the bartender at the venue that we were performing at and everyone in the bar stopped and was staring at them, it was a really small bar, even the opener stopped performing to see what was going on. The bartender ended up kicking out the drummer and the drummer packed up his drums and left. Unfortunately, we were going to use his drum kit for our set. So what ended up happening is my drummer grabbed my piano players hardcase mic’d it up, put his kick drum on it and use the snare that he brought and we did a four song set, it ended up being an amazing night, and I felt so empowered I feel like we could do anything after that experience.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in the music industry, and how have you overcome them?
I’ve had a really unique experience with being in the music industry, because I went to school for music industry, and while I was in school, I made sure to take advantage of as many programs and internships as I could. I even managed a couple bands during that time, and really learned how being a woman in the music industry can be scary. I’ve grown since then and I’ve become more mature and more confident in my ability to defend myself. Knowledge is power. I’ve grown since then and I’ve become more mature and more confident in my ability to defend myself.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are just starting their musical journey?
Don’t stop pushing! Quality and quantity, there’s no in between. If you want to be a part of this industry, you have to give your entire self to it, and there is no right or wrong way to do anything, there are so many different paths to be successful in the music industry. It’s just figuring out what works best for you.
Is there a specific message or emotion you hope to convey through your music, and what do you hope listeners take away from your songs?
I want people to feel inspired and confident when they listen to my music, I want them to be able to relax, cry, scream, and dance to my songs. I want women, specifically big women, to feel like they have a space to be accepted and sang about in a romantic way, as a big woman myself, I’ve never really experienced any musicians in our time that do that.
Thank you for joining us today Athxna, we are so excited to see your music career flourish! Lastly, where can our audience follow you on social media to stay updated on your future projects and connect with you?
Thank you SO much for having me! You can find my anywhere online @athxnaofficial or here: https://linktr.ee/Athxnaofficial
End of Interview
