What do you want listeners to know about EP?
The EP took over a year to record fully–we started in the fall of 2023 and finished just last month. I wrote the oldest song (“Something Blue”) in 2018 and the newest (“Paper Mind”) in 2024. It’s a pop EP overall, but there’s definitely a lot of different styles in there–”From Inside The House” has a very musical theater-y sound, “Paper Mind” draws from alt/indie rock influences, and “Nightrunner” is almost country pop (controversial take given people’s strong opinions on what is and isn’t country, but I’ve heard it from enough people that I don’t think it’s entirely off base).
How did you come up with the name for the EP?
Do you have any favorite memories of the recording process?
Five friends came into the studio with me to record the gang vocals in the bridge of “From Inside The House.” It’s a home studio on the third floor of a house, it was the middle of the summer, and the AC was making noise so we had to turn it off while recording. We all got very sweaty and very close (literally and figuratively). I remember all sticking our faces in the fan and window between takes to cool down. But we got it done! And got some yummy food and drinks after!
I think for the song that's pretty much all there is to talk about. But, yeah, go listen to No Words. It's such a fun sexy ethereal otherworldly type of song. For me it just transports me to another place because it’s just so different and the instrumentation and the vocal production everything is done to is honestly incredible. I’m so lucky to have the team that I do. Go check it out and expect to see much more from me soon.
TENSION HIGH was the third or fourth song that I made with Lavend3r, and that I had ever recorded in a studio. So I was way more comfortable at that point. I remember the first song I made with Lavend3r I was still kind of unsure of like where to put ad-libs or was unsure where to speak up about what I want and what I don’t want and the whole thing. I was still learning, and TENSION HIGH definitely felt more comfortable. A big thing, for example, that I remember that I felt super comfortable with was in the second verse and in the chorus you can hear some breaths that are off beat in the background. I felt that those were really cool and my friend John didn’t want them, but I fought for them. And I’m so glad that I did because I really love them. And you can really hear them more on the live track where my lead vocals are not there. But it’s really cool. I played the live track the other day for my friends and they were like “Oh my god! They’re so cool!” and I was so proud.
It was really fun to record the song. I made the song with Lavend3r and Zani, who is an exceptional musician. They helped me build the song into what it is. Every song I made with Lavend3r, except for one we haven’t released yet, I always came in with the chords, the lyrics, the melody, everything and then John, Nicco and Zani would help me build them up. TENSION HIGH was a really really fun one. I wanted it to be rhythmic and bass heavy, which is why it starts with the bass. It starts simple instrumentally and it builds up over time and it’s really cool.
Releasing the song has been really really fun. I love it. I think it’s a very summer vibe song and I really hope you love it too. I hope you love it as much as I do. And if you’re going through the same thing as I did at the time I hope you connect with the song and it’s a release and you know you’re not alone and it’s a human experience. And yeah I hope you just dance to it, vibe to it, let you use the song to help you get through it. You know what I mean. I hope you love the song as much as I do.
I want to thank Alexa for taking the time to share this story with us.
Be sure to follow Alexa on Instagram, and Spotify. And, be sure to listen to "TENSION HIGH" wherever you usually find your music.
Thanks again Alexa!
That was fun!
As always, I want to thank Alexa for taking the time to do this with us. It's always nice to be able to learn a bit more about a favorite artist.
Be sure to listen to Alexa and follow along with her to see what she's up to. I would definitely follow her on Instagram, and/or Spotify. In fact, go do both right now!
Thanks again Alexa!
Everything has been a wile ride and I’m grateful we could make it work. It is my best and greatest release yet. I know everyone says their latest release is their best. But I mean it. This one has so much heart, soul, blood, sweat and tears in it from so many amazing human beings.
I wrote the song over winter break, in December 2023. My life was chill at that moment and I wasn’t feeling very inspired to write songs. But I wrote this one based on a college friend from Berklee. It was the first time I wrote something not from my point of view. It was just a very interesting exercise. Honestly, when it was done, I didn’t really like it that much. I wrote it the same day I was inspired to write a couple other songs. All in different aspects that I’m used to doing. This one I wrote in the Point of view of one of my closest friends who keeps going out with guys who don’t treat her right. And, in the end she keeps saying that she should have know. And we keep telling her but she never listens. This is shown in the first verse when the first thing I say is “I should’ve listened to my friends”.
So it talks about friendships, break-ups and relationships in the current times we’re living in. I feel like it’s current and relatable for women these days, and especially for friends. So I really like that about this song. But, funnily enough, I didn’t really like the song when I finished it. I didn’t put many expectations on it. So I kept it in the depths of my voice messages because I never saw a future for the song. I thought the melodies were cheesy and for some reason I didn’t really connect with them that much, so I never saw potential in it. But one day I received a call from my producer, who also produced Criminal, and he asked if I had any songs to produce for a school project. I showed him multiple songs, but he was unconvinced. So I sent him Should’ve Known but told him I don’t really like this one, just so you know. But he really loved it and made me believe in the song which took some time because I still really didn’t like it for some reason.
But, we took five months to produce it, which is the longest time I’ve taken to complete a song. It took so long because we were making sure the song was perfect and nothing was missing. And we were constantly updating and changing things to make sure it was perfect. And, honestly, I remember when I received the final demo I was in shock because the song was so good. I’m not saying this because it’s my song. It’s genuinely so good. And a lot of my friends who have heard the song are obsessed with it as well.
You can definitely include me on that list too! "Should've Known" is such a great song. You should definitely listen to it for yourself.
Thanks again, Duda, for sharing this story with us.
It was a quick process. From the decision to actually make the EP to completion was about three months. As someone who had never released a song before, it made for a crazy three months, but it was so worth it. Since she is an independent artist, so much of it was up to her. Sure, she had amazing friends help out, but everything from the marketing, planning, scheduling the photo shoot, the concept, to the lyric video was all on her shoulders. It was so much work. Since this was her first time though this, she thought it would be easier than it ended up being. But it was absolutely worth all the extra effort.
She has always wanted to work in music, as a singer and songwriter, but was never sure she was good enough. That’s probably a common theme amongst young songwriters. But, she wrote “Lost Messages” in April and knew it was THE song. This was the song that she could take that leap with. This was the one to start the process rolling. The next day, she decided she might as well go all in and write a whole EP. She started figuring out what it would actually take to make it happen. She didn’t have a blueprint, so she felt her way along on her own. The rest of the songs were written with that EP in mind, other than “Done”. That was written a year earlier and could have been a single on its own, but it really matched the energy and vibe of the EP she was creating. It felt right to include it, especially as the last track…”Done”. The last song written was “Memories” and it’s honestly her favorite. It came together so quickly that she wrote it in about an hour. It almost didn’t make the EP but she loved the lyrics and the vibe, and decided it fit well with the concept.
The most stressful part ended up being trying to find the phone for the photo shoot! She had a picture in her mind of the phone she wanted to use, and knew it should be an older style, but she didn’t have one. Friends tried to convincer her to just use a new phone, but she knew what she wanted. Thankfully a friend was able to track down a phone for her. She had been thinking a red or pick phone would be the way to go, but really likes how the silver one ended up looking. It was a marathon to find the phone, but she was eventually able to find her vision and do the shoot.
The shoot, and the studio session itself, was a lot of fun since she had so many friends involved in the process. One of her friends did all the mixing and mastering so the whole process was an incredibly enjoyable experience.
She’s a big Swiftie, and loves easter eggs. So, you’ll find a lot of them on Rumors if you look close enough. From the lyrics, to the photo shoot, color palette, to the order of the songs. There’s so much to see if you know where to look.
The order of the songs actually tells a story. The five tracks represent the five stages of grief. What’s neat, though, is that she feels different people may interpret the sings differently and find the different stages in different songs, depending on their own life experiences. It really allows each person to enjoy the album in their own special way.
Overall she really enjoyed the process of making “Rumors” and can’t wait to see what the future brings for her.
And, neither can I. I’m so glad she was willing to share these stories. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed hearing them.
If you want more stories about Rumors, Duda has released a BTS video, which you absolutely need to watch. Check it out now.
Be sure to go listen to “Rumors” to see what stages you find in each song.
Thanks Duda!
