sad alex talks new EP, dancing, songwriting, and more

Credit:  Alex Stone

With relatable songs that shed light on dating, self-worth, and the complicated process of figuring out who you are in this world, it is no wonder why sad alex has found a special place in the heart of music lovers everywhere.  She had mounds of success on TikTok this past year, as millions of fans were inspired to share, remix, or cover each new release.  By turning the personal struggles she faced during the pandemic into such honest tracks, sad alex was able to create one of her strongest projects to date in the form of her crydancing EP, which came out last month.  We recently caught up with sad alex to find out more about the EP, as well as how it felt to get back into dancing, performing live, and more!

Melodic Mag:  Hey sad alex!  Thanks so much for taking the time out to chat.  How have things been going?  Are you ready for the holiday season?
sad alex:  Hi, thank you so much for having me!  Things in music are going pretty well… I am releasing music, playing live shows again, making music videos, working on new tunes… Staying busy, and grateful I get to do this as my job.  As a human, I’m just a little hungry right now, but that’s about it!

Congratulations on the release of your new EP, crydancing!  I loved listening to it, especially because it taps into some of the more complicated parts of growing up and figuring things out…  What would you say was the highlight of making these songs?
Thank you so much!  I think the highlight of making and releasing these songs was the versatility of it all.  Some were song babies from 4+ years ago, some went viral on TikTok six months ago.  They reflected different sides of my writing and different processes, and it was really cool to be able to give them all life side by side.

I read that the pandemic changed the way that you approached songwriting during the course of this project.  Was this change for the better?
Overall, yes.  The pandemic forced me, and I think a lot of creatives, to have to get more “creative” about our inspiration process.  I read books, watched movies, went on walks, kept track of online trends, all to get song ideas and stay creating.  Some days were easier than others.  Now these are techniques that I continue to use regularly, and I think the more ways you can be inspired to write a song, the better.

The EP introduced two new tracks that fans hadn’t heard before – “crydancing” and “come over.”  Were these the last tracks you made for the EP or did you have them for a while and just waiting for the right opportunity to release them?
“crydancing” was a track I wrote with production duo “heavy” and producer/engineer Alex Ghenea about two years ago.  She was always a favorite demo, and we realized she really encompassed the whole mood of the EP, so I decided to finish her up and make her the title track.  “come over” was a completely different process, written this year with my friends and producers Daniel Weber and Max Hershenow.  This was more of a fun TikTok-inspired track, sort of rolling off the TikTok success I had this year.  It was fun to be able to show these different sides of my writing on the project.

The video for “crydancing” shows off your skills as a dancer and is overall a perfect video for the track.  Did you know that this was the type of video you wanted to make for it, or did you have other ideas in mind?
We bounced around a lot of ideas before landing on this one, and I am always excited to implement dance again into these video concepts.  After breaking my kneecap five years ago, it was unclear if I would ever be able to dance again.  It has been a long recovery process, but so rewarding to be able to start to get back into dance after all this time.

Besides the songs on the crydancing EP, what are some tunes that you enjoy having a nice crydance to?
“Dancing On My Own” by Robyn.  The OG crydancing song.  Cannot be beat.

“ibtc” blew up on TikTok when you released it earlier this year.  It encouraged a lot of remixes – how did it feel to see the track take on a life of its own and resonate with so many people?
The “ibtc” journey was honestly pretty surreal; it was my first time experiencing that level of virality.  People always say that true viral moments come from an unexpected piece of content, and this was no different.  I really never thought a funny quirky song I wrote in 20 minutes could have such an impact.  It’s also very rare to have that level of virality and have the majority of the reaction be positive.  Everyone was spreading support, body positivity and awareness, and being able to make light out of real issues, regardless of their shape, size or gender.  It was very cool to see.

I also read that you were writing songs for other artists before releasing music of your own.  What or who inspired you to put out your own music?
Songwriting is my greatest love, but it can be challenging to rely on other artists to put out all the music you write.  I wanted to create an artist project to give me more control over my releases, so I knew at the end of the day if no one was cutting my songs, l could at least put something out myself.  It also gave me an opportunity to give life to the more unique song babies that are sometimes harder to place, but felt very true and authentic to me.  Turns out, other people seem to like and connect to these, too!

I want to extend another congratulations on your recent show at No Vacancy, which was sold out!!  What has it been like to make the return to live shows?
Thank you so much!  The No Vacancy show was a blast and blew me away to see such a great turnout.  It has honestly been a combination of fun, excitement, fear, and nerves going back into live.  Covid is still alive and well, so even though we take as many precautions as possible, I still feel like I am taking a bit of a risk when I go out for a live show.  So, I can’t lie, that gives me anxiety sometimes.  It’s also been a while since I’ve been on stage performing, so dusting off that skillset comes with its own additional set of nerves.  But, when I’m out there being able to play these new songs and having moments with new fans singing all the words to them, that is pretty surreal.  I am really excited to be able to go on tour and connect with more of them.

What can we expect from you in 2022?
I honestly am working on my best music yet.  And most songwriters always feel that way. [Laughs] Their best shit is their new shit.  But, I am stoked on these new tunes.  There will definitely be more releases, more live shows, more content, more TikTok, and tour dates as well.  Stay tuned!

Thanks again for your time.  Do you have any final thoughts or comments?
Stay hydrated!

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