Wilder Music

By Theresa Galavics.

Ahead of the release of her newest single ‘BOY YOU AIN’T’ on August 6th, I had the pleasure to talk to Alex Ray. Ray is a singer-songwriter splitting her time between Nashville and Los Angeles. She blends pop-rock, alternative and synth influences to channel her songwriting into a therapeutic outlet. In addition to her music, Ray is a content creator, reviewing new songs and analysing lyrics, allowing her to fangirl over her favourite artists and connect with her community. Her charismatic and vibrant energy brought a sense of ease to our chat about her new single, career path and what listeners can expect from her EP, set to be released later this year.

This interview has been shortened and edited for clarity.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. Your new single “BOY YOU AIN’T” and first music video are coming out soon, which is all very exciting. How are you feeling?

“It’s been really exciting and stressful at times. This song has been the most professional release I’ve done. It has been a really good learning experience and a cool song to be on this experience. Everybody has been very receptive to the music and seem to also have terrible exes that they relate it to.”

Your new single deals with the aftermath of a toxic relationship, when the rose colored glasses shatter in the end. What was this moment of clarity like for you?

“We were on and off again in this relationship for a million different reasons. But the entire time I basically worshipped this guy thinking he was so hot, successful and all of those things. Towards the end of the relationship I realized that he actually is not, but wants everyone to think of him in that way. He was doing a good job at convincing everyone, when actually he was a mess and kind of narcissistic. We ended with this huge blow up fight over one of his ideas not going in the way he wanted. Usually in breakups I’m pining, wanting to work things out and distraught. For this one it was different. We didn’t talk again and I was mad that I had wasted this time and had allowed myself to be treated this way for so long. So we just busted out this song and it was very cathartic when it was over. Now we have ‘BOY YOU AIN’T’.”

Definitely a positive way to wrap up a tough situation. For “BOY YOU AIN’T” you teamed up again with “Saywhen” and Spencer Scardina of “Saint Cloud”. How did you meet and what is your creative process working together like?

“At the beginning of my career I just wanted to write and make music, but I didn’t know what I was doing. When I started working with ‘Saywhen’ he had been producing for ‘Saint  Cloud’ and brought Spencer around. Spencer is the best guitarist I’ve ever met and we would set up shop in my kitchen and write. After a bit of talking the song came about almost instantly. Luckily we were very close and had relationships where I could be very honest with them and didn’t feel like I had to hide any feelings or unhinged lyrics from them. Those writing sessions are some of my favourite experiences. It really was just 3 friends hanging out and writing good music. 

The song actually sat for almost 2 years, because I was scared of putting it out, because it is so unhinged. The original version was very heavy, very hardcore and I decided that I wanted to go a little bit more poppy. So I started working with John Sinclair of ‘World’s First Cinema’ and we popified it a little bit.”

You started making music and played the guitar from an early age, but then decided to pursue another career path for a while. You went to law school, graduated valedictorian and worked in commercial litigation for a few years. How did that come about and how did you find your way back to music?

“I think there are a couple of reasons. When you’re 19-20 you think that you’re never going to get any older and have time for everything. And so I think there is something about getting older that gives me some urgency about doing music and giving it my all that I have now that I didn’t when then. 

Back then I was not okay. I have borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder and didn’t know that then. So I was just rocking it unmedicated when I was 20-21 and I was a mess. I moved to Nashville for a music internship. We learned how to put on a concert, record a song and all that stuff. But we didn’t learn  how to make a living, market ourselves, use social media or how to meet new producers – all the things that mattered. I left that internship not knowing what to do. I kind of knew how to write songs, but oh god, those were terrible. I knew how to sing, but I didn’t know what to do from there.

That situation mixed with my mental health at the time, left me kind of in a survival mode. I worked at venues, spun my wheels and tried to stay alive in Nashville, which was really expensive. So I thought I could go to law school. My dad is a judge. It’s going to be fine anyways. Like a lot of people I went back to school, because I didn’t know what else to do. I did very well there and practiced law.

A friend of mine, who had started a Youtube Channel had encouraged me to do the same as a creative outlet. So I started my youtube channel. I relate to you guys, your magazine so much, because I am a fangirl first. Then the content led me into believing I could make music again and starting to take it seriously. That is kind of how we ended up here.”

So it’s really a full-circle moment that you found your way back to music. Does your legal training impact the way you write lyrics or produce music?

“I have always been a very words first person. So there have been times in writing sessions that I’ve said legalese worlds and my producer John has looked at me and been like ‘Shut up! What did you just say? Like, be so real right now.’ So that’s funny and I think it’s helped me in the way that I’m not scared of confrontation. I think a lot of creatives are a little more meek when it comes to having hard conversations and while I am definitely like that in some aspects, it has helped me in those situations.”

Building on what you mentioned earlier, being a fangirl first. It definitely shows on your Youtube channel, where you review new music and analyze lyrics. How does your content you create influence your music?

“I think to be a good musician you have to consume good music. As an artist you learn a lot about performing by watching other people perform. I review new music on my channel. It’s really cool to be able to nerd out over music. Also, I think fangirls, who come in all different shapes, sizes and genders, a general term,  get a bad  rap. I don’t think because I am an artist and I need to be taken seriously, that I have to stop being a fan girl and stop loving the artists that inspired me in the first place.

I want to connect with people because the artists I love have connected with me in some way. I love that I can continue making content and making my music and bringing those worlds together. And if people want to support me on either one, that’s awesome. All of it is me.”

Which artists have shaped your music and influenced the evolution of your style? For example, “Skye’s Song” has a country vibe, but your newer songs blend pop and synth elements. How did those shifts come about?

“I’m a child of Taylor Swift. I have multiple Taylor Taylor Swift tattoos. So lyrically, I think if I were left to my own devices and knew nothing about production, which is what I was for a long time, I would end up writing very like ‘Red’ songs, very stripped back, lyric forward four minute long songs with repeating melodies, because I think that’s who I am at my core. But in more recent times I started loving ‘5 Seconds of Summer’, discovered a band called ‘Beauty School Dropout’, bands that have my alt rock roots, maybe a bit of a pop rock situation and discovered that is what I actually want to make. So the past two years have been me figuring things out what kind of music I want to make, what I want to do. Then in the past six months, we have figured out what the Alex Ray Project is and now we can execute. I’d like to say Taylor Swift, ‘5SOS’ and ‘Beauty School Dropout’. More recently I’ve fallen in love with K-POP, especially ‘Stray Kids’. One of their members, Han, has recently released a solo song, which I really love. It’s interesting how your influences keep developing. But once you find your lane, the genre and the music you want to make, you can take the pieces you want from everybody.”

The final topic I’d love to touch on is your debut EP, set to release later this year. If you had to do an elevator pitch for it, what can listeners expect? And which song are you most excited for people to hear?

“My elevator pitch would be: Do you want to listen to an entire album about the feelings and times you were too embarrassed to talk about? Essentially it’s just a collection of things that we are too scared to say out loud, for example ‘Boy You Ain’t’. A lot of times women are told that they are too loud, too upset or too much. So ‘Boy You Ain’t’ really is the antithesis of that. I’m actually going to be very loud and mad and I’m going to say some crazy things. There’s another song on the album that is very much about my life being a mess, giving into all my vices and not having it together and I’m singing about things that I could never tell anybody, but that are true. Another song is about me being the problem in a relationship, where it’s not his fault, but mine. When I’m the toxic one but don’t care about it at the moment. It’s a lot of songs talking about tough times in our life that were tough, when we probably wouldn’t even let our closest friends know what we were really thinking or feeling.

To answer the second part of the question: The song I am most excited about is a song called ‘Driver’s side’. Actually, I don’t know if I am allowed to say this, but it’s about being the problem in a relationship and falling in love so hard that you don’t care about the consequences and who you hurt along the way. It’s my favourite song I have ever written. I think it encompasses the sound I would pick to make for the rest of my life. So I hope everyone likes it, because it’s going to hurt my feelings otherwise.”

I think this will resonate with a lot of people. I can’t wait to listen to it. Thank you again for taking the time to talk to us.

Alex Ray’s new single “BOY YOU AIN’T” blends raw emotion with unapologetic energy into an anthem of female rage. It is a powerful mix of alt, rock and synth-pop, proving she isn’t interested in being bound to one genre of music. We’re grateful for Alex for talking to us and recommend giving it a listen!

“BOY YOU AIN’T” is out now.