Interview: Alexis Remi

Mornington Peninsula Alt-Rock artist Alexis Remi’s unique blend of alt-rock has been garnering her local attention for a little while. We take a look back on her journey so far, how the past year has been since her EP release and her live show highlights!

I began writing and releasing my own music under Alexis Remi as a bit of a fluke. After Otis (Guitarist) and I’s first band split up, I started doing some gigs under my own name as I missed playing music. Otis supported me and helped me to write and record my songs, but we didn’t have much intention behind it. After doing some more shows and collaborating on songs together it was going really well and connecting with people, and that’s when I realised I really wanted to do something with it. Eventually we met Orlando (Drummer) and Alyssa (Bassist), and we all just clicked so well and very quickly became a little family. Although technically it is a solo project, I am so lucky to have those 3 by my side, as we collaborate and play so well together, and they make my songs sound so much cooler haha.

Can you share some of your musical inspirations?

Some key inspirations for a lot of my newer music is artists such as PJ Harvey, Wet Leg, Wednesday, Mannequin Pussy, and WAAX; but the band and I go to see so much local live music, that usually forms a large chunk of our inspirations. I have a wide range of inspirations, and I feel like a lot of my songs go between a few genres.

You released your debut EP, before i forget at the start of this year. What key themes or stories does it explore?

A lot of the songs on the EP were written when I was around 15 or 16, and were refined over a few years. Most of the songs are about events and feelings that are no longer relevant in my life, hence the name, and for me are very reflective rather than present if that makes sense. Older me definitely has a lot more insight on what the songs are speaking about.

What’s your favourite track on the EP, or which track are you most proud of if it’s too hard to pick a favourite, and why?

I really love things U made me say and the way it turned out sounding. It is about breaking up with someone that you really loved, and all the awful loving pet names you never thought you would say to someone. I also love the story behind the track eternity, as it was adapted from a poem one of my family members wrote about his life, who has since passed. There’s things I love about all of the tracks though, and feel they are fairly different from each other in terms of themes.

Looking back over the last 10 months I feel so incredibly grateful, we have been able to play with and support some pretty awesome bands at some pretty awesome places. I think I have grown a lot as an artist, and myself and my band have improved so much. It makes me so excited to release the next project we have been working on, and see what we achieve next.

And have your feelings towards any of the songs changed? Are there any that you maybe feel more connected to, or that have taken on a new meaning?

Majority of the time when I write a song, I am not writing about anything in particular, I just sit down and sing whatever comes out. It’s normally much later when I listen back I realise what I was actually talking about, or what subconscious feelings I had. Whilst I feel connected to before i forget, it was my first time ever recording and working on a complete project, so I feel like my next release will undoubtedly show some growth, and a more refined sound.

You’ve also performed a fair number of live shows over the last year, which has been your favourite and why?

There’s been so many highlights this year! We have played with some really talented people such as CLAMM, Letters To Lions, ILUKA, Polly, Lotte Gallagher, and Cheap-Skate, at some really cool venues too. Our drummer Orlando also organized a mini festival which was awesome, we did an EP launch at the start of the year which was awesome, we get to play the Espy Gershwin Room soon which will be awesome. I love playing on the Peninsula as well, as I grew up there. We played at ‘Rock For Redro’, a festival in Capel Sound organized by a good mate of the band, that was an epic one close to home. Super keen to keep playing and connecting with new people!

And what’s happening for you musically right now?

Right now we are in the studio recording a new EP which I am so excited about, I think it is sounding unreal. Hoping to release it early next year and play a bunch of headline shows in celebration. I’ve also been doing a lot of songwriting and collaborating with the rest of the band, so I’m super keen to continue playing some new stuff in our live shows.

Finally I end every interview with this question, can you recommend a few up and coming artists you’ve been listening to who you think deserve a bit more love?

This is always such a hard question for me as I watch so much local music. Some stand out emerging artists I have seen recently though are AC Saunders, Select All, Stimpies, Sleepazoid, Ullah, Public House, Milly Strange, and definitely a billion more. I think the Melbourne music scene is thriving at the moment and has so much incredible talent coming through, it’s so cool to see.