photography by Niko Ivanovic

Alycia Marie has already achieved a lot in her 29 years. She runs an acknowledged beauty youtube channel, owns her own music label and has already released several successful singles. She is the only child of a German mother and an American father who was a singer and songwriter himself. At the age of 8 she moved with her mother from America to Germany. Certainly something that has shaped her life, and even if not consciously, has rooted itself a bit in her sensitive character.

Her songs are always inspired by emotional themes from her own life. Love, friendship, vulnerability. “My songs are intimate and mostly rather melancholic, which just reflects an important part of my being. They reflect my quiet and vulnerable side” she says. In her new song “Without Me”, which she wrote together with Madeline Juno, she deals with the topic “loss” and how difficult it is to accept that someone is happy without you. Something that is probably not easy for most of us. In our interview Alycia tells us how she deals with change, how she finds balance and about the deep love for her fans.

You wrote “Without Me” together with Berlin singer Madeline Juno. How did the collaboration with her came about? And what did your collaboration look like?

I’ve known Madeline privately for a few years now but we never had the chance to write together! One day we decided it would be fun to try since we both focus a lot on storytelling in our songs and it really was a very cute relaxed session. She’s an angel and clearly very talented!

The song is about to accept someone not being in your life anymore. And whether this person is also happy without you. I’m sure everyone has asked this question already. Be it in love, but also with a lost friendship. How do you personally deal with the topic of “loss” or let’s say „change”?

I’m absolutely terrible with loss or change. Due to my mental health struggles throughout the years, I don’t deal well with losing people at all. It takes a lot for me to get over it, and change is very scary. That is probably is part of the reason why I think about the past a lot. The good part of it is – good songs come out of it! (laughs) 

“Without Me” – Alycia Marie

“I’m absolutely terrible with loss or change. It takes a lot for me to get over it… The good part of it is – good songs come out of it!”

Are you currently in love?

I am very happily taken. My boyfriend is super supportive and is making it hard for me to write sad songs. (laughs)

You also own your own label (Rootless Records). How much work do you put into it yourself?

I’m a little bit of a workaholic and control freak, so I do most things myself. I do have a few amazing people in my team to help me out, especially my management and videographer for some music videos, but most things you see online on my profiles are all done by me! I even filmed two music videos alone with my boyfriend and some friends. We really put in a lot of love and effort.

“I’m a little bit of a workaholic and control freak, so I do most things myself.”

I read you need only a few hours of sleep, and you work a lot. How do you find balance? I wouldn’t say I only need a few hours of sleep, but a lot of times I only get a few hours.

I’m not the best at balancing work and life, but I’m trying to get better at that. Especially since I do so many different things that all take so much time, and I do most things by myself, private life and sleep falls short a lot. I definitely wouldn’t recommend doing it, but I just somehow can’t seem to stop. Which is why I started to trust a few people with some of my projects. That really helps cut down my work sometimes.

When is a song actually finished for you?

It takes quite a while, but if it’s done, I think you just know! There’s always some point in the creative process where things just feel right. That’s when you need to take a step back and calm down on the perfectionism – a lot of artists including me tend to go over things a million times, but you just need to trust your feeling and believe yourself when it feels finished!

How important is the feedback from your fans to you? Do you take it into your songwriting or just don´t care?

I’m super close with my fans. It’s always been a huge part of what I do and making people happy is the main drive I have to keep going. I don’t think I’d have the strength and courage to do this without all the amazing support I get from them. The music industry especially can be scary, but they make me feel like I’m doing something right.

“I don’t think I’d have the strength and courage to do this without all the amazing support I get from my fans.”

You once said that you are a rather introverted and quiet person. How much is that compatible with your work as an artist? Or to put it another way, has experience and business made you a more extroverted person in the meantime?

Honestly, it’s quite challenging. I LOVE meeting the people that support me, so maybe, in that specific case, it has made me a little less introverted, but I think I’ll always be an introvert at heart. Maybe I’ve just learned to deal with it a little better. It’s a struggle for sure, but I’d never want hide away because the love and the happy faces I get back in return for simply interacting with people make it all worth it.

The most wonderful thing that happened to you in the last week?

The first feedback I got from my fans about my new single „Without Me“! It’s been so heartwarming and encouraging, and I’m genuinely so excited for what is to come. The fact that people connect with my songs and lyrics makes me the proudest and happiest I ever could be.

Thank you for your time!

Thank you! (smiles)

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