P&P Spotlight: Annie Omalley (EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW)

As always, there's something to be said about music that reflects authentic human emotions, and draws from one's real-life experiences. With a bright, whimsical aesthetic that serves as a backdrop to her highly introspective songwriting, Annie Omalley takes such an approach as she revolutionizes the indie scene.

Her dreamy sound is a fusion of classic singer-songwriter and mainstream pop, with a healthy dose of trap mixed in. In her creative process, she heavily emphasizes the penning - she ensures that others can see themselves through the lyrics she writes, capturing universal experiences so vividly. She not only taps into and amplifies certain characteristics that society would deem shortcomings - but allows them to turn into strengths.

Image credit: Annie Omalley, graphic created by Karly Ramnani

YOU'LL LOVE ANNIE OMALLEY IF YOU LISTEN TO: Taylor Swift, Keane, Jessie Reyez, Olivia Rodrigo, Jessie Murph

When did you first get into music, and how long have you known that you wanted to do this professionally?

The youngest memory that I have of being very serious about it was [from] when I was five. I remember this so vividly. I asked my dad, "One day, when I grow up, can I go to a real recording studio? And make songs?" And he was like, "Yeah, you know, if you work hard and you keep doing it, you could probably do that when you're older." And I was like, {gasps]. I ran to school the next day, and I was like, "Guys. My dad said that I could go into a real recording studio one day." I was so into it.

When I was eight, I started playing guitar and writing songs to it. Originally, before I could spell, my mom would write down the words for me. When I was nine, I got an opportunity with my choir teacher - I don't remember what the thing was, but it was like if [the students wanted] to audition with a cover or your own song for the Christmas show. And I was like "Oh, I'll just write a Christmas song. And maybe I could do that." So I wrote a Christmas song on my guitar, and she said yes. The choir sang on the chorus with me, and I performed it in front of 800 people when I was nine. That was the first time I performed an original song, and I was obsessed. I was slipping off the stool because I was too tiny, but I wasn't nervous. I was like "Okay! Let's go!" That's the first time that I was like, "This is my thing."

That's so cool! What prompted the question to your dad about the recording studio? Were you in one?

No - my parents didn't do music. They loved music and they [listened to] it, but they didn't play anything or sing. We didn't really have any friends that did or anything. If I were to guess, I probably saw it on TV or something. And I just was like, "That. That's the thing." I remember at that age, Hannah Montana was big. And Camp Rock. Those two shaped me, I was obsessed. But I don't know. I remember asking him and trying to start bands at school, but I didn't have one person around me that influenced it. My younger self, which I've been trying to get back to recently, she was fearless in that way. I was like, "I don't care if you want to watch me, you have to." Looking back, I'm like, "Wow!" I still have that in a lot of ways, because I'm doing it, but not in the way that she was.

In general, how have you dealt with the increase in stage fright, and the life changes that would've caused it, as you've grown older?

I don't get stage fright still. The only time I ever feel calm, honestly, is before I go on stage. I get really sleepy, I'll nap before [going on] stage. It's weird. I'll be like "Guys, nothing matters! We're chilling!" And that's how I know that's my place. But there's more fear of doing the wrong thing, or making the wrong decision. Whereas when I was young, I was like, "I know what I want. I know what's best." There's good and bad to that, but there was more inner self confidence of my own decisions.

I have ADHD and dyslexia, and I went to a school that was not understanding of that at all. Instead of being like, "Well, we'll just figure out a different way to teach her, or maybe she just needs one-on-one," it was like, "You're stupid." It was this constant battle of trying to learn, because I wanted to learn, and wanted to be good at school. But then I would be wrong, and I didn't know what to do. So then I would go home, and I would write my songs, and I would edit my iMovies, and I would do all that. And that was my thing. I could never do it wrong because there's no right or wrong to music. When I would go back to school, it'd be like, "These are all the reasons that you're wrong." So growing up, I had these two sides, where I had this utter confidence, and I knew to lean towards my emotions and do what feels right. But I had these voices in my head [saying], "You're stupid, you're making the wrong decision, you don't know what you're talking about, you're going to fuck up, and if you fuck up, that says something about your character." My self-worth had been attached to how smart I am. That, for years, has been what's really difficult. Now, knowing that and being done with school, I am finally able to step back and look at that and see how much it affected me.

I'm writing my second album right now, and literally I've dived into that so much. It's been so therapeutic, as I've been writing about my experience with school, and how traumatic it was in some ways, and how it's messed with me now, and created so many fears. And this is the closest I've ever been to that nine-year-old self.

I love the theme of reconnecting with your younger self - no matter how old you get, it's always important to go back there. Is "11th hour" going to appear on that album?

I don't know yet, but it depends. My second album is thought to be released next May, so a year from now. I do love "11th hour," and some elements of it are similar to the second album. But that song is leading more in the direction of what the next couple of songs are going to be like.

You've been releasing a huge string of singles lately outside of skrapbook - do you have any other tracks that we've already heard, or might hear soon, that could the album?

Out of all the newer ones since skrapbook, yeah maybe "11th hour." And then I have one coming out June 9th that may also be on it.

I can't wait to hear it! So let's focus in more on "11th hour." First of all, I love the cover art! Did you design it?

My cousin, who is my best friend that I live with and is on my team, she makes collage art. She takes all the aesthetic photos that I have from all the song eras that I do, because for a while I was doing a different color for each thing, so it would be easier to know what song was what. So I have all these random Pinterest photos - I'll give her those and she makes these crazy collages out of all of it. She did the skrapbook cover art, she did the koldest season EP cover art, she did the "chasing clowds" (dusk version) cover art, and then she did "11th hour" as well.

She did a really good job! How did you get CVBZ on the project, and how did you guys get in touch?

The first thing I came up with [for "11th hour"] was "Sent away by the fear of this exploding, I'd rather break their hearts than mess with yours." My roommate [Jack], who's one of my producers, heard it, and was like "Yo, this song's fire! Can I put a beat around it?" I was like, "Yeah, sure." We recorded it, and I was like "What if we get a feature on it?" So me, him, and my mixing engineer went through people and I suggested CVBZ - my mixing engineer was friends with him. We sent him the song and we were like, "Let us know if this is something you'd want to be a part of." He was like, "Yeah, I love it," and he wrote a verse that night. It was really fun. Me and Jack went in, and Jack let me do the effects production on this one. I love that I don't know how to produce, so when I go in there I make random sounds and fuck around with them. And then he takes them and puts them in correctly, and makes them all sound great, which was a really fun process.

I love what you said about how you guys turned ideas you had into actual production - producers just know. It's like they have a sixth sense.

Right! I want to do my part, which is the lyrics and the melodies. And then I'll give it to you and I want you to work your magic. I work with people that I trust, that I know are going to take it to the next level. It's definitely a team effort.

CVBZ's verse definitely seems like a response to yours in the song. Was that the aim when the song was written?

I love hearing the different interpretations of how people see it. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. Sometimes things are written in a certain way, but even then, it's however you picked up on it that's true for you. That's what's cool about music. Yes, I technically wrote it about my life, but then I put it out and it can evolve into whatever, depending on who's listening.

But I would say there's some of that, yes. Since I started it, and we sent it to him like that, he was reading my lyrics, and he was like, "This is what I would say if I was in that position." Because the song is essentially about two people that are scared to admit their feelings, and when they finally do, they're going to say it at the very last second they have.

I definitely heard that in the buildup of the song too - the way the song progresses is similar to how that situation would happen in real life. Is the song based on personal experience?

Yes. Everything of mine is. It was somebody that I was talking to on and off for about a year and a half. We would hang out, and we would almost come to say it, and kind of dance around it, and then we'd be like "Nope!" and pull back. It got to the point where I was like, "Okay. We're either going to both agree that this isn't going to work, or we're going to just be like 'Yo, this is how I feel' finally." And yeah, it didn't really work. But I wrote it in the moment of "If we're going to do it, let's do it!" We were following each others leads and no one was making a lead, so it's like that.

I love how you created your aesthetic around pastels, particularly blue and pink, and the more subtle kind of images. How long did it take to build that, and what inspired it?

I would say I've always been a colorful person. I have synesthesia, so some colors literally make me nauseous. I've had the experience of having cover art for different songs, and because they weren't the right colors, I couldn't look at them because I hated the color scheme for them. So I was like, "What are the only colors I never get nauseous of?" And those are pastels. I love pastels, always. The biggest thing is that I don't get sick of it for a long time - because I'll literally be like, "Oh my god, I can't even look at that song," and that makes it hard to promote it, just because of the color. Which is crazy, but yeah. Those are the colors that I wear; those are the colors that always pop out to me, that are bright and fun; those colors remind me of spring and summer, which are my favorite seasons.

Who are some artists that inspire you, and how have they shaped the way you sing and write songs?

My favorite band of all time is Keane. I grew up on them, my dad always played that band. They have really deep lyrics, and their melodies are very positive and hopeful and optimistic, and I have a theme of that in my music. A lot of inner conflict, and then a lot of optimism. Them, and I love Taylor Swift's writing so much, and I love how vulnerable and open she is. It's so inspiring, and I love how she's stayed true to herself since the beginning. She's changed in positive ways, but she hasn't made all these drastic changes just because she feels like she has to fit a mold. She's authentically been herself, and that's a huge thing that I take from her. And then I'm obsessed with Jessie Reyez, because she has no filter in her lyrics, and when she's performing live, she's so in it. It's just her in a tank top and shorts. It's not about her look, she doesn't need all this glamour. She just wants to be on stage, she just wants to emote in front of people, and she just wants to connect with people. I really love her, and I love the message that she spreads about self-work and self-help and that kind of stuff.

What's your favorite Taylor Swift album?

Definitely Speak Now. It's my favorite because it's fully self-written, and that's how I am. All the lyrics that you hear in the songs that are just from me are my lyrics. That's really important to me, literally my favorite part about this whole thing is writing songs. Like that's why I do everything, it's all for the moment that I get to think, take an instrument, and just write lyrics. I feel that from her in that album. If "All Too Well" was on that album, then I probably wouldn't need to listen to another Taylor album again. There's so many good ones though - like "Enchanted", "Last Kiss", and "Dear John" - those are literally her pouring her heart out. And I love that she has five-minute songs. She's going and going and going and just saying more, and it's such a magical album.

And finally, the P&P classic - what's your favorite lyric that you wrote for "11th Hour"? Can you take us through the process of yourself writing it, and what it made you feel?

It's either the hook or "Maybe this is something more than I give credit." I like that it comes in at the pre-chorus and enhances it. It's in-the-moment and live, like you're sitting there in your room going, "Maybe this is something more than I give credit." It's not necessarily looking back or talking about the future, it's very present - "Maybe I should actually try this, maybe I've been neglecting it for a very long time." So that one, or the hook - "If we're both in love, we'll admit it at the 11th hour." Because I just love the concept of the 11th hour. It's not technically 11:00; the definition of it is the very last moment to do something. It feels kind of endless. It doesn't talk about what's going to happen after. It is the very last second, but the very last second to what? I don't know, like, then we can't tell each other anymore? A curse that's indefinite? But I like that it's like, "You got one second! What are you going to say?" And then it's like, "Ahh, I like you!" - I like the intensity of it.

We're so glad that Annie Omalley allowed us to take a glimpse into her creative mind, and even more so that she lets her authentic self shine in her craft. Especially her knack for storytelling and emotion, she's one of the strongest rising voices in the industry. If you're looking to immerse yourself into her world even more, we've curated a playlist to help you get started!