Kristiane Talks Sonic Experimentation, Love Advice and Boston Connections
Image courtesy of Jeremy Reynoso
Los Angeles native, Kristiane is an indie princess to watch out for. Her music is heartfelt, honest and achy in that good way — the way that makes you want to plop down on your bed, stare at the ceiling and let your soul drift away to a place where it’s okay for feelings to be everything that they are: emotional as fuck. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Kristiane to chat about all things artistry. We touched upon everything from her upcoming projects to her experience visiting Emerson College, right here in Boston. Talking to Kristiane was such a wonderful time, and you all are in for a treat!
Image courtesy of Miranda Nicusanti
Daphne Bryant: Hi, I’m so happy to be here right now! Let’s start by talking about how you just wrapped up an incredible tour with Holden, better known as Del Water Gap! What was that experience like for you?
Kristiane: It was honestly so surreal, dude. I think I got really lucky because [Holden’s] whole crew was just so kind and generous. As an opener, that’s not always your experience, you know, and they just made us feel like [such] a part of it and so comfortable. The audience, too, was so generous with their time and their energy. Every single show was unbelievable, I had the best time — and we got to play The Fonda, which has always been a dream of mine, being from L.A. It was amazing, I miss it.
DB: That’s awesome! I’m also interested in hearing about your superhero origin story as an artist and how you got into it. I did some research and your grandmother apparently did cabaret shows and you would accompany her, which is so cool, by the way. How did that shape your artistry and the way you see art in general?
Kristiane: Totally, yeah, I started singing at a really young age. It’s one of those things that I feel any musician understands, where you kind of just fall into it — And my grandma, she was just in her seventies doing cabarets at gay clubs in L.A.
DB: No way!
Kristiane: [Laughs] Yeah, she really just did it for fun [and] because it made her really happy. I think watching her do that — for the pure love of music and singing, as a young person, I was really [inspired]. I was like, “that’s what I should hold onto,” if I’m going to pursue music; just the love of it. That was definitely a very formative introduction to music.
DB: Can you talk a little bit about how you got your record deal?
Kristiane: Over the pandemic I DM’d my current manager on Instagram. She was another USC student and she ran a blog that I thought was really cool, and she just had sick music tastes, [so] I was like, “I don’t know if you’ve ever considered managing someone before, but I really wanted a female manager.” I wanted someone my age, someone who just gets it and will come up with me. She was like, “Yeah dude, like, let’s try it!” I sent her videos of me on PhotoBooth, literally in college, with songs I’d written. Then, she put me in a session with another USC student and we made this song, “Wish I could Be Your Girl,” and [that put me on] this really popular Spotify playlist. It was so crazy. I was meeting with, like, every record label. I ultimately signed to FADER two, three years ago and I’ve been working with them ever since. I love them. They’re a really, really amazing team and [group of] people. Sorry, that was a lot!
Image courtesy of @rlyblonde on Instagram
DB: No, I’m hooked, I’m invested! You mentioned USC a little bit, your time there, and that was something I was definitely curious about being a creative writing major myself. What was college like for you?
Kristiane: I mean, I had a really unique college experience because I went to a community college my first year, 1) just to save money, but 2) [because] I was interning at a studio just doing errands and setting it up — stuff like that. I was like, “I want to do music so bad, how do I make this happen?” Then, I turned 19 and thought: “You know what, I'm going to go to real school and really try to broaden my horizons,” and I loved my major. I loved being a creative writing major so much. I think it really informed my vocabulary and the way I [perceive] things. I just think — obviously you understand you’re a creative writing major — that books and words are just so important, in all forms. I did the poetry track and I loved that and I think that really helped with songwriting, [as far as] form and structure [goes].
DB: Right.
Kristiane: But, it was definitely hard because USC is kind of known for their music program and I was not a part of it all. I did a songwriting minor and then dropped it because, honestly, I didn’t have time! I would go to the USC practice rooms and see all these kids that were in the scene and in the know and I was like: “I am not a part of this at all.” So, I definitely had imposter syndrome, but in hindsight, I’m glad I was a creative writing major. There’s something really special about keeping music for yourself and keeping your passion. Not [having it be] something that you’re studying or being graded on, but just something you do for you.
DB: That’s actually so interesting that you say that because I’ve never thought about it in that way! Berklee College of Music is really close by, and so many of the musicians there are also studying what they love, and I’m sure that work and play balance gets tricky sometimes.
Kristiane: Totally!
DB: I would like to throw it back to 2021, to talk about your debut EP.
Kristiane: [Laughs] Okay.
DB: I bet releasing that project was an incredible feeling and just really exciting, and I wondered if you had any fond memories from that time or from the process of creating I Miss Myself, Sometimes.
Kristiane: Oh my god, of course, yeah, that was a really formative time. I was in my senior year of college and signing a record deal and things were starting to happen. I had been trying for so long to break into music and it’s strange that that journey just starts again and again and again, I think you just hit new milestones. But yeah, that was a special time because professionally, it was the first time I felt like I was being taken seriously or being paid to be a musician. That was really validating. It was also transformative, personally. I was on the brink of coming into adulthood, working through a lot of feelings of inadequacy that I had suppressed for a really long time. I think writing that project enabled me to put these feelings that I’d harbored for so long into a tangible place. I’m so proud of that project and I look back on it now with such fondness because I have worked through so many of those feelings, and I think that was a really important first step in doing so. Yeah, I love — really love I Miss Myself, Sometimes. I hope she gets more of her day in the sun, one day.
“I was on the brink of coming into adulthood, working through a lot of feelings of inadequacy that I had suppressed for a really long time. I think writing that project enabled me to put these feelings that I’d harbored for so long into a tangible place.”
DB: Yes! And following that chronological timeline, moving into 2022 and onto your sophomore EP State Lines, what kinds of things were evolving, shifting and changing for you as you moved onto this new project?
Kristiane: I feel like with State Lines I had more freedom to experiment sonically. I made bigger records in the sense that there were songs that were a little more angsty which was reflected in the music. Like with “April Showers” or “Trying to Find Us” — I love indie girl-rock, that’s my favorite. I wanted to explore that sound and that part of me, so that project felt very anthemic, in a sense. And, at a time where I felt really lost, — like I was running in place — State Lines gave me a place for me to put all of these feelings. It was also very cathartic to make. But, it’s interesting, I don’t even know how much I’m allowed to say, but my next project feels like such an evolution from both of my EP’s. This next project feels like the very first time I got it right, it really feels like it’s me. I’ll send it to you!
DB: Oh my gosh, I would be so happy!
Kristiane: Yeah oh my god, of course.
DB: Kind of in that same realm, — and you don’t have to give away too much, of course — but what kinds of things are you excited about going forward?
Kristiane: Totally, with the next set of music, it’s lyrically-driven in a way that I’m really proud of. I feel fortunate that I was given the opportunity to work with really cool collaborators that I felt comfortable enough to be truly transparent with. This, truly, was a project straight front to back, written in my bedroom in a very pensive state. I feel like it reflects [on] me [well] as a writer, and sonically. So, I’m really proud of it and I’m really excited for people to hear this evolution of my sound, but also just to play live shows. I toured a lot this year. I toured with Charlie Hickey. I toured with Alex Page. I toured with Del Water Gap and I got the opportunity to see the country in a way that I never have and so, I was like: headline tour! That’s the dream and really what I’d like to manifest. I’m announcing it [on November 29th], but I have two headline shows in L.A. and New York in the spring, so I’m fucking stoked for that.
DB: That's so exciting, I’m already manifesting the best for you.
Kristiane: Thank you!
DB: You mentioned touring and performing live. With that, you’re not just a singer-songwriter, you’re also an instrumentalist. Can you talk about guitar?
Kristiane: Guitar is just such an amazing instrument. I really fell in love with the importance of tuning this year, especially [with] this project. So many of my idols like Elliott Smith and Joni Mitchell, they play with open D and open C. I started doing that and it really transformed my writing. Ultimately, just sitting in my room with my guitar is therapy [laughs] — it’s free therapy.
DB: So true! So maybe I should also pick up the guitar because…
Kristiane: [Laughs] It’s free, and it’s fucking sick. You definitely should.
DB: That’s so funny. I wanted to backtrack a little to “Trying to Find Us” off of State Lines. That’s actually one of my personal favorite songs of yours.
Kristiane: Aw, thank you.
DB: It talks a lot about that feeling of wanting to go back to the way things were, and like dealing with the consequences of actions and things like that. So for anyone who's listening to this and is going through a similar situation to the lyrics and that song, what kind of advice would you have for them?
Kristiane: First of all, I'm sorry you are going through that too. Second of all, I think that it’s really inevitable [that you’ll] miss the beginning stages of anything — that can be applied to so many things, like a first apartment, your first best friend or the first time you fall in love. The earliest stages of something are the most pure. But then, I think that there’s a depth and a beauty that comes with evolution — and like, in yourself, with your friendships, with your relationships, whatever it may be. I think holding onto the fact that things aren’t black and white [and that] change is really hard [are important]. You just have to follow it; the only way out is through. So, that’s my best advice for that!
DB: I also wanted to talk a little bit about your outfits and the different shoots you do for your releases. The covers are always so gorgeous and the locations you go to are awesome! I was wondering if you have a favorite shoot that you've done.
Kristiane: I like that question. God! There’s so many. I loved the “Cry Baby” shoot because it was in a bar with my friends and that was just a really funny memory. But, I think “State Lines” was definitely the most memorable shoot I’ve ever done because it was just such a moment. It was so girl, like, it was so girly and fun. We were feeling like rock stars in the desert. It was a really fun day — I worked with Silken Weinberg and Jeremey Reynoso, who are two of my most frequent collaborators, I love them so much. It just felt like such a celebration of the song. I think that was my favorite…maybe.
Image courtesy of Miranda Nicusanti
DB: [Laughs] The last question I have for you is tying it back to Boston. What was your time like here — did you enjoy performing for us?
Kristiane: Oh my god, I loved it. It’s really funny because I have a song that’s coming out on the next project called “Subtitles” and in the song I say “My sister went to Boston / I stayed behind to rot.”
DB: WOAH!
Kristiane: Yeah! It’s actually really funny. I performed that song live [in Boston] and the crowd was really receptive and sweet about it — it was just very full-circle. [In] the time I was writing about, I was around 18 and my twin sister had gone to Boston, to Emerson, actually.
DB: No way! Okay Emerson connection.
Kristiane: Yes! And I stayed behind in L.A. to pursue music and it was really confusing and really hard and really scary. Visiting her in college I was like: “Oh my god this is so fun and such a cool vibe.” And I think Boston is such a melting pot of different kinds of people. And it’s also such a college town, inherently, because there’s so many schools. So I really remember it fondly! What’s the bakery? Tate, Tat-
DB: Tatte!
Kristiane: Yeah, yeah, yeah I love that place.
DB: Yeah it’s a staple.
Kristiane: It’s so fucking good, we went there twice actually. Boston has some of my favorite shows. Very fond memories of Boston.
DB: Well I’m sure we have fond memories of you!
Kristiane: Thank you, hopefully I’ll be back and headlining. I would love to come back and headline in Boston.
DB: I’m getting that ticket like, immediately.
Kristiane: I hope so!