Interview By: Nasa Lamode
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Nasa: I’m honored to have you miss Alessandra Matkins. How are you today?
Alessandra: I’m doing good! It’s so great to be here talking to you. This is such an honor.
Nasa: So I’m currently wrapping up another interview and jamming your “F For Fake Friends” -but the studio version. It’s amazing. Tell me about this song.
Alessandra: That’s awesome! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoy it! I wrote this song a few years back when I was going through a lot of betrayal with people that I thought were true, but that wasn’t the case. I’ve experienced a lot of fake people in my life and just getting to share what I made with my personal experience is something that I’m very proud of. This song is very specific and on to the point of how people are nowadays and that’s what I love about it.
Nasa: I can digg it. You’re mad talented. The video for the studio version is really intimate. How did you link up with the band and videographer?
Alessandra: Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me. I got connected with the band through my piano teacher, since he’s also a part of the band. For the videographer, I got connected to him from the owner of the studio. Everything just came together.
Nasa: Ain’t it crazy how that work? It’s def a foundational piece to your career. Let’s talk about that collab you did with B-Nardy. How did that record happen?
Alessandra: We both wanted to work together, since early 2020. ‘Absence’ didn’t exist at the time, so we made another song that we scrapped since we both didn’t connect to it as much. A few months later, we tried to work again on another song. We met up through meetings online and discussed our ideas about what we wanted to deliver in the song. The funniest part about it, is that we did a wheel of random words online to be the topic of the song and the word “absence” appeared. We both liked the title and worked our way through it and it went really smooth. We wrote our parts on our own and combined them together in the end, and the result was worth it.
Nasa: Yeah, it’s dope fasho! When in life did you decide that music was the move for you?
Alessandra: I’ve always loved music as a kid. It was always something that I loved at a very young age. When I was 4, I felt ready to chase after my dream as a singer. I was very connected and close to music, even till now. Just by listening to other artists makes me feel inspired and driven to never stop working hard.
Nasa: What artists inspire you the most?
Alessandra: Michael Jackson, Alessia Cara, Sade, Ariana Grande, The Gap Band, Dua Lipa and Brian Culbertson inspire me a lot with my music.
Nasa: Seems like you get a lot of support from people where u live. What city are you repping?
Alessandra: I’m originally from Fort Worth, Texas, but I moved to the Philippines.
Nasa: That’s crazy! I’m currently in Texas, and I was just thinking about moving to the Philippines. My grandma is actually from Mindanao. What made you decide to move there?
Alessandra: Wow! That’s super cool! My parents and I decided to move here because of family and we liked how everything was over here.
Nasa: What are some of the ups and downs of the “Island Life”?
Alessandra: It’s super nice to be here, especially because of the islands and resorts. There’s a lot of activites to do here and it’s very tropical. The thing that sucks the most is that it’s very limited here. You don’t really have a wide variety of choices here.
Nasa: Are you currently in school? What do you do on the side to supplement your music career?
Alessandra: Yes! I am currently in school. I’m a senior now, so there’s a lot of things to do. I do a lot of things to support my career like even though I have so many things for school, I always try to manage my time wisely so that it all ends up smooth in the end. Sometimes during my classes, I get ideas for some lyrics for fun and I think that’s really the best part about it. Just getting to value the smallest things and turning it to something more meaningful.
Nasa: So what’s next for Alessandra?
Alessandra: I have a lot of plans for the next single and for the other songs that I’ve been wanting to release for so long. This is just the beginning. I’m so excited to share every song and every story to each of them. I feel like I have a long way to go as an artist. I don’t know what’s going to come, but I’m excited for what’s in store for me later on. I can’t wait.
Nasa: Dope! Anything else important you want to share with the fans?
Alessandra: I want to thank everyone, especially my fans for the support and love throughout everything. I never expected that many people would show a lot of positivity and compassion with my music. I’m so grateful and super happy to be here and to share my experience with everyone. It’s very personal, but something truthful, rare, and honest. I also want everyone to know that they should never stop going for what they want to be in life. No matter where you’re from, you can always achieve your dreams and make it to the top. It takes a lot of hard work and effort, but in the end it’s worth it.
Bad Habit Magazine 