An Interview with Alexandra Savior

Interview by: Sarah Morrison

Photos by: Joshua Abels

Alexandra Savior swooned the nation with her debut album “Belladonna of Sadness” and now two years after the release Savior feels more in her element and has released her haunting follow-up singles “Crying All The Time” and “Saving Grace.” We sat down and had a late-night phone call with Savior to have a chat about her career from start to finish; discussing topics such as Courtney Love, co-creation, mental stability, and her new record.

"Big Jet Plane" was a song you covered in your later teens. How shocked were you when Courtney Love discovered your video in 2012? 

I was really shocked. It wasn't my intention to go anywhere with music really; my friends and I were having fun on a snow day. When Country reached out to me, it was surreal.

I had a lot of strange phone call conversations with her. We would talk on the phone when I'd get home from school. Our home phone was a tomato, and I would sit on the kitchen floor and talk into this tomato and be speaking to Country Love. It was only a couple of weeks or so that she would send me these long, long emails with these Stevie Nicks references and different music and stuff. It was a shock.

You've mentioned that in your teens you had performed a showcase for a label, which, immediately asked you which pop culture celebrity you were aspiring to be like. What sort of thought dawned on you at that moment? What gave you the courage to say ‘no’ and push towards becoming your own identity?

I think I've always been a really stubborn person and a very expressive person and I think I just knew that I would never take on somebody else's identity. So that was my angsty teen reaction to that I guess.

I read that you lived in Los Angeles briefly before signing with a label. I know personally through my experiences with the city, it's a hard place to live. What about LA threw you off? Why go back to Portland after?

I have pretty bad social anxiety, and the social scene there was very competitive. I didn't feel very welcomed. I moved back because I broke up with my boyfriend, and I just needed to go home for a while.

Your stage name, Alexandra Savior, how did you come up with this? I heard you were going to call yourself Alexandra Semitone initially, is this true?

Savior is my middle name. The semitone thing is, well I did a song for True Detective that T Bone Burnett worked with Alex and me on. He had an interview where he kept calling me Alexandra Semitone; I don't know why he was calling me that (laughs)!

It's not my name, but I just started getting called that and people thought that was my name for a while. They had to physically change it, it was physically printed on all the LPs, and when they released the song, it said Alexandra Semitone, and we had to go back and change it. I should've just kept it, that would've been cool.

Your first single to be released was titled ‘Risk’ and was premiered in an episode of True Detective. Was it morally important to you to make sure the choice of the type of placement suited or fitted in with your persona or aesthetic?

Ya I mean it really was at the time. I was nineteen or twenty when that came out; nineteen when I was making that choice. I think now that I'm older I'm more aware of how important it is to get your music out, regardless of where it goes. I guess now I'm less picky about that stuff, but I was like ‘it was my baby.’

Your duet with Cameron Avery, ‘We're Just Making It Worse,’ was the next song to be released and was your first feature. Where is the connection to Avery? I think I read that you were almost neighbours? Was this a song he approached you with or was the co-written?

Well, I actually met Cam through Alex Turner, and we got on really well. He's been a close friend for a long time; he's one of the only people I keep in touch with from that time in my life. He moved down the street from me, and we were hanging out every day and asked if I would do this duet with him. I didn't write it, I just sang on it. It was just kind of for fun; I'll sing on anything, I love singing.

Before the release of ‘Shades,’ you went on a mini-tour with The Last Shadow Puppets as their opener. What sort of response did you receive for their audiences? Did anything come as a shock to you?

I don't know; I think I was just so overwhelmed and had so much anxiety and insecurity that even if I did get a good response from the audience, I would've never noticed because I was nervous and fearful at that time. But I mean people came to my shows after that, so I guess maybe, hopefully, they liked it.

You used PAPA as your touring band at the time. How were you introduced to them?

I met them because Darren who is the main singer in PAPA auditioned for The Last Shadow Puppets as their drummer. Alex Turner said, ‘this drummer is great, you should meet him,’ and I met him, and he is an amazing drummer and person. We signed on there together for a while.

In May 2016, NME had picked up on your name and wrote an article about the mystery girl on tour with The Last Shadow Puppets. Did that at all shift the size of the response that you had been receiving?

Ya, I think so. I think anytime anybody writes about you; you get a little more attention. I guess in a way I had sort of expected that because Alex was involved, that would sort of be the reason they had written about me. But I wouldn't expect that now, with the songs that I'm writing now and about to release. These songs are all done just by me so that will never happen again.

Did it bother you at all during the promotional process of the last record, that most questions were directed toward Turner's involvement?

Ya, I think it ate away at me. I understood from the audience standpoint why they would want that information. But I guess when you are writing songs when you're eighteen or nineteen, and then you don't start releasing them until you're twenty-two, that is such a span of growth for a young woman. I think I had outgrown that period of my life, so it was frustrating, but I get it, so it's fine.

The music video for ‘Shades’ was one that you filmed off a camcorder. Did you plan to create this yourself, or was it a last minute decision? Was this your first time attempting something to this degree?

That was just for fun! That was my first time making a video; I think I've gotten a lot better at it (laughs).

The single cover was a painting you had done. How long have you been into this hobby for?

I started painting when I was twelve. It's probably my lifelong love. I paint every day if I can. I never really knew I could make music until I was a lot older. I always thought I would be a painter. But I jumped at this opportunity, and it's my life now.

I've also read and seen that you have a sewing machine and enjoy making undies, t-shirts, and hand painting trinkets. Is experimenting with other mediums vital to you?

Ya, I'm always jumping around from one thing to the next.

You sold some of these items and donated some of your earnings to ACLU Nationwide. What is it about that charity that makes them unique to you?

It was a hectic time, but yes, it's very important to me.

You also created the video for ‘MTME,’ a personal favorite of mine. How did you create a delayed effect on the projections?

We set up a camcorder to a projector so that it was recording what was being projected, then put it into the projector, so that is was cycling itself.

You made your debut late night television performance on Le Grand Journal back in October 2016. How did that experience differ from playing a regular gig?

First and foremost, we had to get there at six in the morning. That was a lot different than getting to a venue at nine at night. I think we woke up at three a.m. to catch a train from London to Paris and got dropped off right at the studio. They told me I had to face and look at the camera, but I’m pretty shy, so I clearly turned my back to the camera. 

I think at that time I was so stressed and out of it that I didn’t even know what was going on half of the time; I was getting in a car or on a train or a plane.

Do you find touring stressful?

Yes completely.

It seemed you once had a very close relationship to videographer Samuel Kristofski. You starred in one of his short films titled ‘Zeiri Cosmos Part One,’ alongside starlets such as Connan Mockasin, Mikey De Vera, and Hiromi Oshima. Was this the first time being involved in a project like this?

I guess it was, yes. I dated the director for a long time, so I think I’m in a lot of his little things.

You’re video for ‘Mystery Girl’ was directed by Kristofski. Was this idea a collaborative effort?

It was a collaborative effort, it was definitely him and I. He did all the technical parts of it, so I can’t really take too much credit. 

I think it represents the delusion of jealousy; it was a way of showing that when you’re in that state, you’re not in reality; how you get really desperate and angry.

Recently after that single release, you announced the title of your debut album, ‘Belladonna of Sadness.’ Now you actually changed the title of the album multiple times before locking this down. When did you discover the 70s cult anime film and when did it sink in that it was the perfect fit for the album title?

I think I related a lot to this female character that is being persecuted for her victimhood. I related to this female and perseverance that we have. At the same time, it felt very easy not to have to make up my own title to the album (laughs); so that’s a big reason as to why I chose it.

Now, after two years, are about to release your new single. Has it been different without the influence or guidance from Turner? Did you enjoy having a bit more freedom to explore with something that is strictly just your own style?

It’s been really good for my self-esteem to feel that this is entirely mine; it’s my identity. I feel a lot more proud of what I’ve created now. The process of writing this new record was challenging; working with Alex, it felt like I was going to work when I’d go over to his house to write these songs. When as, writing songs in your bedroom, it’s hard to stay motivated and feel like you’re doing it for any real purpose at all. I kept slipping into insecurities and a fear of failure. It was a process, but overall, I feel a lot more confident with this record.

The first album was completed back in 2015, so there is a significant time gap between age and levels within your personal life. Has this made any impact on the sound?

I went through a long period of anger, and I crashed into an intense depression and suffered from a lot of mental illness issues. There are a lot more ranges of emotion going on in this next record; the songs are all very different from each other. The sound is maybe less clean than my last record; dirtier? 

I had a lot of fun with Sam Cohen [the producer] finding some 60s sounds; getting down with it.

What significant influence(s) sort of shine through in this new body of work?

For this record, it was really important for me was to convey honesty and authenticity. I delved into a lot of early two thousand pop music like ceria and things I would’ve been listening to in elementary school; melodically I think it’s like a mathematical equation and the way the songs are written is very interesting to me. I believe there is a lot of that going on! You probably wouldn’t be able to tell; maybe I didn’t portray it well!

What are you looking forward to most with the new releases?

I’m just looking forward to going on tour and express myself every day; hopefully, have people enjoy the record! It’s an accomplishment, and I feel really excited about it. 

I’ve dealt with a lot of mental health stuff, and I’ve got it all under control now. I’m nervous about playing the guitar live as I’m new to showing people my musicianship. But I don’t know; I am really excited.

Did you take Papa back on the road with you or do you have your own band line-up now?

I went out on the road with Mini Mansions from June nineteenth to June twenty-eighth up the West Coast. I’m doing an all-girls vibe; no drums or bass, just guitar and violin, and a keyboard-organ. I’ll probably do that for a couple of tours and then maybe bring in some more members, but I don’t know who it’ll be!