UPSAHL

You’ve been immersed in music from such a young age—how did you go about discovering your unique musical identity and finding the genre that feels most authentic to you?

I feel like it sort of happened by accident. My music has changed a lot over the years, and I think that’s because I just let it change naturally with me. There are so many badass women who have been genre-bending for decades and have paved the way for artists like me get to exist in whatever genre we want to. I think I’ll always be “finding the genre that feels most authentic to me” because I’m always changing.

Your aesthetic is so bold and unapologetic. Do you find a distinction between who you are on stage versus Taylor in everyday life, or do those personas blend?

I like to think they’re the same person, but I definitely feel like UPSAHL is the most confident badass version of myself. It’s like whenever I’m feeling insecure or lost, UPSAHL pulls me out of that.

“Tears on the dancefloor” is a track that feels both emotional and empowering. Could you walk us through the creative process behind it?

I wanted a song that felt like something you could dance and cry to. I had been listening to a lot of the stuff that Nelly Furtado and Timbaland did together, and we were really sonically inspired by those sounds when we were starting this song. The first idea we had over the beat was actually the “slippery” part of the second verse, so the song was originally called “Slippery.” Then a few hours later after writing everything but the chorus, the idea of “Tears on the dancefloor” came to us.

Who are some of the artists, or even specific art pieces, that have left a lasting influence on your music and artistry?

Gwen Stefani will always be a massive influence for me, Weezer (Blue Album and Pinkerton) inspired me a lot growing up, and my dad is still the biggest reason I do music. I learned how to play guitar and write songs and sing from him, and I still learn so much from him about touring and writing and he’s always encouraging me to tap into my artistry more.

I’m obsessed with “Summer so hot” for its effortlessly fun, danceable vibe. How did you balance that carefree energy with your usual boldness in the song?

I wrote “Summer so hot” in the middle of the night when it was pouring rain and freezing in London. We were all feeling very nostalgic for those days where you just get to lay out in the sun all day with your friends and not have a care in the world. We tried to infuse that nostalgic energy into every part of the song, while making it feel sweaty and playful and full of sloppy drunk make outs and tan lines.

How hands-on are you with the creative direction of your music videos? What role does visual storytelling play in bringing your songs to life?

Making music videos has always been one of my favorite parts of the process. If you can bring people even further into the world of the song through a music video, it’s powerful. I usually have a very rough idea of what the music video should look and feel like the same day I’m writing the song, and then I send that thought process to whoever is directing the video and let them put their spin on the whole thing to elevate it. The collaboration throughout the whole process is my favorite part of making music videos.

 Out of your entire discography, which song was the most challenging to write or produce, and what made it such a tough process?

“Lady Jesus.” The making of the song itself wasn’t the hard part, it was everything I had to do personally to get myself to a point where I was able to write that song. It took almost a year. I was feeling so down on myself and so lost when I started writing the Lady Jesus album, and by the time we reached what I thought was the end of it, I was in a completely different place mentally. I had this newfound sense of self and felt so empowered, it was like the previous version of me had died and was reborn or something.

With deeply personal tracks like “0 or 100,” do you feel that the male-dominated media often underestimates the emotional depth that pop music can deliver?

I think that it’s really scary to be vulnerable in songwriting, but it’s also the most rewarding if you decide to push yourself out of your emotional comfort zone in your songs. As an artist, I’m so grateful that my fans resonate with both my baddie/upbeat songs and my slow/emotional songs because it’s all a part of life, and getting to be emotionally open like that is so empowering, especially as a woman in music.

As you’re currently on tour, what aspects of live performances thrill you the most, and how do you connect with your audience on stage?

All of it. I love playing shows. I feel the most at peace when I’m on stage, like proper cheesy “this is where I belong” bullshit. I feel so close with my fans every time I get to play a show. It just feels like one big karaoke dance sesh. It’s high energy, it’s sweaty, no one gives a fuck how they look or act, we’re all just present and escaping real life together for a couple hours – it’s fucking magic.

What’s next for you—both in terms of new music and the evolution of your sound? What should we be looking forward to?

I’m currently working on an album, but I want to let my fans in on the creative process a little more this time. I’ve been dropping 5 snippets of unreleased demos every week on my app and my Discord for my core fans, and they’ve been giving me feedback about what they love and even what they hate. At the end of the day, they’re the ones that listen to the songs, so why not cater to what they want to hear? So after a handful of rounds of this with my fans, we’ll have a little album that we all made that will come out next year.