“This Is Me, Take It Or Leave It”: UPSAHL Talks “Antsy,” Debut Tour and Channeling an Unapologetic Attitude
Photo by Sarah Pardini
LA based alt-pop star UPSAHL radiates an “I don’t give a fuck” energy enlaced with her unapologetic attitude, which caused the songstress to step into her “selfish” era following the single release of “Antsy” and the announcement of her upcoming EP. She is truly a musical force to be reckoned with.
“Antsy'' is a departure from UPSAHL’s usual punchy, punk-inspired sound. The smooth, acoustic track encapsulates serious fire sign energy and offers listeners an unusual look at the frenzied thoughts, worries and fears hidden beneath the surface. “The world is on fire I'm so fucking tired and equally wired,” she sings, setting all preconceived notions of herself ablaze.
“Antsy” channels the unapologetic attitude of UPSAHL’s earliest punk influences and her love for No Doubt. Her dreamy signature voice, by turns vulnerable and assertive, proves its impressive dynamic range. UPSAHL offers a bright backdrop of her dynamic versatility and her fight for resilience and putting herself first.
UPSAHL is vulnerable and triumphant, writing in the plain language of reclaiming her power and the power of her own self-love. The songstress has successfully broken out of her comfort zone to produce her most dynamic and confessional work that comes with a sound that’s uniquely hers – confident, fiery and empowering.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for talking to Unpublished Magazine. For those who aren't familiar with your music yet, our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. Can you tell us about the type of music that you make?
[UPSAHL]: Thanks for having me. The type of music I make is always changing just depending on where I'm at in my life at the time, but I think it also depends on what type of music I've been listening to. I grew up listening to a lot of No Doubt, Weezer and OutKast, so that has kind of always been a very big influence on my music and my dad was in punk bands throughout my childhood. Punk has always maintained its influence, but I think the type of music, conceptually, that I make is changing every day depending on my mood. I think the one thing that's constant is trying to be as empowering as possible and as real and as vulnerable as I can be in my writing. I hope that translates in the songs and I hope people find a bit of themselves in the music.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Everyone can relate to that universal feeling of going through their dad’s record collection and finding inspiration in garage rock and punk. What punk bands or artists do you take influence from whether that's just in your lyrics or instrumentally?
[UPSAHL]: I think a lot of it is just the attitude and the aesthetic of punk. I grew up listening to a lot of my dad's bands. I think for me, what made me gravitate towards the punk scene in Phoenix was just that I don't give a fuck, fuck everyone type energy. It was just very unapologetic. That's why I like No Doubt, and Gwen Stefani also had such a big influence on me too because the stuff she didn’t give a fuck. I think that was so punk for the time being and unapologetic, very real. Very this is who I am, take it or leave it type of energy has had a really big influence on my life, my music and in my personal life, too.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You recently released your single “Antsy,” congratulations. It pays tribute to your Sagittarius sun sign. Can you talk to me through your creative process and inspiration behind the single?
[UPSAHL]: It's the first single that I wrote for my next project that is coming out at the end of this year. Whenever I go into writing a new project, that's obviously a very stressful time, so I had no idea what I wanted to write about. I just got off of tour and I was like, ‘what is the new music and the sound, what do I want to say?’ I was just feeling all over the place, very unsettled. There were a lot of moving parts in my life and things that I wanted to change, but I didn't necessarily know how to. I just felt so helpless, and I was feeling a little uninspired because of that. I was like, I should go to Nashville. Nashville has always just been a place for me as a songwriter that really inspires the shit out of me. I went into the studio and told people I was writing and that I was feeling super antsy. They were like tell us what you’re antsy about. Just me ranting about my life and the state of the world and all the problems that exist that everyone deals with helped inspire the creative spark. “Antsy” was born within a few hours. I feel like that song continues to really resonate with me even six months later, I feel like all of us share those feelings.
[UNPUBLISHED]: “Antsy” is different from your usual punk inspired sound. How has the creative process for “Antsy” been different compared to your other discography? Have you taken any new approaches or experimenting more lyrically or instrumentally?
[UPSAHL]: Definitely experimenting with the process in general. When I wrote “Antsy,” I just wrote it over a guitar, basically like a guitar playing those chords, and the original “Antsy” demo that I left Nashville with was literally like a guitar and one vocal and some harmonies. I kept going back and listening to the song and I was like, ‘this is really special,’ but how do we make the production feel antsy? I want people to feel a little anxious when they listen to this because that's the energy of the song.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Sagittarius is known for its risk taking abilities, boldness and outspokenness. If you could describe your energy as a Sagittarius in three words, which would you choose?
[UPSAHL]: I think that depends on Mercury. I don't know if it's out of retrograde now or not, but I think right now my three words are intensity, the need for change – clearly with “Antsy” – and very unapologetic. That's gonna definitely be the vibe of the EP that I'm working on as well.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You recently announced your upcoming EP. We would love to hear anything that you would love to share about this project and the inspiration behind it.
[UPSAHL]: This EP has been a fun, new, creative process for me because for the first time ever, I'm not really writing about other people. My last album was totally about this breakup, and it was about another person. Now I feel like I'm in a place where when I went down to write this EP, I was like, I'm gonna be selfish. This is gonna be about me now. It sort of has turned into a bit of a personality piece. I think each song represents a different personality trait or just a different part of me that makes me me, and I think that whether they're good or bad aspects, I think everyone will be able to relate to certain aspects. Each song very distinctly represents a different vibe, a different energy, which is fun because I'm changing on a daily basis, so I have a different song for each mood.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Why do you love the EP? Is there a specific lyric or message that stands out to you? What excites you the most about this entire project?
[UPSAHL]: Good question. Thank you, I think just the energy of this project feels very me. I always always give 100% into my projects, but this summer I think making this album has been such a new vulnerable experience for me because I started it with “Antsy.” I think I really was able to make an EP that's just very authentically unapologetic. This is me, take it or leave it type energy.
[UNPUBLISHED]: It's a very new and vulnerable experience for you to create this new project since you’re exploring a new side to yourself and constantly growing in your artistry and personal life. What is the biggest lesson or breakthrough you've had while creating the EP?
[UPSAHL]: I think learning to just let go of the idea of genre. Honestly, I feel like as artists we're always so stressed of ‘oh, does this sound like me?’ I don't think genre exists anymore. I think this EP takes a lot of influence from punk, EDM, dance house and some rock influences. It's been such a freeing experience of just not giving a fuck and being down to experiment. I think it's a really exciting time just to be in music in general because no one's putting themselves in boxes anymore and every song could be a completely different vibe for you as an artist. I've been really leaning into that with this EP.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You're preparing to go on your debut global headline run in the US, Australia and Europe, massive congratulations. Do you have any pre-show or post-show rituals to help ensure that you're playing your best performances?
[UPSAHL]: Pre-show ritual is just a lot of vocal warm ups, which is so boring, but a lot of vocal warm ups. A lot of jumping jacks, jumping around and screaming with the band to get everyone hyped. Then definitely some tequila shots every night before the stage is my pre-show ritual and then after the show, I'd really just like to ride the high and continue that adrenaline and go out and meet people and explore the city.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are you looking forward to the most for touring?
[UPSAHL]: Just the fact that these are headlining shows is insane to me, like I've done a lot of touring opening for other artists and I feel like the past like five years – minus COVID obviously – touring for me has been my version of school. I get to watch all these other artists that I look up to do what they do and watch them perfect their craft. I've honestly just been taking notes for the past five years, so now that I get to be on the other side of that and get to do my first headlining tours, it's gonna be really fun.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with the magazine?
[UPSAHL]: I'm honestly feeling so inspired and so lucky that I got to just spend this last summer making an EP and work with my favorite producers and writers to make it. I'm literally tracking the last vocals I need for this EP today because I leave for tour tomorrow. The fact that it's like wrapping this up and then going straight into hanging out with fans every night and just raging and putting on a show, I just feel so lucky and excited. The rest of the year is just a bunch of touring. I'm very excited.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your wildest dream as an artist? If you could have one thing happen to you, like a milestone or dream collaboration you hope to achieve in your career, what would that look like for you?
[UPSAHL]: I always say playing a sold out show in an arena or winning a Grammy. Recently, I think just from talking to other artists, I've learned that success is found in the fact that I get to make music every day as my job and I get to tour. Finding gratitude and the journey is the exciting part for me, but of course, I would love to win a Grammy, that's my big goal.
