Interview with Olivia Castriota

Olivia talks the emotions behind her latest release 'Fixed' and how it was produced

Olivia has been singing since she was a little girl. Her music focuses on feelings and love. She rarely writes individual 'love' songs but the second things go south, I have no problem writing an entire album about it. I love a 'cry your eyes out' heartbreak song as much as I love a badass anthem.

Olivia castriota pretty girl

Tell us about your latest release, what's it about? 

Fixed is a song about mental health, anxiety, depression and all the good stuff in between that. The song is heavy. The video is heavy. I think the whole point of art is to make you feel. So hearing this song and watching this video is either going to make you say “is she okay?” or “oh my god, that’s exactly how I feel too”. And my hope is for the people that fall into the latter category that they see they aren’t alone. 

How did you record it?

February 2019 is when ‘Fixed’ all started. I had just gotten off of an extremely emotional phone call and the best way for me to personally process things is by writing, so that’s what I did. I wrote about the phone call and then texted Regan McCroskey, my go-to writing partner, and told her all about it. We went back and forth with a few ideas and demos for about two weeks and then as soon as I got to LA in March to work on the album, it was ready for production. 

I played the demo for Sean, we restructured things a bit and discussed how it should feel and off we went! Sean is kind of this master of all trades, musically. He’s hands down the best producer I’ve ever worked. He’s like a machine. A man of few words but he doesn’t have to say much because everything comes through in the music. In ‘Fixed’ we wanted to capture a modern electro-pop sonic direction while incorporating unique sounds to keep the listener's attention. We wanted this track to begin feeling cold, spacious, distressed and sad to represent my feelings of depression and uncertainty but then move into something bright and dreamy with more feelings of inspiration, empowerment, and hopefulness. 

Olivia Castriota profile

How did you distribute it? 

Independently #IndieArtistHustle  

How did you promote it? 

Via whatever I could spare from my savings account after being out of work due to COVID-19.

The music industry is in a state of flux right now, where do you see it heading? 

I can't wait for live music to come back, obviously. But right now I think artists are focusing on things from behind the computer screen- so marketing what products they already have available. Basically building a fanbase from the couch with your laptop. 

What's the most important thing missing from Songwhip? 

I think it's pretty great actually 😍

Which artist do you look up to? 

I'm obsessed with Donnal Missal, Hobo Johnson, Lianne La Havas right now 

What artist tools/services can't you live without? 

Spotify For Artists App, Chartmetric, Facebook Business Manager

Portrait of Olivia

What is your advice to other indie artists to help fund their work/produce music?

Funding- if you love what you're making, spend the money to market it properly. 

Anything else you'd like to plug?

I just released a Lofi Christmas Cover- I'll Be Home For Christmas! Add it to your Holiday Playlists!

Photos by @dylanperot @dinavibes_ @thefacebycase @helene.marie

I'm always looking for new artists to feature in the blog. If you'd like to tell your story and share some behind the scenes tips with fellow indie artists give me a shout - Wilson