Athena Joy On the Making Of “Blame it on the Brain.”
How do you feel "Blame it on the Brain." represents your artistic identity?
I've always been kind of drawn to moody/darker vibes when it comes to music and I feel like I always have a bit of pop undertone to everything I create and “Blame it on the Brain.” is no different. If I'm honest though, when I'm creating music I less think about my identity as an artist and more about the identity of each individual song. I don't want to pigeonhole myself, this music represents where I am right now and that's all that matters to me.
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for "Blame it on the Brain.?"
The song itself was actually very easy to write as I wrote it never really intending for anyone else to hear it. It was more like venting for me, so it came together really quickly. The biggest challenge with it was that I had chronic pain at the time and it hurt to talk so I wasn't singing or writing for a while. I had a really bad appointment with a doctor and came home and basically said "f*ck it" and just sat at my piano and wrote the song.
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for this song?
I remember most creating the bridge section - the night before the session I had written the lyrics for it and put this bass line together. We were recording drums with my friend Trevor the next day and it sounded so epic and fun I think I squeeled. I told the producers I wanted it to sound like a mental breakdown so that inspired a lot of the ideas for it.
The song has evolved a bit since then, that bass line is now actually in the chorus.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
Music has kind of always been that thing for me honestly. Where I've felt like I can be as weird and crazy as I am and it's just accepted. I've tried the 9-5 desk job thing, but it's not for me. I was born to create things.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians who are just starting their musical journey?
If I'm honest the advice I normally give to aspiring musicians is to just not listen to advice... There are so many people who think they know best in this business and are gonna tell you how you can 'make it' and give you all the advice in the world but the reality is no one is going to hand you tickets to the kingdom. There is no one pathway of 'making it', if you listen to most musicians everyone has a different story of how they got into it and how they make it work, it's annoying but reality is the best thing to do is just get out there and start working out what’s going to work for you. What works for you isn't going to work for someone else- write your own story.
