Introduction

We had the pleasure of interviewing Alice Merton over Zoom video. Alice Merton releases her second album S.I.D.E.S. which features the new focus track "The Other Side." This album campaign has seen Alice raise the bar from what she achieved with her debut album Mint (billion+ streams, Top 10 chart positions across Europe, becoming a judge on The Voice of Germany) with some of her biggest moments in fresh territories, including a US tour with Bastille, a career-defining orchestral concert of her biggest songs with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, and being named as Jo Whiley's Infatuation on Radio 2. The singles that have previewed the album — including "Vertigo," "Same Team," and "Island" — have seen Alice make a huge leap forward in both her artistic vision and her confidence. The voice and alt-pop addictiveness that first enamored fans remains at the core of her sound, but it's adventurously doused with touches of indie, electronica, alt-rock and synth-pop. Ultimately, S.I.D.E.S. sees Alice blur the boundaries between ragged rock energy and pop infectiousness. It is also the first album, where Alice has acted as the executive producer throughout the whole album. The fiery attitude of much of the music is matched by Alice's desire to explore her vulnerabilities head on. When lockdown gave her the time to space to reflect, Alice realized that she wanted to use her music to reflect who she really is. As a result, she boldly explores issues of personal and professional conflict, self-doubt, and standing up for your principles. Despite some dark moments, what emerges is hope: what's painful to deal with in the present is often only a passing experience. Alice says, "The last two years have been challenging for everyone in some way or another. Friends and family were lost, lockdowns were enforced, and our mental strength had been tested to its limit. S.I.D.E.S. tells the story of what I experienced during this time. There's never one reason, or one solution, or one side of a story. Life is so multifaceted, it's never black-and-white. Sometimes you feel trapped in a certain mindset and some things seem impossible to overcome, but that's just one side of it. Once you start seeing the different sides of yourself and of the world around you, you realize that everything becomes a little less daunting." Alice co-wrote and co-produced every song on the album, which also features some of her long-term collaborators as well as big names such as Koz (Dua Lipa), Jonny Coffer (Beyoncé, Ellie Goulding), Jennifer Decilveo (Anne-Marie, Andra Day), and mixed by Matt Green (Royal Blood, Dua Lipa The album is released on her own label, Paper Plane Records. #podcast #interview #bringinbackpod #AliceMerton #SIDES #SameTeam #NewMusic #zoom Listen & Subscribe to BiB https://www.bringinitbackwards.com/follow/ Follow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! https://www.facebook.com/groups/bringinbackpod We want to hear from you! Please email YT@BringinitBackwards.com www.BringinitBackwards.com Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/bringin-it-backwards--4972373/support. https://bringinitbackwards.com/