From Pandemic Beginnings to Brooklyn's Indie Scene: Alison Stiel on Songwriting, Growth, and the Power of Raw Emotion
In this candid interview, singer-songwriter Alison Stiel takes us through her inspiring journey from picking up a dusty guitar during the pandemic to becoming a rising voice in Brooklyn’s vibrant indie music scene. Alison shares how the isolation of lockdown and a fresh heartbreak pushed her to finally start writing her songs, resulting in a deeply personal and emotionally resonant body of work. With a distinctive style known for its gut-punching lyrics and intricate guitar work, Alison opens up about her creative process, the challenges of emerging as an artist, and the influences that shape her sound. Join us as Alison reflects on her musical evolution and what’s next on her artistic horizon.
Nicolle: Hi, Alison, first things first, could you introduce yourself to our readers?
Alison: Hi I’m Alison :) I’m a singer-songwriter originally from the suburbs of NJ just outside of NYC. I’ve lived in Philly, San Francisco, And LA, but I have been in Brooklyn for almost two years now.
Nicolle: What about the pandemic that inspired you to start writing your songs?
Alison: I was given a guitar in high school but quickly abandoned it after learning a few basic chords. I still brought it along with me to every college dorm room and apartment, but it mostly collected dust. I started dreaming about writing my own music in my first couple of years post-college, but I was too intimidated to start. Then in April 2020, I was stuck in a studio apartment in LA during the initial COVID lockdown, and freshly out of a long-term relationship. I realised I was out of excuses – I picked up the guitar and started writing songs, and it’s become a huge part of my life since.
Nicolle: Your music is known for its gut-punching lyrics and intricate chords. Can you share the story behind one of your songs and how you bring these elements together in your songwriting?
Alison: I have this one song called “Unworthy Lovers” that will be on the album. I wrote it after a crush disappeared on me after initially showing a lot of interest. Lyrically, I go back & forth between feeling embarrassed about the situation in the verses and then letting out my anger and frustration in the choruses. I think the guitar parts and chords echo this pattern. It’s in DADGAD, and I play a fingerpicking pattern for most of the song. The verses sound mostly sweet but a bit contemplative, and in the chorus, I switch to strumming and play a more dramatic chord at the most intense part of the lyrics. It’s a bit weird to vocalise, I’m not really doing it intentionally as much as I do what feels & sounds right when I’m putting it all together.
I’m calculating, I’m evading hating you.
Gather the evidence, give myself a chance to take responsibility.
….
You cooked me food, I’m so confused, you vanished from the scene
But when I reappear on your playlist next year, don’t you f*cking dare come back for me
…
What a lofty task, to text and ask to see each other
If I’m such a catch, why do I latch onto unworthy lovers
Nicolle: How has your experience performing live over the past year influenced your approach to recording and releasing music?
Alison: It’s still so crazy to me, to share my songs in such a raw way and get to instantly see/hear how they resonate with people. I started performing live well before I ever recorded any of my music, and for a while, I questioned if I was “ready” to record my songs, if they were good enough, if I had enough figured out. But after enough live performances and so many sweet, encouraging responses to my songs, I just wanted to have an answer for when folks asked if they could stream them anywhere.
Now with a few singles out, recording experience, and more confidence, I hope it’ll start happening the other way around more often– I just want to focus on making songs that I’d want to listen to and finding collaborators to help make it happen, and hopefully the songs will reach people who feel the same and I’ll get to travel & perform them live.
Nicolle: Brooklyn has a vibrant music scene—how has living in NYC shaped your sound and the themes you explore in your music?
Alison: I’ve met so many talented artists here and am lucky to have such great live music around me all the time. It’s so inspiring and motivating. I'll go to a show of a band I love with an opener I don’t know, hear songs that change my brain chemistry and run home to my guitar and write. I’ve also had my first handful of co-writing experiences with artists who I’ve met in NYC at shows or music hangs, which are always a bit scary, but ultimately I learn so much by making song-children with people.
Nicolle: If you could pick one person- alive or dead you could write a song with, who would it be?
Alison: It would be fun to write a song with Jacob Collier. He has superpowers. I have a feeling he would be able to translate whatever ideas I have and we could make something really beautiful and unique.
Nicolle: With three original songs already released and more on the way, what can fans expect from your upcoming work, and are there any new directions you’re excited to explore?
Alison: As of recently it’s now four! I released a song of mine called “Porcelain” last week. I’m finishing up a record which will consist of all of these songs and a bunch more. This is the first group of songs that I felt really proud of, that I’ve performed in cities around the country this past year, and that I know have left a mark on folks. I’m excited for this first stage of my music career to be out in the world. I also have a handful of other songs I’ve written more recently that I’m really excited about, so I’m already thinking about the next project. I can hear some of the songs getting louder, it could be fun to really rock out.
Nicolle: What are some of the most recurring themes in your songs?
Alison: Not much was going on for me when I first started writing songs during the pandemic. I found myself in my head, looking back a lot and processing past relationships, persistent memories, intense moments, etc, while writing, and still do this. I’m also very non-confrontational, so I do a good amount of writing around feelings I might have buried or things I wished I could have said to someone but didn’t. Lately, my songs are coming out like streams of consciousness or journal entries, with me connecting the dots in real-time. It’s very cathartic for me, songwriting. I think I’ll be doing it forever even if no one hears most of what I make.
Nicolle: Do you have a songwriting ritual? If yes, what does it involve?
Alison: Guitar progressions and melodies usually come first for me. I’ve gotten better about lyrics over the years, and now every so often a song will just pour out of me, but that’s for sure not always the case.
Sometimes when I’m feeling uninspired lyrically, I’ll take a song I love and hand-write out all of the lyrics. Then I’ll go phrase-by-phrase, note the themes and how the lyrics get the song where it needs to go and learn from that. I know, it’s pretty analytical. But the first thing my brain usually picks up on when I listen to music is the instrumentation and melody, so I’ve had to become really intentional about listening to/reading lyrics. It’s helped a ton.
Nicolle: How do you approach the use of open tunings in your music, and what role do they play in shaping the sound and emotion of your songs?
Alison: I picked up a bit of music theory in my two years of university chorus, but I’ve always relied on my ear, and ultimately I was only able to dive into guitar playing when I accepted that I would just do it all by ~vibes~ and not try to wrap my head around the theory (though I do hope to learn one day!) I first discovered open tunings when covering some songs by an artist I love named Lior.
I stayed in one of the tuning and started messing around, and somehow it was actually sounding good and evoking emotions in the ways I had heard in other songs I loved. It stuck for me, so now I have a lot of songs in alternate tunings which makes performing an absolute pain. I still go this route when I write in standard now – I almost pretend like I don’t know the basic chord shapes and go string-by-string till I’ve created a chord that feels like the emotion I’m going for.
Nicolle: What challenges have you faced as an emerging artist during this period, and how have you overcome them to build your career and connect with your audience?
Nicolle: Social media :/ On one hand, as a new artist, it’s so helpful for discovering music, for connecting with other artists, and for allowing people to find me. But it’s a comparison machine and a huge time-suck, and it’s hard to not pay attention to likes and comments and follower counts and all that fun stuff, especially when it already feels unnatural to be sharing this many close-up videos and pictures of myself publicly.
I make a big effort to connect or collaborate with folks as much as I can in person to complement the virtual part of it all, in a way that feels natural. There are so many shows that I genuinely want to go to and end up meeting other artists making similar music that way. I travel a lot and perform live as much as I can. I’ve met incredible artists, made new friends and collaborators, and booked shows by playing at open mics or going to friends’ shows.
Nicolle: What are your biggest influences? Do you listen to old stuff from, let’s say, the 80s, or do you prefer contemporary music?
Alison: I’m pretty big on contemporary (with the exception of Elliot Smith and Nick Drake who are big inspirations for me, especially when it comes to finger-picking). There are so many amazing rising indie/folk/singer-songwriters making music these days who influence my music-making. Though I do have some constant northern stars: I’m obsessed with Mitski’s lyrics.
Adrianne Lenker’s guitar parts are beyond inspiring to me, the way they carry the emotion of the songs. Samia’s vocal performances are insane and so captivating. And Madison Cunningham….. Charlie Burg and Moses Sumney are two other artists whose discography I could listen to forever. Oh, and outside of the indie world, I listened to a ton of alt/pop-punk growing up and still have a soft spot for it :)
Here’s a playlist of some of my favourite songs of all time: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1TdEIdyLvWJBzEsJDQ3gig?si=2ee9b7bd804f4bde
*
Alison´s Instagram
_
Nicolle Knapova is a 30-year-old young adult writer and freelance blogger from the Czech Republic. She has a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Publishing at Bournemouth University. She loves to write about music, books and TV shows. If she’s not writing her fan fiction, she’s writing her poetry and sharing it on her Instagram @elisecaverly.
