Interview by: Sophia LiBrandi

After dominating the social-media stratosphere with her hit single “Overwhelmed” in 2020, Royal & the Serpent returns to the music scene with her newest EP searching for nirvana, which includes her latest single titled “phuck u.” On top of the music release, she also recently announced that she is set to open up for PVRIS on their 2021 tour. But before she takes off, we had a chance to sit down with Royal & the Serpent and ask her a few questions about her journey. 

Your single “Overwhelmed” gained immense popularity through social media, and specifically Tik Tok. What was that experience like for you? Did you feel ready for the sudden fame you were experiencing? 

Fame is such a funny word! It was magical, I mean I’m so grateful that song reached everybody that it did. I don’t feel any different, like, I don’t feel like anybody actually knows who I am. I feel like people know the song and don’t know me. I don’t know if that’s in my head, but it’s just been a blessing, I think, the fact that it’s reached the amount of people that it’s been able to reach and help them through whatever they were going through, especially this past year. It’s been nothing but a blessing. I feel very grateful. 

Moving forward from “Overwhelmed,” do you feel like your creative process has changed overall? Has it stayed the same? What has that been like for you?

I definitely feel like every day I’m coming more into my own as far as my confidence in my creativity, and I think getting to spend all that time alone last year really helped me hone in on my style and the inner workings of how creativity flows through me. I think stylistically I’ve definitely come so much more into my own after “Overwhelmed.” I’m really really excited for some of the stuff I have coming for you guys. 

Speaking of new music, your EP searching for nirvana just dropped a few days ago, and congrats on that! What has it been like working on that project? What does it mean to you?

It’s super close to home. It’s super close to my heart. There’s so many little sound bites of my close friends and family throughout the project, and it was really special to get to work on that. It was a project that I finished in quarantine with the same producer that did “Overwhelmed” and the whole last EP, and we were just in every day making magic together. It was really fun, and the project is sort of this opening up to the world for me from me, and I hope that people feel like they can open themselves up too and be honest with themselves and the people around them when they listen to it. It’s an honest statement. 

How do you think that quarantine has affected your creativity or your perspective on creating music? 

I think more than anything else, just getting that much time to listen to music again for the enjoyment of it rather than for the research of it because it’s my job changed my relationship with it. I think that I sort of fell in love with music again for the first time in a really long time, getting to relax into it instead of being a part of this rat race, you know? And so, I’ve really tried to take the time to use it to my advantage and hone in on my skills. I feel really grateful that I get to love what I do. 

Where do you draw most of your inspiration from? Whether other artists or personal people in your life.

As far as sonics go, definitely my peers and some of my closest collaborators. I find so much inspiration in the people I’m surrounded by because I think that hearing music that’s unreleased is like, this is what’s at the forefront that people haven’t even heard yet. This is what’s happening now and what’s happening next! And then, as far as the content of the music goes, it’s always from my personal experiences. Lyrically, it’s coming straight from whatever I’m going through at the time. 

As we come out of quarantine and we are starting to see the light of the world come back, what does music mean for you now? What are you most looking forward to? 

Oh my goodness, shows!! I think that that is like the one thing that people have been missing, that sense of connection and getting to be in a room with people and feel their energy and share that experience. It’s something I’m so looking forward to. It’s going to be way different than it was before, and I think people are going to appreciate it even more because we didn’t have it for so long. So, I’m really excited to be in a room full of people again.