Aubrey Haddard's set at SXSW was laced with colorful details about the stories behind her song, and one of those stories was about how in the 80s, Sweden thought there was Russian submarine activity that turned out to be fish farts. Aubrey's music just has a certain uniqueness that makes it so special. We talked to Aubrey about her songwriting skills, what her hyperfixations of the moment are, and how she stays motivated.
Is this your first South By?
Aubrey: I'm here by myself, and I feel like just thrown into the mix. I've met so many amazing people, and the energy is great. I'm debuting all this new music. It's definitely the beginning of a new chapter for me. I can't imagine a better way to kick that off than at this huge international festival.
I cover a lot of festivals, and south by is the one where you can see people that are up and coming and on these small stages and brag about it later.
Aubrey: In the next couple of days, I have so many things I want to see.
Is it overwhelming?
Aubrey: Yes, but it's really exciting.
As an up-and-coming artist, how do you deal with the competition?
Aubrey: Right now, my main priority is to make the music I want to make wholeheartedly. I feel like I've done a good job shutting out the noise. I want to make music people think is weird. Typically the sound I'm leaning into right now is just left of center. I want to find the most joy in what I'm doing.
No one's writing enough songs about fish farts.
Aubrey: Everyone came up to talk to me about that. Maybe I should tell more stories in my sets.
Everyone says to write a universal song, but maybe you should write a hyper-specific song.
Aubrey: I feel like most of the music I'm writing right now is a very physical world inspired, almost in an escapist way. I just fixate on things like that. I like to fixate on some strange natural phenomenon. I like to dig into it. There's so much lyrical content in science and philosophy.
You learn something.
Aubrey: That's what inspires me, learning.
What's a hyper fixation you've had recently?
Aubrey: I've been writing a lot about Murakami's novels. He's huge but getting into his fantasy worlds. Another one would be astrophysics. You feel so small but also the language is really beautiful.
What is one of the biggest challenges for you as a musician?
Aubrey: Not comparing myself to other people. It's so easy to do.
I feel like everyone compares themselves to other people. How do you stay focused on your mission?
Aubrey: The creative process is what makes me the happiest, and it took me so long to know that. You don't find joy in every step of the process but for me, its in the creative process and the songwriting. Staying focused on that makes me really happy.
Everyone says if you do what you love, you never work a day in your life, which is bullshit, but if you can find that one thing.
Aubrey: Writing songs is my discipline, I feel like it's my purpose, which is so corny to say, but it's true.
Keep up with Aubrey on Spotify and Instagram.
Emily Treadgold
