Interview: Kita Alexander opens up on her deeply personal new EP, Hotel

For those yet to be acquainted, Kita Alexander is an Australian-raised singer-songwriter who's just begging to be unleashed into the mainstream world. Hailing from Byron Bay, Alexander has already worked with names including Empire Of The Sun/PNAU's Nick Littlemore, catching attention with 2015's Like You Want To EP. Her new EP Hotel is a far more personal release, layering personal, emotionally-charged lyrics over highly-produced electro-pop productions which would sit at home on a festival main-stage. In a bid to get to know the quickly-rising vocalist and her addictive sound, we sent her a couple of questions on the EP and the names behind it as well as her next steps post-EP, which you can read below whilst you listen to the sensational, four-track release.

Hey Kita! Congrats on the release of the Hotel EP. You said that the EP’s title-track is about loss of friends and family, does the rest of the EP come from similar, emotional moments in your life? Is this quite a personal release for you?

Hey! Thanks so much. Yeah it does. The whole EP is dedicated to my sister Tash. So it's heavily influenced and deeply personal. Hotel is about dealing with the loss. Damage Done is seeing the light after the loss. A Girl is about trying to forget everything and distracting yourself with just having fun.

You’ve worked with Nick Littlemore and Chris Braide before – who’s worked with people like Sia and Beyoncé. Who did you work with behind the scenes of the Hotel EP? How did people like Braide influence your writing now?

I've worked with a whole lot of people when I was living in the states and London, from really well known successful artists to underground talents. What influenced me wasn't what they had done or who they had their names next to; it was the individual’s enthusiasm for life and music itself. Hotel was written and produced with a bunch of my favourite producer/writers, now friends. Dann Hume, who is one of the best Aussie producers out here. Nick Ruth, who is my favourite writer from Venice Beach, California. And Mikey Keenan, a hip-hop producer from Hollywood. 

The EP has this strongly-produced pop sound to it, aside from the demo of Hotel, which is more stripped-back and ‘old-fashioned’. Why did you choose to include the demo in the EP? 

The demo was what my friends, family and colleagues fell in love with. I wanted to have it on the EP because I felt it showed the true emotion and vulnerability of the song without all the glitter, sparkle and shine. 

A big part of your online image is the ocean and nature – how do these things influence your music and how you work?

I feel most alive when I'm out in nature. It wakes me up like a good cup of coffee, haha. I see beauty and magic everywhere and those things inspire me.

Aside from these things, what else influenced the making of the Hotel EP?

My partner and my baby. They inspired me to release it. Birth it into the world. No pun intended, haha.

What’s on the cards for you now the EP is out? Are you working on getting back on the road to promote the EP?

Now the EP is out I'm working on new singles and album ideas. It's all very exciting, but I'm also going to go a lot slower than before so I can really spend this concentrated time with my baby and new family. So no tour in the near future, but maybe in the back half of the year :)

Follow Kita Alexander: FACEBOOK