Project Description

Interview with
SKANDRA

(November 2020)

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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Have you always wanted to be a musician? When did you get the songwriting bug?
I began with writing poetry and short stories at a very young age. I probably had my father to thank for that. Not only is he quite a storyteller, but he’s a screenwriter. I think when you grow up around people who see magic where others may not, you end up doing the same. That’s what a writer is. I had played piano since I was 4 and naturally, the two merged and I fell in love with music.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
I’d say Skandra is a mix of bedroom music and synth-pop. I always start by writing things very minimally and then produce from there. I think this may be exactly why anyone would resonate with it. It starts in my heart.

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
There are so many who’ve inspired me. I’m always amazed when a musician can answer this so effortlessly. I seem to change my answer every time in hopes that, eventually, I’ll have covered them all. Right now, I want to say that Bjork inspired me musically. She showed me that throwing a mic up to your beating heart is not a bad idea. She showed me what you could do with voices and that sometimes they’re all you need. The other day, I was telling my fellow musician friend that one of the best bands I had ever seen live was The Walkmen. There’s something that Hamilton does and how he feels his music that you don’t see too often in indie rock.

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Your new single has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
“Rivers” began as an acoustic song I wrote on a rainy day. It was slow and almost waltz-like.  It’s about the admission that though something may feel like true love, it’s obviously destined to end. It sorts through thought processes I had throughout that prior relationship. It’s about finding strength in this admission and being okay with it. My friend, Aaron from the band Twin oaks, added some electronic elements to it. Sean from Dead Sara turned it into what many have called a “sad banger” and Travis Warner produced it into its final form. The song has been through quite a lot, the poor thing.

Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
Yes! I have 3 more songs to release from this last set of songs. I’m looking to perhaps release them as b-sides for the next set of songs. I’m currently in a corner room of the house working away at finalizing the next singles. We’re looking at going into the studio in December and hopefully have the songs and music videos ready for release by Valentine’s Day 2021.

Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
Once the Pandemic is under control, I look so forward to performing and touring. Until then, all events are on hold. I have this goal of throwing a festival. I run an organization called Treehouse in Los Angeles. It’s a monthly pop-up event that’s been going for over 5 years. We threw a festival in 2016. I didn’t perform as my goal was to expose to as many under-exposed artists as possible. Once the world opens up, I’d love to do this again and co-headline it with a fellow set of artists. That’s the dream for now.

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Anna Azarov Photography

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If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
I’d love to perform with the members of my first band. We were twelve-year-olds who loved The Pixies and knew the importance of music. We all grew our separate ways, but I think it’d be so fun to reunite and bang on some things.

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist?
I just want to be able to make art for the rest of my life. Whatever that takes. I’m careful in my choices to secure this possibility. I haven’t signed to a label, I haven’t given away my publishing and I think it’ll take some work on both sides to accomplish that security. I hope that at the end of my life, I look back and see a prolific repertoire that eased people’s pain and brought them some sort of hope.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
I haven’t performed live with Skandra yet as it’s a project I launched mid the pandemic. Prior to this, I’d say howling with a packed venue at SXSW in 2016 was one of my favorite moments performing. There was a rainstorm outside so everyone was packed in to stay warm. There was so much love in that room.

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Anna Azarov Photography

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Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Carol King – Tapestry
Artist – Miranda July
Movie – Children of Men
Place to visit – Iceland
Venue to play – Treehouse
Food –  Tacos
Drink – Water
Person in History –  Rosa Parks
Tattoo – A little line drawing of a house on my wrist. It represents being “home to each other” with some of my best friends.

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Anna Azarov Photography

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Check out SKANDRA below
Website – Facebook – Instagram – Twitter
Tik Tok

Music: Spotify – Apple Music – YouTube

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Anna Azarov Photography

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Alexandra Duparc – aka SKANDRA – is finally showing the world her own music. The proactive musician and humanitarian has been touring the world since age 15 and working on a countless number of film scores/albums for other artists. Now, the Paris-based Pop artist has released a small collection of her own music – “Rivers,” “Tangerines” and “Ashes” – with a full album on the way. SKANDRA recently skyrocketed to fame after her loving husband Ylane Duparc’s TikTok went viral – with 18.7-Million views and 4.1-Million likes. In the TikTok, Ylane confesses they blew their life savings on this project and he needs the internet to help him promote his wife’s new song and by proxy, her dreams. Alexandra has since been hailed a “multi-talented, humanitarian and artistic genius” by LADYGUNN.

The album itself was created alongside an A-List team including Songwriter/Producer Travis Warner – whose worked with headliners such as Taylor Swift, Adele, Beck, and John Legend. “Rivers” was mixed by producer, mixing engineer, and recording engineer Mike Schuppan – known for his work with Lady Gaga, Paramore, M83, Jimmy Eat World, and Ziggy Marley. The music video for her viral single “Rivers” was filmed in Paris, France and directed by Robin Clive of the SuperVision Creative Agency.

Alexandra’s love for writing and creating music blossomed at an early age. From 2004-2019, Alexandra wrote and created over twelve albums. At just 14-years old in 2018, Alexandra both won Poetry Nation’s International Poetry Contest and released a book of short stories entitled “Other Halves.” At age 15, she joined The Tints band as a singer, songwriter and keyboardist – who she recorded an album and toured the world with. In the two years following the tour, she scored over 30 films alongside renowned Film Music Supervisor Budd Carr. All the while, working on carving out a place of her own in the music industry and eventually releasing a collection of original singles under the artist name ‘SKANDRA’.

Aside from music, Alexandra is focused on expanding her self-established non-profit Treehouse, a monthly music and writing event held at pop-up locations in Los Angeles. The pop-up started as an intimate night of live music performances from Alexandra’s living room, and has since expanded to accommodate the growing amount of participants and supporters. While currently postponed due to the pandemic, the music-lovers mission of Treehouse remains alive and vibrant with their prevalent online presence. Alexandra has additionally worked with other non-profit organizations to fight human trafficking, and went on tour across the US in 2014 with Falling Whistles to raise awareness and terminate the war in Congo.

Alexandra currently splits her time between Paris and Los Angeles.

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AMNPLIFY – DB

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