We are so excited to talk with Ally Bakst today! Tell us all about yourself – what is your musical background, and how did you get started in the industry?
Hey, thanks for having me! I’ve been singing forever, taught myself some piano pretty early on, and started taking guitar lessons around third grade. I can’t remember when exactly, but I would write little love songs in a pink fluffy notebook when I was really little and eventually started working on my songwriting more intentionally as I got older. My parents always played various genres of music for me growing up and encouraged me and my two older brothers to play instruments, so I naturally fell into it pretty early on. I never really thought I’d pursue music as a career, but that definitely changed after taking my first songwriting class in college at USC. Being a musician and recording artist was always something I wanted to do, but I knew nothing about the music industry and it felt like an inaccessible dream. I figured it might just be a hobby, but every time I’d do anything else I’d be constantly thinking about the music. Eventually I met a guy in my songwriting class, and we made a song together for an assignment that ended up being one of the songs we released on my first EP. A friend of mine heard the songs and introduced me to Mark Vogel—the composer for Full House the TV show—who is now my producer and mentor, and we’ve been working together ever since.
We were super lucky and got to hear a preview of your new track “Everest” which is coming out soon! Your voice on the track is incredible. How would you describe your musical style or genre? Are there any specific influences that have shaped your sound?
Thank you! I really appreciate that because the lead and background vocals were a key part of creating the nostalgic soundscape that makes this song really special to me. This was also the first song I ever recorded in a recording studio, so it means a lot to me to share it with everyone. I’d say I make indie pop and dark pop music infused with a variety of other genres like alternative, R&B, classical, and rock. It really just depends on the song. I feel quite versatile in my songwriting style but think the main through line is definitely my voice and stacks of harmonies. In terms of musical inspiration, I love dark pop artists like Billie Eilish and Lana del Rey, and I was always obsessed with powerful vocalists like Whiteney Houston, Tracy Chapman, and Miley Cyrus. My dad and brothers played classic rock and alternative music every day on our drive to school, and that’s the type of music I learned on the guitar. I also used to teach myself classical piano pieces by ear because I thought they sounded so beautiful, so having a genius producer with such an incredible background in classical piano and music theory like Mark Vogel has been incredible. It’s a really random mix of influences, and I’ve definitely noticed it in the music I make.
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing or composing music? Where do you draw inspiration from?
The process of drawing inspiration for and writing each song is different, but I’d say I’m a very melodically and sonically driven person. I love writing lyrics and sometimes a little phrase will come to me that makes me want to write a whole song, but most of the time a melodic phrase will randomly come to me and get stuck in my head until I turn it into something. If I’m out in the world doing stuff, sometimes random noises in the spaces I’m in inspire me. If I’m alone I’ll usually play around on the piano or on Logic Pro until I find something, but it’s usually at the most random times like when I’m in the shower or trying to sleep that something really good comes to me. The process can get pretty messy and I forget my ideas quickly, so I have thousands of voice memos of random sounds and melodies on my phone. From that initial spark and solo development, I’ll take an idea to my producer Mark and we’ll build it out into a full song. Once we’ve got something to work with, we’ll build out a track and go to the recording studio to map out lead and background vocals. From there we iterate until we’re really happy with everything and feel ready to record a final vocal. Sometimes the demo will be the best take though, and we just go with it. My process honestly changes every week and I’m learning as I go.
What have been the most significant milestones or highlights in your music career so far?
Meeting my producer initiated a huge shift in my career and artistic process. Mark has been in the entertainment industry since he was a teenager, so learning music theory, piano, and vocal performance with him really changed my life. He’s so talented, so creating and releasing music together is a huge highlight and milestone in my career. He teaches me how to record with musicians and engineers in a studio, which has given me the confidence to execute my ideas from start to finish at a completely new, elevated level. A highlight in my career so far was definitely hearing that a song Mark and I wrote called “Monster” would be the theme song of Easter Bloody Easter, an indie horror comedy feature film coming out in theaters sometime early next year.
Are there any exciting projects, albums, or singles you’re currently working on or planning to release in the near future?
I’m really excited about my latest project, including my most recent release “Mystery Girl” and the follow up track, “Everest.” I’ve been working on a ton of new music and can’t wait to share it all. An album is definitely on the way!
We would love to stay in touch with you and follow your journey. Plug all your links!
I’d love to keep in touch and show you all what I’m up to! You can find me as Ally Bakst on all streaming Platforms and @allybakst on Instagram and Tik Tok. Looking forward to chatting again soon!
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