ABRA (singer/songwriter) ~
How did you start making music?
I was writing my own songs, doing covers of rap songs on the guitar in the summer of 2007.
I didn’t think I had a future in it. I just really enjoyed doing it.
When did you start taking it seriously?
It would soften the blows from things that didn’t work out in real life. I had just broken up with my boyfriend and I was like, “Fuck this. I’m about to be great.” I came out of the relationship after a lot of self-examination. I didn’t think of myself doing anything great in life. I just wanted to do something that mattered.
You used the Internet to get your music out, but do you spend a lot of time online in your personal life these days?
I don’t like how much time I spend on it. If I wanted to get rid of my phone, I couldn’t do that. If I just wanted to take calls from people who aren’t on Twitter, I couldn’t do that. My brand, as an artist, would suffer. I have to engage, which sucks for someone like me. I’m an escapist. I need to go and be able to be in a completely different environment for me to maintain the creative mindspace that I want. I can’t do that sometimes.
