My mom used to bake so much when I was a child, and I have a big sweet tooth.
Alice Merton
When I was thirteen years old, and we had just moved to Germany, I definitely felt I was missing out on normal teenage life. I was watching my old school friends from Canada grow up without me while I was in Germany trying to learn the language and trying to pass each year without failing.
Baking is more like chemistry, following certain instructions and knowing what comes out in the end. It's almost reassuring! Songwriting is a creative process where you go into a session with nothing and can come out of it with something incredible in the end. I never feel like I'm taking a risk with baking, but always with songwriting.
At the end of the day, it's not the labels buying the music: it's the people out there, and you have to be behind the music and not anyone else. You're the one representing it, you're playing it for everyone; you're doing promotion and travelling around the world.
Every time someone asks me where I'm from, I'm not sure how to answer that question... so I say I have no roots.
I wanted to write an upbeat song where I could feel good about the fact that I've moved around so much and not sad about all the goodbyes I've had to face.
I had no idea if 'No Roots' was going to work or not.
I was on the beach, and I was just thinking to myself that I have no one place where I actually feel like I'm at home. I came up with the idea of having no roots - never being grounded to a certain place but having your home with people who you love.
You don't really learn how to write songs; you learn to develop as a writer, and you get to meet lots of musicians and figure out what kind of sound you want. You have the time to just develop and try different styles, and that's what I did.
Home, for me, is with the people who I really love - whether that's in England with my family, Ireland with my relatives, or Germany and Canada with my friends.
Being an artist and a human in this world always means confronting people who make you feel like you have to act according to their rules.
A lot of labels always feel the need to tell you how they think the music should be marketed and what songs work best where. I say make music you love doing, come up with a strategy, and put it out there.
It's a really hard decision, picking my second single.
I was realizing that I didn't have a home. I didn't really feel at home in one place.
I get really nervous when I'm performing or meeting new people.
I make music... and it helps me figure out life.
Every song is true and has its unique story behind it.
When you've moved 13 times, you lose track of where you're from.
I didn't have just one place where I could say, 'That's my home.'
I have complete creative freedom. If I want to put a song on the album, there's no one stopping me.
I loved a lot of the romantic composers.
The idea - or, if you like, the need - to write and record 'Lash Out' was born of a feeling within me.
Like most people, I wanted and still want to live by my own rules.
Music is something I can control.
I can do whatever I want, and I'm not going to let anyone tell me what language I should speak in.
I feel it's much easier to be honest or be myself in songs when I'm playing. That's why I felt, 'You know, I'm going to write the truth.'
I always wanted to do something with music, but to be honest, I never thought I'd be good enough.
I love writing about things I know, and I like to be very honest in my music.
If I don't feel the music, I can't perform it.
I wanted to take the seriousness out of everything a little bit, because it kind of fits my style.
I love spending time in England, whether it's for writing, producing, or seeing my parents and siblings.
I don't really see myself as a pop star. I guess I just really enjoy being able to play my music for people who actually want to listen to it.
I wish I wrote 'Paper Planes' by M.I.A.
There's a few kids out there who like singing to my songs. They're, like, five, six, seven years old.
I started quite late. I only discovered that I could write a song when I was, like, 17... some musicians, they're starting out, writing songs when they're, like, 12, 13. I never thought I would go into songwriting when I was that young.
I think nowadays it's important to have the support of a group of people who are ready to invest time and effort in your music and vision.
Mom+Pop aren't just a label, but they were the group of people that seemed to really care about a long-term relationship. I can be honest with them, like I would with my family, but at the same time, I can expect for them always to be upfront and honest with me.
The actual thought of not really having a home was, for me, very depressing, and it was something that I was dealing with for quite some time.
I didn't want to write a sad song to remind me of the fact that I'm always moving around. I wanted something to cheer me up.
I actually didn't think there was that many people out there who knew what it's like to not really have a home or have that home in one place.
We always watch 'The Polar Express.' I love that movie; that's a very, very nice Christmas tradition that we have.
I wanted to sing about things that moved me and experiences I had collected throughout life.
I don't like being dependent on other people.
I would bake for my grandma because she has never had anything I've baked.
I like eating yummy things.
When I was younger, I always wanted to be either a pianist or a classical singer, and when I discovered songwriting, it was like a new portal had been opened.
I don't think I ever had a certain image of what touring was like... I think when you're young, you think it's very glamourous, but it's not.
I'm putting out music that I love, and they're basically just stories of my life and how I try and teach myself to think about things. They're kind of like notes to self, basically.
I get mad about something, and then I have this melody in my head, and then afterwards, the lyrics come.
I'm not going to release something just because they think it's the next hit. It's not what everyone wants to hear, but that's the way it is.
