Edmonton artist 9CLOUDZ just dropped PIXIE DREAMS, a self-produced album she recorded entirely on her phone. Production, mixing, mastering, all done herself. We caught up with her to talk about the project.
Q: You said you recorded all your vocals on your phone for this project. Walk me through that.
A: I don’t have a proper setup. I just make do with what I have. You don’t need a thousand-dollar mixing board or a studio to make good music. You just need soul and passion. If you care about what you’re doing and put your soul into that shit, it’s gonna show.
Q: How much of PIXIE DREAMS did you produce yourself?
A: The whole album except for two songs. I produced, I mixed, and I mastered everything myself.
Q: You mentioned that this generation is “copy-paste” when it comes to sound. What do you mean by that?
A: Everyone’s trying to sound like somebody else. The only way to get out of that is if people stop asking “how could I sound like this person?” and start asking “how can I express myself?” It might not come out perfect. Sometimes self-expression is ugly. And I want people to be more comfortable with that.
Q: What do you want people to take away from PIXIE DREAMS?
A: I want people to stop looking at other artists for inspiration and look into themselves. Everyone’s perspective is so important to share. I want people to be more comfortable with self-expression, even when it’s not perfect.
Q: You said this is your most vulnerable work. How did people react to it?
A: People have been hitting me up saying “this is literally your best work” and stuff like that. That’s really the only reason why I do this.
Q: You’re also a tattoo artist and visual artist. How does that tie into your music?
A: I don’t want to be one thing. If I get bored with music, I’m gonna go paint. If I get bored with that, I’ll do a tattoo for a friend. You don’t need to just be one thing.
Q: How many songs did you record for this project before narrowing it down?
A: I probably recorded about 30 songs. A lot of the process was figuring out what I’m actually feeling and what’s getting in the way of the message. Anything that felt off I put on the backburner. I want everything to flow. It starts off more upbeat but then it gets deeper.
Q: What’s the album about?
A: It’s not really about anybody. It’s about me looking into who I am and where I’m at in life. I’ve always struggled with a lot of things, and this project is me trying to understand it all.
Q: Do you feel like you’ve fully tapped into your potential yet?
A: No. I’m just getting more comfortable with myself now. I’m already 50 tracks deep and I still haven’t reached the point where I can fully let go. I’m still learning. It’s not just about the outcome, it’s about what you learn about yourself. And this project has taught me a lot.
