Swiss-born London based artist Cristina Hart has previously charmed audiences playing for the likes of Sofar Sounds, as well as receiving acclaim from Amazing Radio’s Shell Zenner and Charlie Ashcroft, and has now shared an uplifting new single.
Taken from her new EP, ‘Will You’ flows with twinkling keys alongside Hart’s soaring, impassioned vocals, creating a heartfelt slice of alt-pop.
We caught up with Cristina to find out more!
Hi Cristina, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Of course! I’ve been writing and gigging my own songs for the past four years now and this year I finally released original music – it feels so good to finally share these songs! I released three singles and the fourth track ‘Will You’ from my debut EP Sell a Dream finally came out today. My music is indie-pop with quirky, relatable lyrics and upbeat productions, except for the fourth track of the EP which strips away the veneer and lets the emotional lyrics and vocals take centre stage.
How did you start creating music?
About four years ago I moved to London because I wanted to pursue a career in music and since then I’ve got to meet so many creative, talented people. I absolutely love the community here and really enjoy co-writing my songs and working with different writers and producers I click with!
Your new EP Sell a Dream is out now – can you tell us what it’s all about? Are there any themes running throughout the EP?
Yes, there are actually! I wanted to explore the labels that attempt to define us and the importance we attach to them. It’s so easy for people – or even ourselves – to think we’re “too this or that” and this way of thinking is really restrictive when you think about it. Attempting to define ourselves is by definition limiting, which is why I wanted to take some labels that had been thrown at me and play around with them to show that we can not let them mean too much and redefine ourselves every single day.
You’ve been compared to the likes of Demi Lovato and Emily Burns, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Thanks so much! This constantly changes to be honest as I love discovering new music all the time. For this EP, I would say that my biggest influences are Lauv, Zara Larsson and Alessia Cara. At the moment, I’m really loving more indie-alt pop songwriters like Phoebe Bridgers, Holly Humberstone, Lauren Aquilina and, of course, the Folklore album by Taylor Swift!
In ‘normal’ times, how is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
With COVID, things have obviously been so shaken up that it’s quite hard imagining them starting again soon – I still have my fingers crossed though! I’m local between London and Essex and pre-COVID days I would go to or perform at gigs about three times a week. Watching live music is so inspiring and it always motivates me to keep working on my craft.
And what can fans expect from your live shows?
I would say expect some amazing energy and music from my all-female band – they are all badass musicians! We’ve worked on some really cool arrangements and there’s some sing-alongs too, which is always fun! I’m so lucky and grateful to get to gig with them and can’t wait til we get started again!
As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
Oh my, where to start, there are so many!! But a few of my suggestions would be Maisie Peters, Griff, Emily Burns, GRACEY, The Valla and UPSAHL.
And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
Now that we can’t gig and every artist has turned to social media, it feels even harder to rise above the noise and it’s more difficult to meet new people / network than it usually is. But there are definitely new ways of getting noticed that artists like myself need to explore and experiment with! I feel that the best way to use social media is to literally be social, meet people and have real conversations with them instead of simply using it as a self-promotion tool.
Finally, what does the rest of 2020 have in store for Cristina Hart?
Now that it’s coming close to an end I would say the EP release is the main thing! I’ll be posting in the coming weeks some snippets from the creative process of recording this EP – I can’t wait!
Big thanks to Cristina for answering our questions!
Cristina Hart’s new EP, Sell A Dream, is out now.
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