Allie X Made a Playlist to Drown Out the Music Industry

Photo courtesy of Allie X.

Welcome to SOUND ADVICE, Interview’s weekly destination for playlists curated by our friends, enemies, and lovers. In recent weeks, we’ve featured playlists from Jerskin Fendrix, DJ Thank You, and Harris Dickinson.  This week, we hand the aux to Allie X, the pop maximalist with a minimalist social life. The Toronto-born, L.A.-based artist has built a self-sufficient musical empire, writing, producing, and managing herself while quietly outsmarting the alt-pop scene. Her next album Happiness Is Going to Get You, out today, drifts back to the piano, where she conjures haunted little symphonies that recall Kate Bush on an insomnia kick. For her playlist, she and her friend Cal built what she calls a droney, weird “chamber of happiness,” filled with left-field picks like “Nice People” by MSC and “Anonymous Thug Matrix” by African-American Sound Recordings. Between black coffee runs and home-grown ferments, Allie X reminds us that true independence isn’t lonely—it’s chic.

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Where do you dance? I dance alone most of the time. I guess I dance on stage. Recently I’ve gone out dancing with friends in London.

Name a song that reminds you of your childhood. Neverending storyyyyyy ahhhhh ahhhh ahhhhh.

Dream collab, dead or alive? Robert Smith I think.

What song on this playlist do you wish you wrote? “Perverts.” 

What song on this playlist makes you cry? None. It relaxes me.

The world is ending. What are you wearing? Probably sweatpants.

What has success solved for you? What is success? I like ignoring the idiots of the music industry.

How do you cope? By staying extremely busy and by making music.

What’s your Tim Hortons order? Lol. Maybe a black coffee. I don’t eat fast food.

Who’s an artist you wish more people knew about? Spiral Beach.

Which song on this playlist deserves an acoustic edition? None. Acoustic versions are boring.

Are you spiritual? Yes, I think so. Though I haven’t figured out how yet.

What does your notes app look like? To-do lists, lyrics, concepts, quick financial projections, sometimes a diary type entry. A lot of outdated shit I don’t understand.

Who do you wish would write a song for you? I wish that PJ Harvey would write a song for me.

Fill in the blank: ___ are a girl’s best friend. Home-grown fermented foods.

Trick or treat? Trick.