Afternoon Sister
At just 14, Alice Ventura leads Afternoon Sister with a distinctive dream-pop vision, blending indie rock, airy vocals, and diverse influences into the captivating debut EP, Reset.
1. “Reset E.P.” moves between heavier guitar-driven songs and quieter, atmospheric moments. How did you develop the overall sound and mood of the EP?
I wrote my first 5 songs back to back and somehow they all fit together nicely. There wasn’t any real strategy on how I wrote the songs. I just wrote them as I felt at the time. I wrote the songs over a span of a year and during that year there was a lot of sadness and anger, but also a lot of fun and lovely moments. I think the EP really captured that
2. “Ache” is planned as the first single. What inspired the song, and what made you feel it was the right track to introduce Afternoon Sister to new listeners?
I wrote Ache during a trying part of my life. A lot of my friends seemed to turn on me. I had close friends that would gang up on me and snicker behind my back and it really broke my heart. I was simply calling out for help and trying not to forget biblical promises during that time..
To be honest, there was more Bandcamp activity with Ache than any other song on the EP. I thought that Night Drive would be a favorite, but we learned it wasn’t. It could be that tempo-wise it’s between the most upbeat song on the record and the most chill. I thought I would trust the data and stick with Ache. I didn’t pick it for any super deep reason.
3. Your music brings together indie rock and dream pop with influences ranging from Neil Young and Mazzy Star to Chromatics and Air. How do these different influences shape your songwriting without limiting your own identity?
I stuck with pretty simple chords, throwing in a few jazz chords to spice it up. I had my drummer play as simple as he could with an occasional accent or two to make the songs interesting. I wanted an instrumental at the top like my favorite band Air usually does. I made sure my guitar player Ray laid down very simple solos that anybody can play (like Neil Young). Throughout the whole EP, I wanted a Ruth Radelet sound…natural, smooth and airy.
Overall, I wanted to make sure my debut had a little bit of everything. Heavy rock, groove, a song in ¾ time, a vibey beach song and a happy break up song. You can’t get any more diverse than that!
4. Alice, you’re 14 and already writing original music and fronting a band. When did you first realize that songwriting was something you wanted to pursue, and what usually inspires you to write?
I grew up as the odd-one-out when it came to music. I began listening to Henry Mancini pretty early and saw a Herb Alpert documentary on TV, which got me interested in trumpet. I even started taking trumpet lessons because I was fascinated with it. I then started to listen to a lot of the Beatles and the High Llamas and wanted to start playing guitar. What made me want to write songs was when I started listening to a dream-pop playlist on Amazon Music and I knew then I wanted to write my own songs. My Dad showed me GarageBand basics and I would soon lock myself in my room and start writing songs with my guitar and MIDI keyboard.
Since I’m only 14 and I get bored easily, I use that time to practice guitar and write music. Some days it comes very easily, other days not so much.
5. The five songs on “Reset E.P.” each have their own character while still belonging to the same record. Was there a particular idea or feeling that connected all five songs during the writing and recording process?
All the songs connect because of my style of singing…hushed vocals with multiple layers which is kind of like the glue of the EP. Each song varies in style which gives them character. Don’t Cross Yer Fingers is basically an Air Virgin Suicides-inspired song. Ache is that Neil Young/Chromatics-style rock song with a long Doves ending. Night Drive is basically an Ivy song in ¾ time. Reset is a chill, vocal-heavy song with a Marvin Gaye touch to it, and Goodbye is almost a Flaming Lips-inspired song. All distinct but somehow all fit together.
No particular idea except to try and make a super cool EP
6. “Reset E.P.” arrives on November 1 through North Corona Records. What do you hope listeners discover about Afternoon Sister through this debut, and what would you like to explore next as a band?
It’s not much deeper than hoping these songs are catchy enough to stick in the listener’s head and simple enough to not scare them away. My lyrics are very simple and relatable, and the music is nowhere near “math rock”. We have some ideas about how the next record might sound but we’ll see how Reset EP does as an introduction to Afternoon Sister. I’ve been listening to The Cardigans a lot lately, so maybe that’s the direction? Who knows…