The Academy, Dublin: Saturday 5th October
(Rescheduled from Friday 29th March)
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Tickets €23.60 Incl. booking fee
Doors 7pm
Hi everyone! SO Sorry to say due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts & my crazy diary, I’m having to postpone my EU tour dates.
All your tickets will be useable on the October run! So please please come and see us then, I really wanna hang with you guys so much, we’ve put together a killer new show.
I’ve been working on some really exciting music, including finishing my album and working with some amazing women on some pretty big stuff! You’re gonna hear all of it really soon!
Love you all, you guys are everything – can’t wait to see you all in October!
Alma’s extraordinary soulful voice and sharply observed lyrics hit somewhere between Sia and Amy Winehouse. Perhaps understandable the world wants to know where and the how the 22-year-old Finnish powerhouse (currently working with Justin Tranter, MNEK, Rudimental, Charlie XCX, Sub Focus, 2 Inch Punch and more) began her career in music. “I don’t think I ever really started,” Alma recalls. “It’s just when I was little, I understood that singing made me feel things. It made me feel safe, it made me feel good, it made me feel better. It’s how I’ve survived everything, cliché́́́ as that sounds.”
ALMA - Chasing Highs
She’s brazen explaining the story behind “Dye My Hair,” laughing about the prospect of fatal devotion. “Would Bruno Mars really catch a grenade for you, y’know?!” she says. “The song is tongue in cheek, I think people get that when they see me. I’d never change the way I look for anyone, it’s not my thing.” She switches between innocence and steeliness describing Karma, “it’s about taking revenge on an ex” which she swears she’s never done. “Success is the best revenge,” she grins. “And this song.”
Alma’s unique voice as a writer (honest, educated and satirical) is best exemplified by “Knock,” a shuddering embrace of a song that offers sanctuary to a friend in need. The track sighs at the ritual of “crawling through the weekends,” though Alma admits that despite having no club scene, Helsinki has the best parties in the world. “Kids are just real there,” she says. “Anywhere else in the world when you go to an underground club, you can see them trying really hard to be cool. In Finland there are those people, but when you go into a club they can be anyone. People are cool even though they don’t look cool, and I love that, it’s very inclusive.”
Given Alma’s love of soul (Amy Winehouse remains her all-time favourite artist), it might seem surprising that she’s embraced such a massive pop sound—one that’s already seen her rack up over 300 million Spotify plays, and praise from Annie Mac, MØ, Elton John and more. Her answer is eminently sensible. “I’m a mixture of everything,” she says. “I love house, electro, hip hop, R&B, soul and jazz but fundamentally pop music is what I know.”
Her attitude places her among a generation of young pop geniuses who are swiftly taking over the industry. With her debut album coming March this year (executive produced by Justin Tranter and Charli XCX), first single from which ‘Cowboy’ was released in October 2018 Alma is moments away from world domination. “I am an ambitious person,” she admits. “But I want to live in the moment, I’m not thinking about tomorrow, about big arena concerts, or flash awards. I want to keep writing, performing and working with people I like and see where it takes me.”
Despite her openness to whatever the future may bring, Alma’s sense of self is steadfast. She recognises that today’s pop stars “are like gods” to their young fans. “They need to understand they’re powerful people who really can change things,” she says. One day, she’d like to work with kids who felt like she did in her teens. But in order to get there, she knows she must build up trust as an artist. “I just want to be here and be real,” she says, her blue eyes wide. “I don’t want to bullshit anyone or write empty pop bangers. I want to keep the Finnish mind-set, cos I’m just a Finnish girl, y’know?”
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