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Episode 6: Sassy Souls with Bx Sassy and Tilda Allie
Singer and producer Tilda Allie is known for bringing meaningful messages into the sweetest, emotive arrangements. Her catchy hooks and distinctive vocal range lay on top of naturally morphing electronic beats, drawing listeners into her world. Forever playing with dark undertones, Tilda's music is a unique blend of cinematic electronic-pop, mixed with jazz and soul. Her live performers enrapture audiences as she delivers sweeping melodies with powerful passion, creating a crossover between poetic spoken word and dance music.
Alongside her work as a musician, Tilda Allie has developed a style of visual art present in her album artwork and visual content creations. Often focusing on self-portraiture, Tilda's art plays with ever-morphing imagery, embedded in visceral colours and sensory feelings. In this way, we witness Tilda extending her creative message and challenging the norms of artistic representation.
Having grown up in Sweden, before relocating to London, Tilda Allie is making waves on the UK music scene. Having performed at The Sassy Show Live, and with a new EP around the corner, Sassy Souls host Bx Sassy asked Tilda to introduce us to her music. We hear them discuss the inspiration behind Tilda's songs as well as her approach to creating music and letting emotions provide space for growth. Tune in to hear Tilda share her Sassy side, and all she's learnt about maintaining mental stability.
Describing herself as an explosive performer and musician, Tilda Allie has spent the past 15 years developing her sound, skills, and style. Growing up wanting to be a rock star, Tilda's musical journey started with her learning bass as a teenager before moving into singing and performing live. Tilda's transition into producing evolved from spending hours playing around and "making really strange stuff". The result was a completely unique and organic approach to composition, with Tilda recording many of her tracks in a single improvised take, which she then layers on top with harmonies. Her lyrics are a fundamental part of any project, explaining how "I explore things like female empowerment and I talk about a lot of vulnerable subjects because it's the reason I make music." This desire to spread a message of sincerity sits at the core of Tilda's art, describing how she finds it hard to "create a tune that doesn't have any personable value....that's why I write."
My music is very much a journey. I invite people onto my journey and hope it can help [them] to become a little bit more comfortable with what they are experiencing
This desire to spread genuine messages in her music takes us back to Tilda's upbringing. She tells us how she came from a political background where it was better to stand up for something than fall for everything. Her parents met while working for the same political organisation, connecting over shared values and morals that Tilda explains influenced her understanding of how to be a good human for this world. "They're very left-wing politically. My dad is a feminist, my mum is a feminist, my sister and brother are feminists... every 1st May we'd go out demonstrating together, on marches." With this example around her, Tilda reflects on how it's clear to her as an adult why she has "this need of expressing my opinions and my views."
This mindset is one that Tilda recognises isn't common for most children growing up in Sweden. Nor was the environment she called home, explaining how she lived in a private commune (of sorts) that her parents had set up with another family before she was born. This made them stick out within the area, with Tilda expressing how "I've always been different because my family chose to live alternatively." This sense of distinction is something that Tilda carries with her today, finding herself drawn to communities that share similar values on life.
Similarly, teenage Tilda found her character and description of being "extreme" to isolate her from her surroundings. Living in her own personality, away from social expectations is something that has allowed Tilda to express herself, to be explosive. This is something she feels separates her from her Swedish roots. "Sweden is calm and gently, lovely. It's a beautiful country to grow up in but I needed some grit....I think moving abroad was really helpful for me to find a bit more of a belonging". With this intention, Tilda embraced the UK music scene, moving first to Brighton and then settling in London.
It's amazing when you see the effects moving our body can have on our mind.
When delving deeper into Tilda's identity, she descirbes herself as having a double life. Alongside her music, Tilda is also a fitness fan, "It became a huge part in my life when I realised I had a lot of excess energy and emotional energy that I wasn't able to deal with. I would get very angry and it could turn into behaviours that were difficult for not only me to deal with but also those around me." To find an outlet for this frustration, Tilda found music wasn't able to give her the physical connection she was looking for. "I just needed to punch someone in the face, that's what it felt like. And the only person I could do that with was myself. I know this is quite common, that people like to take their anger out on themselves because they don't know how to deal with some of the emotions that come up". Tilda was advised to start going to the gym and find a form of exercise that could help reduce the level of cortisol in her body; the hormone that gets released in stressful situations. Through exercise, Tilda has found ways to manage her emotions, and experience the beneficial effects adrenaline and endorphins have on mindset, as well as perspective."It's amazing when you see the effects moving our body can have on our mind." This has been a fundamental part of Tilda maintaining a healthy mentality through the highs and lows of her daily life.
When discussing the struggles that Tilda has faced, we hear the conversation move to appearance and her way of developing a higher level of self-worth. For Tilda, shaving off her hair was a way "to start making friends with what I had rather than trying to find ways to alter it to make me feel comfortable." Tilda explains that stripping away the external ways we shape our appearance can help us go back to the core of who we are. "I was trying to create who I was rather than accept what was already there." In this way, there has been a clear shift in how Tilda has accepted her own beauty and worthiness, for exactly who she is. Explaining how "Shaving my head was another way of getting rid of a barrier between me and myself". This is something we love hearing about; feeling the movement away from toxic beauty standards into a gentler, more accepting view of our own real appearance.
I was trying to create who I was rather than accept what was already there... Shaving my head was another way of getting rid of a barrier between me and myself
Tilda is intensionally spreading her message of authenticity and compassion through her music and her stage presence. One topic she brings into the spotlight are toxic relationships that end up being emotionally abusive "Any relationship that is emotionally abusive is extremely confusing to be in and it's hard to even have the courage to say those words out loud. Because if you've been put through a lot of gaslighting for a long period of time you lose the sense of what reality is" With an eye of optimism, Tilda explains how after her own experiences of this, she's been able to grow and develop as a person "Now I can see the warning signs, what I deserve, what my worth is."
I've always felt like [my sexuality is] a way to empower me rather than being submissive to someone else. Because that's sometimes what I find female sexuality is boiled down to... belittling yourself within your sexual expression for someone else.
It is with his same attitude that we see Tilda blossom. Refusing to shrink or change to meet the needs and desires of others, but instead, explore who she is on her own terms. This embodiment of self is something we see shine through Tilda's recent wave of musical releases. From live sessions to back to back gigs, Tilda is allowing her voice to soar, her ideas to land, and her experience to shape the messages she spreads. We can't wait to see how Tilda Allie's art will evolve as she continues to live by her own standards of joy and happiness in order to shine brightly.
TILDA'S Quickfire
When do you feel most confidence?
When I'm on stage
What key experience has shaped you?
Moving to a different country
One dream you wish to come true?
I would like my music to be on commercial radio because then people would hear it.
One cause you care about?
Making sure women have the freedom to be in control of what they want to happen to their bodies, such as abortion laws.
Whats the best thing about being you Tilda?
That no matter how much shit I experience, I always come back.
Name your top 5 Sassy tracks?
Rocket Me High (unreleased)
Dreamworld
Say No (unreleased)
Treading Water
Ego Death
Stay up to date with Tilda Allie's music via Spotify or on IG @tildaallie
Cover portrait by Robyn Salt @robynsalt
Interview by Bethany Burgoyne @bxsassy