A Chat with Pri Abrol (12.08.2022)

OSR: Writing is something that you have done for a while, resulting in parts of songs, but you didn’t really start making music until 2021. What happened to change this?

Abrol: It’s something that I honestly never want to talk about, but I finally put music out because of a boy. I met someone who makes music and he inspired me to finally finish my first song. I don’t want to give him any credit though – I think it was just finally time for me to do what I always should’ve been doing.

OSR: Earlier this year you released your debut album Say My Name. Is there a backstory or theme to the album?

Abrol: I think the main theme of this album is loss and the different ways that it presents itself in life. Whether it’s a false sense of security in someone, a bittersweet goodbye, a feeling of regret when you find out who someone really is, an actual murder betrayal, giving up on yourself by choosing toxicity, feeling broken for loved ones lost, wishing you could go back in time, or accepting the sadness that comes with life. During the creation of this album, I was recovering from a brutal breakup and rebounded into a toxic relationship. Making music is the only good thing that came out of that.

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OSR: Many of the tracks on the album draw on your own experiences. How easy do you find it to translate your personal experiences and emotions into something that listeners can relate to?

Abrol: Honestly, I don’t necessarily try to make my music relatable. I’ll write whatever I’m feeling and I think the relatability comes from our shared human experience. I really love when people tell me that they relate to my songs or that my music helped them because it reminds me that all of us are not so different after all.

OSR: Most of the songs deal with toxic relationships, but the last one is quite different in its topic. What prompted you to include this track?

Abrol: ‘The Sun and the Moon’ is a very special song to me because it’s more of a song about acceptance than it is about going through turmoil. When I wrote this song there was a lot of it that I didn’t really believe, but I wanted to. I’ll have days where the whole song feels completely true, but I’ll have days where I can’t even listen to it. I think that’s what makes the song so special. The fact that it’s still there for me and encouraging all of the different stages of the healing process.

OSR: You recorded the album in a number of different places with the help of different people. How do you feel this has impacted the overall production?

Abrol: I don’t feel like it impacted the production in a negative way at all but I do think it makes it interesting. Everyone who worked on the album was connected to me in a different way so it was really interesting to combine all of these different areas of my life to make a cohesive project. I think the variety in production comes from working with a lot of different people as well.

OSR: There is a clear feeling of catharsis woven through the album, but what else would you like listeners to take away from the album?

Abrol: I think I just really want people to try to put themselves in my shoes or find ways that they can personally relate to my music. I want it to be a story with themes that pull on heartstrings.

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OSR: While all the tracks have a personal touch to them, is there one that has a special place in your heart?

Abrol: Honestly, ‘Blue’ is the one that I hold onto the hardest. I wrote it when I was at my lowest and I feel like it’s such a raw song about being broken over losing people and hoping that they aren’t gone forever. For me, I know that all of the people I think of when I sing this song don’t deserve to have me love them forever, but that’s simply how I feel anyways.

OSR: With this being your debut album, written and released during a tough time not long after you really started making music, what was the biggest challenge you faced creating it?

Abrol: The biggest challenge was insecurity. This is the first time I’ve ever made music so I was really scared about what people would think. Also I really wanted to impress the boy that inspired me to make music but he would often make me feel worse. But I learned that I have to follow my own heart and that there is no point in making music for other people.

OSR: While you have been writing for a while, did you find that your creative process changed as you created the tracks or did it stay mostly the same?

Abrol: Yes definitely! The first song that I ever wrote was bittersweet and I’m really proud of it, but I feel like I barely dipped under the surface of the song because I was scared. Working with Lauren on green jacket was also a totally different process too and we always make something different from our solo music. I feel like songwriting had to gain my trust and I slowly opened up to it throughout the album.

OSR: What do you feel has the largest impact on the style of music that you make?

Abrol: Definitely Taylor Swift! (laughs) I’ve loved her since I was about 8 years old and I just admire her songwriting so much. My mom has also influenced a lot of my writing. She’s a writer herself and always gives me her honest opinion (even if I don’t ask for it)

OSR: After this debut album, what else do you have in store for the next 12 months?

Abrol: Well, I definitely am going to sound insane answering this question but I am currently planning to have a total of 4 albums out this year. Two projects are coming up and then I have an idea for a 2023 album as well. It’s not like I feel rushed or anything or that I’m racing to make music, it’s just that I love it so much and it makes me so happy. It feels like breathing now and I’m going to spend as much time with it as I can from here on.

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Thanks to Pri Abrol for chatting with us! You can find more about her on her Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Spotify.