INTERVIEW: INÉS HALL
Off Radar caught up with indie folk musician Inés Hall to discuss the places, people, and sounds that have shaped her as an artist. The New York native recently moved to LA to further her music career. On July 10, Hall released her latest single “Mr. Purple,” a track filled with acoustic yearning.
Written by Katie Karp
OFF RADAR: Are you in LA right now?
INÉS: Yeah, I live in Los Angeles.
OFF RADAR: Nice. When did you move there?
INÉS: I’ve been here since April.
OFF RADAR: Were you in New York before?
INÉS: Kinda. I used to live in Colorado, then I went back to New York for like seven months, and then I came out here.
OFF RADAR: What’s been your favorite place that you’ve lived in so far between the three?
INÉS: I love Colorado. Honestly, probably Colorado. I was there for three years with my friends. I wasn’t really doing music when I was out there. I was working on farms. I lived in Fort Collins.
OFF RADAR: How do you think all the different places you’ve lived in have influenced the music that you make?
INÉS: I would say Colorado really brought me into folk music. I didn’t really listen to folk until I moved out there. Then when I moved back to New York, I started working at a music studio that was more indie rock, so I started writing more rock-style songs. Wherever I live, I tend to write based on the music I’m listening to at the time. Now in LA, it’s so different. There’s more pop music, but I don’t really play pop. So I’ve been kind of combining folk and indie rock lately.
OFF RADAR: Who are some of your favorite musicians?
INÉS: I really like Searows. Also, savesomeone, and he’s actually my friend now. He does more indie rock, kind of like brakence. Searows is a lot like Phoebe Bridgers, I would say, more than Adrianne. I used to really like Phoebe Bridgers, but I haven’t been listening to her as much because I don’t want to be depressed. Production-wise, I’d say probably boygenius.
OFF RADAR: Did you move to LA to further pursue music?
INÉS: I got signed to a management company in March, and they’re based out in LA. I thought I’d get a better experience being closer to them. Also, I was kind of over New York. I like moving around, so I just wanted to try somewhere new.
OFF RADAR: What’s the most unexpected part of making music?
INÉS: Probably how each city has such a different approach to music. In New York, I worked with other musicians a lot. If I wanted violins on a track, I’d hire a string quartet and we’d work together. Not that they don’t do that here in LA, but here it’s way more modern. There are lots of computerized instruments and MIDI stuff. That’s not really my approach because I really like live music. I didn’t expect each city to be so different in terms of music production. Colorado is actually more like New York in that sense.
OFF RADAR: Have you performed live yet?
INÉS: Yeah, I just did a show last month. I’m supposed to be doing more this summer, I just haven’t booked them yet.
OFF RADAR: What was performing live like?
INÉS: That was my first time. I personally thought it was terrible—I thought I did such a bad job. But I really liked it. I don’t like playing songs the same way every time, so I like having the freedom to not sound exactly like the studio version. It’s cool to just jam out, and people pay to watch that.
OFF RADAR: Anyway, what’s a song you could listen to everyday?
INÉS: Probably Keep The Rain by Searows.
OFF RADAR: What about a song you’d want played at your funeral?
INÉS: Damn, I’ve actually thought about this before. Probably Mountain Song by Flatland Cavalry.
OFF RADAR: I’ll have to listen to those. Do you have any upcoming releases?
INÉS: I have a song coming out on July 11. I’m trying to do full-time songwriting too, helping others, or at least trying to get into that more. I didn’t go to college or anything, so I’ve just been doing music full-time now.
OFF RADAR: That’s really cool, I’ll have to listen. Thanks for everything!