Soren Bryce is a force to be reckoned with in the world of electronic indie-pop. At only nineteen, she has mastered a captivating sound with the lyrics to match. Her crisp voice punctuates the ambient instrumentals in songs you can’t help but tap your foot along to. After moving from Amarillo, Texas to Los Angeles, Calif., she was quickly swept up into the music scene. I got the chance to sit down with her in the green room of Summit Music Hall in downtown Denver before her show to talk about her background and get to know the girl behind the sound.

Claudia Glenn: To start things off, how are you liking Denver, so far?

Soren Bryce: I love Denver. I’ve only played here a couple times, but it’s like always perfect. Last time I came through was really cold, though. It’s a nice break to get out of big cities and just go to a Midwestern-type place.

CG: Does the altitude affect you at all?

SB: Yeah. Last night I was so dizzy, but it could’ve also been because we were so tired of driving. We drove 12 hours the day before and then 9 yesterday. It was pretty insane.

CG: Do you listen to music in the car?

SB: Yeah. It’s hard, though, because we’ve already gone through our favorites. Usually a couple of people ride in my car from their band (Layne), and now we know everybody’s favorites, so we were like trying to find new playlists to listen to. We listen to podcasts, too.

CG: How did you first break into the music industry?

SB: It’s really weird how it happened because I was studying violin, and I was going to be a violinist and go to college for that. Then, randomly my friend in LA recommended me to another person, and they recommended me to my manager, and it all kicked off from there. She got me all of the connections I have now. So, it was definitely not planned. I decided not to go to college the year I was supposed to because I got signed to a label, and that’s when everything started going really intensely.

CG: Was it intimidating since you’re so young to work with people like David Kahne and other big shots?

SB: When I did work with David Kahne, I was much younger. I was 17, I think. So that was definitely intimidating because now I do a lot of my own production and stuff, but then I barely even knew how to play piano when we were doing that EP. He was super nice and welcoming, and he even let me stay at his house, so we got to know each other very well, and he’s kind of like my music grandpa. By the end of it we were all super chill, but I think the first day I was pretty nervous.

CG: How old were you when you started writing and making music?

SB: Writing actual songs, I was probably like 14 or 15. There was only one studio in my hometown, and I knew a lot of people there, so I would go hangout there a lot, and they were just like “hey, you should try writing a song, and bring it back tomorrow.” So, I tried and they were like “this is sick! You need to do this more” and I was like “ok, maybe I will!”

CG: Did you always write songs, or did you write poetry as well?

SB: In school, I was super into creative writing, and English was my favorite class, so I would write lots of short stories. I would always try to start novels, but I would never finish them, so songs are a nice abridged version of that because you have to fit everything within a certain timeframe. I think that fits me better because with my attention span, I just never finish anything. I’m much better at concise wording.

CG: Do you have any advice for writer’s block?

SB: Oh, gosh. I don’t think anybody ever figures out the best way. For me, I just wait it out. I know some people have exercises where they try to make themselves write, but I try not to force anything just because I feel it’s inauthentic.

CG: How old were you when you first performed in front of an audience?

SB: Probably that same year, 14. There’s this really great venue in my hometown, Amarillo, called “Cowboy gelato.” It’s gelato, and the sizes are “the good,” “the bad” and “the ugly”. I had to play a two-and-a-half hour set and just try to play covers; it was crazy. It was a good hustle at first to be forced to just sit and play to people who weren’t even listening to me.

CG: Have you gotten used to performing or do you still get stage fright?

SB: I don’t get stage fright as much as I just get nervous about the tech stuff not going right, and that’s happened a lot on this tour, which kind of sucks, but that’s really the only thing I get anxious about. That’s why I like checking because you can make sure everything’s running, and you don’t have to worry about any of the stuff messing up.

CG: Do you have a favorite part of the process: writing, recording or performing?

SB: Probably for the past couple of years, recording has been my favorite part, just because I started doing a lot of production myself. I’ll even just start a song idea and track the whole thing, and then I’ll write the rest of it while I’m tracking. It’s been a long time since I wrote a whole song and then did the production. So, production is probably my favorite because it’s so fun and versatile.

CG: Have you always played the same style, or do you experiment with other genres?

SB: I started out being a folk artist. I only played guitar, and I had all of these songs, so I was like a singer/songwriter. Then, as I started to get into more of the production and more into gear—I’m super into gear now— that broadened my horizons. I started listening to different music, like James Blake and all of these people who were mixing organic and electronic music, and that’s what this album at least was born from.

CG: If you weren’t doing music, what do you think you would be doing?

SB: I ask myself this question on a daily basis because I’m like “do I really have a plan B,” I think it’s good not to have a plan B, and just to put all of your eggs in one basket and go for it, at least for a while. I don’t know, I’m really into visual art, so something else creative. I don’t think I could ever just sit at a desk and work 9 to 5; that sounds terrible.

CG: On a similar note, do you have any hobbies outside of music?

SB: Well, art, and I like listening to podcasts. I like playing volleyball; it’s really random. I was captain of my team in high school. I gave myself a concussion my last game ever, and I was like “great I don’t even get to play the last game; I’ll probably never play volleyball again,” so sports, I guess, and hanging out.

CG: Do you sing your own music in the shower? Or do you have a go to song or artist?

SB: No, I definitely don’t sing my own songs. I’m always so tired of my own music by the end of the day that I just don’t even sing in the shower. That’s like my nice peace and solitude period of the day, especially on tour. Every time I go to take a shower I’m just like, “Okay, 30 minutes not to be around anyone or socialize.” I get very exhausted with socializing, even though I love the people I’m on tour with right now. It’s just nice to take a break and be in silence for a second.

CG: This is broad, but where do you find the inspiration for your lyrics?

SB: No, that’s a good question. I get a lot of inspiration from people, a lot of inspiration from my own daily interactions with everyone. I like watching movies, I know that’s kind of a weird thing, but sometimes I get super inspired after watching a really good movie just because it’s another story besides my own story, so I like to try and branch of just “what do I have to say,” and try to think, “what can I say for everybody?”

CG: Definitely. If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

SB: Probably Thom Yorke; I love him. I have this fantasy of, well he’s a lot older than me, but I have this fantasy of meeting him and him like respecting me, falling in love with me, and like chasing me, but I’m like “no, Thom, but I’ll do music with you,” and we like have a great side project. I think about that all of the time.

CG: You never know.

SB: It could happen! I hope he listens to this and reaches out. Or James Blake; I love James Blake, and he’s a bit more age appropriate.

CG: Are there any lesser known artists that you would like to recommend to the DU students?

SB: Oh yes, I have so many. Elliot Moss is a cool New York guy. Porches, I guess Porches is kind of popular, but Porches, and Frankie Cosmos. Darwin Deez is a good friend of mine; his stuff is super sick. I think that’s about it. That’s all of the new stuff I’ve been listening to recently. And obviously Layne, she’s amazing.

CG: Do you have any advice for young musicians?

SB: Just to keep going, and to not be comparative. The biggest hurdle I got over that really gave me a lot of confidence was I used to compare myself to everyone and think I needed to be doing things a certain way, but then I realized that you can be in your own lane. Music is kind of nice because it’s different from acting or something because with acting you’re playing a role and have to be that exact thing, but with music you can literally just be yourself. It’s so cool. It’s a creative outpour of who you are as a person. So just keep doing what you’re doing, and don’t worry about what everybody else is doing because eventually, if you’re good enough, you’ll do well.

CG: That’s awesome. This is my last question: You have a new album coming soon, is there any word on when it’ll be released?

SB: The first single should drop next month. I’m playing a single-release show, and we already have the videos done, and then they’re spitballing like first quarter of next year, so February, I think was the date. But there will be two music videos that come out before then, so there will be stuff to tide people over, and I’ve been doing collabs. I did some songs with Polarcode and Blackbear. There’s stuff that’s been coming out besides just my stuff, but I’m excited to just start diving into the  album release.

You can hear Soren’s debut EP, “Soren Bryce,” on Spotify or Apple Music, and be sure to keep an eye out for her upcoming album.