You
might have seen Alannah Prins in the cheer-leading squad for the Crusaders or you
might have heard her delightful dance pop gem Notion, released under her
stage name PRINS.One thing for sure is
that with the release of her five track EP Magnetic and an upcoming tour you
are going to see and hear a lot more about her.Mike Alexanderfrom Muzic.net.nz
talked to PRINS about where she has been and where she is heading.
Tell us
something surprising about Alannah Prins that fans of PRINS might never guess? I live with no Wi-Fi or TV and have lived mostly by
myself for about four years! I prefer to spend my time experiencing the real
world as much as possible.
What three qualities would you use to best describe who you are? Passionate, a risk taker and grateful.
Away
from music what do you do to relax? I looooove to go for long walks!
Is music something you always knew you wanted to be involved in? Music at home has always been a constant. I’ve always been involved in
performing arts (dance, acting and music) however, it’s only been in a last few
years I’ve realised it’s all I want to do.
How did you meet your production team – Sachi’s Nick Chrisp, Will Thomas and
Wulfie AKA Timothy Heeringa. I was performing at an acoustic competition when
Tim approached me - Nick and Will I met after approaching their
manager up in Auckland.
There have been two singles – Magnetic and Stay Away - prior to the release of
your EP Magnetic and they, along with your new single I Tried, have all dealt
with relationships or a specific relationship. The EP largely continues that
theme. Did you purge yourself? I definitely expressed some personal issues which have been going
on over the past year throughout the EP and feel like this has been a massive
release for me. Ironically, a few weeks before the release of the EP,
this chapter of my life has come to a close. It’s perfect timing really!
Is there a back story behind the title Magnetic? When two magnets are bought together there is a natural attraction
which can only repel each other like an electric charge. This is a perfect
representation of the relationships explored in my EP.
It has been proven that a great way to shift blocked energy or emotions is
through exercise or some form of body movement such as Yoga, Tai Chi or
dance. I love that Magnetic stirs up 'difficult' thoughts and
feelings that most people could relate to and through its dance beats invites
us to shake them off? Yes - I’ve always loved the idea of exploring difficult themes in a way
which is slightly contradicting musically. Everyone goes through difficult
situations and what better way to move on than to turn it into something fun
and positive?
What have you learned about yourself now that this chapter of your life has
closed? Never doubt your ability - change is good for you. Sometimes you have to
trust that the doors closing only for a better one to open.
When we let go of something that no longer serves us, even if it is difficult
to do, we create a vacuum to let in something new. Would you agree? Absolutely! You have to have faith that better things are coming. As
it’s been said “everything will be okay in the end, if it’s not okay it’s
not the end”.
If you could turn any of your lyrics into a bumper sticker or T-shirt slogan,
what would it be? "Catch me if you can”
It seems like you were almost born to be in the public eye with a background in
modelling, acting and dance. Tell us more and how that impacts on
how you set your personal and professional boundaries. I pride myself on public interaction as, without my fans, having a
music career would be merely a dream. On the other hand, I do like to keep my
personal life very private. It’s good to have a happy medium!
You are gearing up for a release tour, which kicks off in Auckland, where you
were born, at Cassette 9 on September 19. What do or don’t you miss
about your home town? I definitely miss the business of Auckland and how there’s
always things going on. I also miss my family/friends of course, the warmth and
the variety of day trips you can take from AKL. I don’t miss the traffic. Ha ha!
How did Ohakune get so lucky to be included as part of your road trip? The idea originally stemmed from VIKAE after talking about some of
the incredible events that happen during the ski season in Ohakune.
It also made sense for me, especially since I’m taking the full band on tour
and making the trip to Wellington, to stay on a bit longer and make the
most of the full weekend. Smaller towns sometimes don’t get
the opportunity to attend these sorts of events so we’re looking
forward to throwing a party and giving everyone something to look forward
to!
Tell us a bit about VIKAE, who will be touring with you. VIKAE is another incredible electro-pop artist
based in Auckland - funnily enough still to this
day we’ve never met in person! However, we talk nearly
every day and she has been extremely supportive towards my music always
giving me a boost up wherever she can. Not only is she an
amazing writer (I can’t wait for the world to hear her music!!) but she’s
such a thoughtful, kind friend.
In a perfect world, what would your life look like in a year’s time? In a perfect world, this time next year I
would’ve completed a successful summer circuit growing my fan base in NZ.
I would have begun pushing into the AUS market gearing up for BigSound and the
next summer season with the addition of a few Australian shows. I would
have put out a selection of new music of course alongside some collabs
(which are in the already in the works) and have built the early stages of
connections to the UK/Europe.
PRINS kicked off 2020 with a bang playing in The Edge NYE Festival in Hagley Park, Christchurch with a record audience of 22,000 people. Recently returning from Auckland where she played alongside International acts in Highlife’s sold out Sunsetters Festival, she’s gearing up for her much anticipated dance-pop EP which shows a brand new side to the PRINS we’ve already seen.
This Auckland born singer/songwriter, dancer, actor and model has spent the past few years establishing herself with live performance experience in New Zealand and has no intention of leaving the industry any time soon. A sultry powerhouse described as a mix between Duo Lipa and Amy Winehouse, PRINS is one to watch out for in 2020.
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