Q&A Today: Ally Cribb

A few days ago we have had the chance to listen to a really impressive song by a 17-year-old girl from Toronto and now we are able and proud to present her in a short interview. Here is Ally Cribb with her answers to our questions. Thanks a lot for your song "Bigger" and thanks a lot for your time!

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Ally Cribb is...?

Your typical 17-year-old girl with a deep love of creativity, music and writing. I’ve been singing and playing piano since I was 8 years old and have spent the past year working on my first EP. In the spring I’ll be graduating from high school, and moving across the country to attend university. 

I’m really excited for that next phase of my life. It sort of feels like I have one foot in childhood and one foot in adulthood, and I know these next four years hold a lot of new adventures and excitement.

Who inspired you to make music in general?

Definitely my dad. He brought me up in a very musical home and I always looked up to him. I watched him play piano and saxophone in different bands when I was younger. I used to go to his shows. I quickly realized I wanted to experience the same feeling he got whenever I watched him play. 

I think in many ways, he influenced the way I write songs today and the attention I pay to detail in lyricism. He was the one who taught me that what makes a good songwriter is the ability to make every line as detailed as possible. The listener should feel like they’re right there in the moment you’re describing.

What's the story behind your latest release "Bigger", respectively what or who was your inspiration?

I actually really love the backstory to “Bigger.” I was sitting at the piano in our cottage, in a tiny town in Eastern Canada. I had been playing around with a few different chord progressions when I stumbled across the chords to Bigger. I was immediately hooked. I played the intro to the song and knew I had something special. 

I called my dad into the room and played it for him, and I think in the next couple of days we had a rough draft completed. I remember sitting there at the piano, thinking about my hopes, dreams, and everything I wanted my future to be. 

I love Bigger because it sounds like how that moment felt, staring out the window and thinking about all the possibilities of my future if my dreams were to come true.

I have read that the song was produced by your father, how is it to work with him?...and if we would ask your father, how is it to work with Ally?

It’s really lucky that I’ve gotten to work with my dad to make this EP. He’s always been really good about understanding and respecting my creative vision and allowing me to have that freedom whenever we start a new song together.

What is your creative process like?

One reason I love songwriting so much is because the creative process unfolds differently every time. Sometimes I start with music. I’ll stumble upon a chord progression I love or strum my guitar until a melody pops into my head that I really love. 

Other times, a lyric will pop into my head and I’ll immediately grab a napkin and a pen and write it down. I have a list of lyrics on my phone that’ll come to me in the middle of the day (most of the time when I’m in class). It’s so funny how the creative process works. 

There are days I’ll clear an afternoon in the hopes of writing a song or finishing up a couple of rough drafts, but nothing will come. I’ll just be staring at the piano for hours, unable to think of anything at all. And then there are days I’ll be sitting in the classroom, writing a test, and an idea I love will pop into my head and I know I need to write it down immediately or I’ll forget it. 

It’s always something to look forward to because no two songs are written the exact same way, and you never know when creativity is going to strike.

When do you say/decide that a song is ready for a release?

I think a song is ready for release once you’ve listened to it 1,000+ times and finally get to a point where you no longer hear any little notes or unpolished lyrical lines that bug you. 

It takes a long time to get there when you record a song. There’s almost always a million different directions you can take a song in the studio. And sometimes you need to explore ideas that ultimately don’t work. 

When I’m close, I take the rough mix to people in my inner circle – friends and family – for honest reactions. My mom Melissa is always honest when listening to a new song with fresh ears. She doesn’t hold back. But it helps me to know when we have more work to do.

What's typical "Ally"?

Head down in a book or lyric journal, hanging out with my friends on weekends and spending as much time as I can near the ocean in Nova Scotia. 

I watch Gilmore Girls pretty much everyday, cook, walk the dog, go to school, and play guitar late at night.

What's your most useful talent besides music?

Definitely cooking. I cook dinner every night, it’s my happy place. I actually get a lot of song ideas when I’m cooking, because it’s the time I feel most relaxed and my head is completely clear from all clutter and daily responsibilities.

What’s next for you?

For me, the next big thing is my debut EP, titled Unbroken. It’s been two years in the making and I’m really proud of each song. 

Unbroken tells the story of my life and major events of the last two years, and I can’t believe these songs and stories will soon be out in the world for anyone to hear.