ALLEYCVT’s Nine Lives: Inside Rising Star’s Unstoppable Rise and the Art of Reinvention
It feels like ALLEYCVT dropped into electronic music and instantly stuck the landing. But her journey to the EDM.com Class of 2025, selling out Denver’s famed Ogden Theatre and major festival appearances, dates back further than her discography suggests.
ALLEYCVT’s musical voyage is lifelong. With her various musical identities, you could construct a Spider-Man-like "ALLEY-VERSE." Those identities still echo in her music today, particularly her vocals.
"I see a girl that has been through many musical lives," ALLEYCVT tells EDM.com. "A lot of eras."
"There’s the first ALLEYCVT which was ‘Guitar ALLEYCVT’—thought she was Avril Lavigne ALLEYCVT. Then I went through a punk rock phase. I had a pop phase. Within that pop phase, I was also doing R&B and experimental pop. I was trying to find my sound for such a long time. Then I realized it was right in front of my face because I was always going to festivals. I love that type of music."
ALLEYCVT released her first electronic track, "Back 2 U," in 2021. It immediately clicked with bass fans. While she worked for a long time towards a sustainable music career, her abrupt success is a double-edged sword.
"That was when I was first dipping my toes into the electronic space as a producer,” she says. “I was trying to figure it out. When I look back at those songs, I had no idea what I was doing. But the feeling, emotion, drive and passion were there. So I look back on it really fondly."
"But I think that's another thing that contributes to my overthinking because it did happen fairly fast."
ALLEYCVT’s impending debut EP, FEEL IT, is one such growing pain. The project has been anticipated for months but hasn’t seen the light of day—not because of some grand calamity. It’s just the symptom of a young artist’s evolution.
She is constantly sharpening her tools and reevaluating her work. She reworked the EP’s titular single “FEEL IT” approximately 20 times before its release. It's hard sharing your art when every new effort feels more complete than the last.
"Stressful," ALLEYCVT admits when describing the EP's recording process. “It’s my first body of work. I’ve never really made a body of work like that below. There are a lot of things that go into it that you don’t necessarily think about until you’re doing it. Making sure everything is cohesive. Then the nerdy shit: the mixdowns and mastering and making sure everything sounds level."
"If I’m being completely honest," she continues, "I wish I put this out months ago but I’m really taking my time with it. I think my first body of work I want to put out, I want to be really proud of it and not do what I usually do and release something and go, ‘Oh, I wish I fixed that and that.’ So I’m taking my time with it."
Another familiar hardship, particularly for new artists, is self-confidence. ALLEYCVT exudes confidence—she’s charismatic and bold, and she presents herself with emphatic self-assurance. But the kooky thing about insecurities is how they manifest differently for everyone.
ALLEYCVT admittedly adopted her father’s perfectionism and mother’s impatience, she says, along with many more fruitful gifts. It’s a potent combination in the music business' public and scrutinizing eye. So how does she stay grounded?
"How do I do that?” ALLEYCVT muses. “I don’t even think I do it. I think the people around me that I trust help me do that and talk me down. The only reason I drive myself a little crazy is because I care so much about it. I care so much about the people who listen to my music and try to get better as an artist. I care a lot."
“It’s always the people who are like, ‘Yo, chill! You’re fine. Nothing bad is going to happen. It’ll be fine. Stop overthinking it.’ It’s easier said than done. It’s the people I keep around me that help me with that the most, rather than myself.”
But building a strong foundation around oneself is a pragmatic act of self-care.
"It’s a skill in itself to surround yourself with people that help elevate your life,” ALLEYCVT says. “Just surround yourself with people you want to be like.”
ALLEYCVT sold out two nights at Denver’s famed Ogden Theatre in December. The doubleheader's execution speaks eloquently to the passion involved by not one artist, but the very support system she's cultivated.
'I put my blood sweat and tears into that show…” ALLEYCVT recalls, thanking everyone involved in putting it together. "I’m very grateful and very happy with the way it went. I drove myself to the brink of insanity trying to make sure these shows were the best they could be. I think it was completely worth it in the long run. I’m really happy with how it went."
Appreciating such an accomplishment in real time is difficult. It’s a stressful undertaking, particularly with a debut EP looming. Fortunately, the Denver shows are valuable mental keepsakes for an artist who sometimes gets caught up in the moment.
“It’s very validating. It’s almost surreal,” ALLEYCVT says. “How did I get here? You get caught up in the heat of the moment. You’re always working and working, and building towards something else. You kind of forget to slow down and take it all in. Once it’s really over and you’re looking back at it, it’s so rewarding. It was worth every single ounce of hard work.”
ALLEYCVT is riding a wave of momentum into 2025. The singer-songwriter, DJ and producer already has a prominent placement at Excision's Thunderdome event to her name this year. She's also extended her headlining tour with dates in North America, not to mention a landmark performance at EDC Las Vegas, the nation's largest EDM festival.
Completing FEEL IT is a top priority. ALLEYCVT's debut EP is an intimidating task, but she has the creativity, drive and support to see it through. Cat got your tongue? Maybe. But not her's.
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