Alexandra Alden - Wild Honey (2018)

Born in Malta on the 8th of April 1994 and raised partly in southern Germany during her childhood, Alexandra Alden is a singer-songwriter who now lives in Rotterdam, the Netherlands where she is finishing off her degree in Jazz music at the CODARTs Conservatory of music and working as a freelance musician.

From a very young age, Alexandra showed a keen interest in the arts. She began writing lyrics and poetry at the tender age of six and recalls first falling in love with singing as a child while living in Tutzing, Germany. She would shyly sing along to the hymns in the local church while cupping her hands over her mouth so that surrounding church-goers would not hear that she was inventing her own lyrics and improvising over their melody lines instead.

At home, her father, who was always an avid music listener would nurture her musical tastes and later introduce her to the guitar, while her mother, a painter and former graphic designer would encourage her to form a steady hand at drawing and develop her artistic eye.

Wanting to develop her singing technique, Alexandra attended classical singing lessons in her early teens, while developing her own voice in the songs she began writing at the piano. From the age of fifteen, Alden showed a stronger affinity to the guitar. She began performing with the Americana band ‘Martin McNeil & the Dissidents’ as backing vocalist and later as a support act.

Her first EP, ‘The Curious Child’ was recorded during this time and produced by Mark McRae. It was finally launched in 2013 with the support of the Malta Arts Fund and had two number one singles on Maltese radio stations – these being ‘Dancing Alone’ and ‘Just Like You’. Months later, Alexandra moved to the Netherlands to pursue her studies in music and perform abroad.

She cites various greats as her inspiration, such as Joni Mitchell, Bill Callahan, Bob Dylan, Fiona Apple, Led Zeppelin, Chris Whitley, Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, Nick Drake and John Martyn.

Her songs convey a message which is more often than not, one of hope.

Tracklist:
01. Alexandra Alden - Pilgrim
02. Alexandra Alden - Shadow
03. Alexandra Alden - Darling
04. Alexandra Alden - Candles
05. Alexandra Alden - Muscle and Blood
06. Alexandra Alden - Wild Honey and Thyme
07. Alexandra Alden - Mexico
08. Alexandra Alden - Precious Little Thing
09. Alexandra Alden - When the Wind Cries
10. Alexandra Alden - I Believe
11. Alexandra Alden - Wouldn't You
12. Alexandra Alden - Keep Floating