Musician to Musician, the Indie Music Rise-Up Edition: “Awfultune”

Hello UPG community! I am Sophia Gatti. I am currently a student here at UPG, and I am a staff member here at The Insider. When I’m not in classes, I spend my time as a musician. My current project is “Carmela Donna.” I am a singer, songwriter, and I play the ukulele. This new Musician to Musician (M2M) column is something I thought would catch the eyes of many of you. I will be discussing music with other indie artists and getting a deeper insight into their path to success in music.

For our third M2M, I got the opportunity to chat with Awfultune, a bedroom indie pop artist from upstate New York. Since 2018, Awfultune has been producing and releasing music independently from a laptop. She now sits on over 400 million global streams. She has way over 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and has over 200 million streams on her breakout song, “I Met Sarah in the Bathroom,” just on Spotify alone. 

I caught up with her to talk about her rise to fame, her inspirations, and her hopes and dreams for the future.

M2M: When did you first know you wanted to become a musician?

“I was always singing from a young age. I wrote little songs and melodies but didn’t ever think I would be a musician and put my own music out. I started as a cover artist on Soundcloud and everything took off.”

M2M: How long have you been making music?

“I put out my first ep in February of 2018. I really had no idea what would come of that. It was a really nice surprise that people liked it as much as they did.”

M2M: How would you describe your sound and vibe?

“I feel like you could pair me with a bunch of artists, but I’m widely known for making acoustic indie rock music. But I’ve never been shy to experiment with different sounds and seeing how high I could raise the bar for myself. I just like to be authentic to myself no matter what.”

M2M: Where do you see and want your music headed next?

“There’s not really a long-term goal for Awfultune. I’ve always said that my biggest success is helping people. Nothing else really matters to me but music and if I’m not helping people in their own journey’s and creating a safe space for others then I feel like I’m not really doing my job.”

M2M: What is your creative process?

“It’s definitely always different. Sometimes I’m home filling up my voice memo app with song ideas or I’m traveling and in the studio with other creatives and making music that way.”

M2M: What does it feel like to look out at a crowd and see people singing your lyrics?

“I actually did everything backwards. Usually artists put out an album and then tour that album, but I’ve never had a show yet. I’ve just been making a bunch of music and focusing on that for now and then doing shows when I’m ready to. I relate to that same feeling you talked about when I get messages from people talking about their experiences with my music, some of them even tattooing my lyrics, that stuff makes my heart feel so warm.”

M2M: Have you had a moment of “Wow I’ve made it” yet? If so, what was it, and how did the feeling feel in your body?

“I think the moment where I knew I made it was when my song, “I Met Sarah in the Bathroom,” received two gold plaques in the U.S. and Canada. That feeling is like no other. Seeing recognition like that for a little song you made in your bedroom feels so rewarding.”