Alexandra Alden: 'Music is both a compass and a mirror'

Alexandra Alden is a Maltese singer-songwriter known for her introspective lyrics and atmospheric blend of folk, pop, and alternative influences. She has performed extensively across Europe, including televised appearances and festival stages, and previously served as a judge on X Factor Malta. Her upcoming album, When Is It Too Late?, explores themes of dislocation, choice, and the search for belonging.

1. What’s been the most defining moment in your career so far?

Releasing my first full-length album, Wild Honey, and its lead single, Wild Honey & Thyme, has been the most defining moment so far. I think everyone who has heard of me probably associates me with that song. I’m glad about that too, because ultimately it’s an ode to the Maltese countryside and how important it is that we all still have wild places to go to. Unfortunately, these places are slowly being destroyed before our very eyes! If my song could instil some sort of personal responsibility towards protecting these places, I would be very glad. Then perhaps people would stop being complacent and act on their feelings and not be part of the problem.

2.  As a creative, how do you navigate the world and speed of social media?

It’s a strange phenomenon having 24/7 access to what everyone in the world is doing at any given moment, or rather, what people want you to think they’re doing. I’d rather not know. I find it important to protect my own bubble. There was a time when social media was fun and you could upload a photo album of a night out with friends and it was unstaged and unfiltered and just a real documentation of some kids having fun. Quite unproblematic. Now everyone is trying to sell you something or look a certain way. I think social media really turns people’s brain to mush.

3. Do you consider artificial intelligence a threat to your career, or an opportunity?

I think streaming already put the metaphorical nail in the coffin for any emerging artist and AI is just burying it. The last pillar of hope that still stands is the live show. People should go to gigs and connect with the artists they like. It’s really the most important human element that is left.

I recently read about an AI generated artist on a streaming platform, with over 300K listeners. It’s all fake and it’s all about money. There’s not an ounce of respect left for the act of making art and how importance it is for the development and health of the human psyche. It makes me angry.  It also takes all the fun away for everyone. And that’s boring. Go to a gig and connect with an artist who really has a story to tell or really knows how to play an instrument. You might learn something about yourself.

4. How do you stay motivated and inspired, especially during tough times or when the work feels hard?

This reminds me of a conversation I had with George Ezra when he was staying in Malta, where he was telling me he wasn’t sure he wanted to be touring and on the road forever. I told him, George, you don’t have to. You can always stop. It’s your show at the end of the day.

He seemed relieved to hear me say that. I was a bit surprised that he felt so much pressure about it all, when from the outside it looks like he’s having the time of his life, living his dream and the dream of so many other musicians. The reality is, that it’s not easy for anyone, even when you’re at the top.

I do feel like you have to be a little bit stubborn and a little bit delusional to choose the path of becoming a musician. There are definitely steadier, more stable and safer ways to lead your life. I think I ultimately just like a challenge and love making music and I wouldn’t be able to live my life without doing so. I’d have a lot of FOMO if I wasn’t doing it. I’d also feel like I’d be doing myself a disservice, as singing and writing songs makes me so happy. As soon as it stops being fun I’ll probably stop doing it. So knowing that there’s a way out is also reassuring. It doesn’t need to be my everything forever if I don’t want it to be.

5. How do you balance your creative instincts with the expectations of your audience or collaborators?

I just make what I want to make and let the rest go. I’m not able to write a genuine song if I’m in the headspace of what other people might think about it. I have to do it for me. I didn’t start making music for an audience, but I’m glad how things evolved and I’ve made friends and made fans through performing my songs.

6. How do you approach a new project? Do you have a specific process or routine you follow?

Usually, I hide away in my room with my guitar and piano for days and I don’t emerge until I’ve created something. First I work completely alone before approaching anyone for input as I want to be in a position where I’m confident about my work.

7. Can you let us in on some of the future projects, works?

I’m releasing my new album titled, When Is It Too Late?, later this year. The first single, Magnolia, is already out. The album was born from a fear that kept circling me; that I had somehow missed my moment…in love, in music, in finding a place to call home. It felt like a night terror, the kind that leaves you frozen, staring back at your own reflection, asking: Who am I? Where am I going? When is it too late to begin again?

I associated this strongly with Sylvia Plath’s fig tree metaphor from The Bell Jar, where the inability to choose between lives leads to losing them all. That idea of paralysis, of standing at a crossroads too long, haunted me for a while. This album doesn’t try to offer clear answers. Instead, it holds space for the questions.

The songs live in the in-between—between movement and stillness, forests and train stations, hotel rooms and coastlines. Sonically, it’s a mix of textures—anthemic synths and scorched guitars alongside playful, swampy acoustic sounds. At its heart, the album wrestles with a simple but hard truth: the tension between belonging and freedom, between roots and wings.

I’ll be road-testing the new material in January 2026, during an intimate club tour across the Netherlands, playing 150-capacity rooms.

Extra round

What does music mean to you on a personal level? Is it a form of expression, therapy, or something else?

For me, music is both a compass and a mirror. It helps me find my way through uncertainty, and it reflects the questions I’m not always brave enough to ask out loud. It’s a form of expression but more than that; it’s a kind of therapy, a ritual, a conversation with myself and with whoever’s listening. Music gives shape to the intangible—the longing, the doubt, the joy, the moments that don’t fit neatly into words. It’s where I go to make sense of things and sometimes, just to feel them fully.