From Toronto to New York: A Conversation with Rising Singer-Songwriter Alex Michelle

Alexandra Michelle Puchalvert, also known as Alexandra Michelle, is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter completing a Master’s in music composition through New York University’s songwriting program. She began voice lessons at eight years old and attended undergraduate studies in Toronto, Canada, where she grew up. It was there that she realized a music career would only be possible in a place like New York City. To pursue music professionally, she knew she had to learn how to write her own songs and produce her own music. 

As a student living in the Upper West Side, Puchalvert supports herself by securing gigs, dog-walking, teaching music, and babysitting—hoping to soon pay off her student loans. She shares a one-bedroom apartment with her boyfriend, using the small space to sleep, study, and create music. She funds all of her own equipment and records vocals over guitar tracks her bandmates send her from home. Puchalvert said she believes that good music can still come from small spaces and uses every resource available to her.

Puchalvert spoke with Isabella Appell on where she likes to do her songwriting, how she balances school with her career, and the importance of supporting independent artists. 

This article has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes

Isabella Appell: What inspired you to come to New York and pursue a career in music?

Alex Puchalvert: I’ve always wanted to move to New York because of the history in music here, especially as I got more into songwriting; all of the biggest acts in pop music are here. The Mamas and the Papas got their start here. Joni Mitchell, who’s from Canada, played shows in the West Village. And pop acts like Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper. I wanted to come to New York because I needed a bigger stage than Mississauga [the city where I’m from], but I wasn’t going to come with no purpose. I’m an international student, so I can’t just show up here. I found the NYU songwriting program, and it seemed more contemporary. A lot of other programs at other schools are very jazz or classical based, especially for composing. When I found the NYU one, it seemed more songwriter-focused.

I found this place on StreetEasy. We had looked at a bunch of other apartments that were all teeny tiny, just like this one, in a bunch of different neighborhoods. But I knew this was going to be my home because it’s 77th Street—Miles Davis Way—who was a very important jazz trumpeter. I had just graduated from jazz school, so I felt like if this street was good enough for him, I would have to live here.

IA: What does your recording setup at home mean to you and how does having a studio in your apartment shape your process?

AP: Since I moved to New York, I’ve had to learn to produce, because no one’s going to do that for me. A big focus in my program is production, and I get guidance from professors on how to do that in my setup at home, which is really small. I also exchange files with my band from Toronto. They’ll send me drum tracks, guitar tracks, and I do all of the voice recording and put it together here. Usually I’ll take it to a professor, and they’ll give me input.

I bought pretty much all of my own equipment, aside from what I use at other people’s home studios. I’ve collected gear throughout undergrad—my keyboard that plugs into my laptop, my interface; a lot of what I use isn’t top of the line, but it’s not about how expensive your equipment is. It’s about: is the music good, and do you know how to record it? My mic, which is very special to me, was handed down—my uncle worked at a radio station. It’s the mic I use for all of my songs. It’s meant for voice, not music, but I love it, and I’ve gotten so much good feedback on how it sounds, so I’ve kept using it. The first couple songs I released, I recorded at my undergrad’s studio and then put them together here. But since I moved to New York, everything has been a mix of programming and learning how to do that on my computer, and exchanging files back and forth.

IA:  How do you make space—physically and mentally—for creativity in a one-bedroom NYC apartment? Where do your songs usually come to life? 

AP: In the summer, since I am unemployed, I do a lot of writing. I write a lot of my lyrics, separate from the music or chord changes. I go by the river, because I live next to Riverside Park, or in Central Park, and find space there. Sometimes where you sleep and eat is not the best spot to work so a lot of my writing is done outside of my apartment, then I come back and physically transform the space. Because of how sound travels, that means shutting all of the windows I usually have open, and putting up blankets so sound doesn’t bounce—just all kinds of tricks like that. It’s also a lot of sound checking. Sometimes I sit down to record and my neighbors are talking, and I’m not going to tell them to stop, so I can’t record and have to wait. I always make sure I’m by myself. I live with my boyfriend so I try to record when he’s at work to avoid distractions. But I also think the space is what you make it. If I put my headphones in and he’s here, I can tune it out.

Some parts feel very creative, and some feel like just getting the work done. Having space for both means I can make something good and finish it. If you wait for the perfect moment—especially in a tiny New York apartment with your boyfriend—it’s not really going to happen.

IA: Tell us about your bedroom decor, including your Playbill wall—what do those posters say about your journey or influences?

AP: It’s a mix between the stuff my boyfriend brings in and the stuff I bring in. We have a lot of different eras. I did have an emo grunge phase when I was 14, so we have a Nirvana poster, and the songwriter side comes through with the Johnny Cash poster. Vocally, my biggest inspiration as a singer is Etta James. I treat singing and writing as completely different. I was always a vocalist first, singing other people’s music, and I was in advanced Latin jazz ensembles, doing all of the scatting. Then I have other bits that are more songwriter inspired. I have a few New York Times posters, New York subway maps on my wall—reminding me of the journey of moving here. I have Playbills, which we save up for and go to shows for birthdays or special occasions. Growing up as a vocalist, musical theater is always a rite of passage, so there’s space for all of that. I have quite a few art pieces as well. One of the spots I go to for inspiration is art museums. I love the Met—I take photos there, and when there’s only so much you can write about, I write based on what comes up from the art. There are a lot of fun Victorian pieces—like girls having tea around a table—that are really fun to write about.

IA: You’ve said gigs help you pay rent—how does that reality influence how you approach your music and songwriting?

AP: I think it’s a good thing to have. I don’t have a lot of hobbies here. I don’t have physical space in my apartment like I did back home, where I would watercolor. I’m not going to go shopping because I have a tiny closet. I almost treat the things I do day to day—dog walking, babysitting, walking kids to and from school, teaching music—as my hobbies. I have a few private students. Music is my passion and my work. I treat it as both a creative outlet and a job. The rest are my fun side hobbies that help me make rent—which a lot of times just means paying off student loans. But it’s all kind of an investment toward my career. It’s all toward music.

IA: What did performing at Breaking Sound mean to you?

AP: When you’re performing under a company versus organizing your own shows, a lot of the work is taken off of you. You don’t have to do much administrative work, which is probably the least fun part about being an independent artist—the day-to-day admin. Working with a company like Breaking Sound, where I just did a show in Times Square, it’s really nice not to be the administrator of everything. They also have a built-in audience. Although those shows are the least lucrative for me—I get paid the least—they provide other benefits. As a musician, you need content. You need to post videos of yourself performing, and you can’t always do that in your bedroom. You have to get out and perform. I take those gigs to get pictures for social media or my resume. I also take them to meet people at venues where they’ve seen me perform before, so I can have those venues for myself later if I want to play there.

IA: When someone walks into your space and hears your songs, what do you hope they feel or understand about you?

AP: The main thing is, I hope they get a good story out of it. For music to feel impactful, it either has to be relatable or something someone can picture themselves transforming into. They have to imagine themselves. I hope they feel like they can scream, cry, and dance all at once. A lot of the songs aren’t one genre where you’re dancing the whole time. I hope they find one aspect they really like—maybe the lyrics transport them to another world, or they find a beautiful melody. I try to stick to something relatable in all of my music. It all comes from a real place, even if I make up a lot of what I write about. It’s about growing up and being at one stage or another in life. If they can’t relate to anything, maybe they just think I sound nice. I’m okay with that.