From Passion to Purpose: Vivienne Artur on Her Evolution as an Artist
Photo by VIKA BRENNICK
Meet Vivienne Artur, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Lambertville, New Jersey. She recently released her second EP, Take It All Home, in 2024 and her debut EP, Everything I Am, in 2022. By having a strong dedication to music at such a young age, she crafted her passion for creativity. Her music, both raw and experimental, has resonated deeply with fans, earning her a dedicated following. As she continues to wave through the music industry, we dive into her creative process, upcoming projects, and what drives her as an artist in a rapidly changing music scene.
In this exclusive interview, we had the pleasure to sit down with Vivienne Artur, a rising star whose journey through music has been nothing short of remarkable. It is clear that her passion for her music comes from the heart of her artistry. With a sound that continues to evolve, Vivienne is undoubtedly an artist to watch in the upcoming years. We look forward to seeing where her unique musical path takes her next.
UPTIGHT: What inspired you to do music? And how did your journey as an artist begin?
VIVIENNE ARTUR: So far as when I started doing music, I think I’ve been encouraged to be creative, and I’ve always loved creating literally ever since I could remember. I grew up playing every instrument possible because I thought I had to be so immersed in it to do it when I was older. Both my parents have been super encouraging of just playing at small bars and pubs, stuff like that. I have always loved anything that had to do with art. For example, Disney Channel, Hannah Montana, all that stuff.
UPTIGHT: Yeah, that’s nice. Being surrounded by stuff you love as a kid can shape what you become in the future, definitely. You released your second EP, Take It All Home, last year. Can you talk about that? What was your writing experience like? Did you have any influences for that EP?
ARTUR: Yeah! Honestly, the writing experience for that EP was super challenging because I go to school full-time. I go to school at Berkeley [College of Music] right now, and this EP is a bit more ambitious than my first one. I also kind of changed the team that I was working with, so it was all new writers. I also started co-writing for the first time, which was really awesome. It was a slow burn process. I think I learned a lot about how to manage my time in the studio and how to get the most out of these sessions because some of these songs we would work on for six months, but we probably didn’t need to. But it was a really good experience; the team was so cool. This project was more vulnerable, and I wanted it to be a cohesive story, more than the other music I’ve released. Some influences for that were that Gracie Abrams had just released her album, Good Riddance, the year before, and I love that album; I think it’s so good. I also love Phoebe Bridgers and Joni Mitchell; that kind of eerie and nostalgic feel was what I was going for.
UPTIGHT: Yeah, I think you hit that spot. You mentioned this, but what genres or artists influenced your sound? Because you have a pretty unique sound.
ARTUR: Thank you! I mean, I appreciate that. One of the hardest things is trying to make your sound unique. Everyone is releasing music right now, and it’s a lot. But I think a lot of my influences right now are – well, with that project, it’s Phoebe and Gracie singer-songwriter vibes. Recently, I’ve been listening more to stuff from my 2018 days. I love Echosmith, Miley Cyrus, I think she’s so awesome, Dolly Parton, and The Police. That leads more into the ‘80s sound in my new stuff. But, yeah, that singer-songwriter vibe and finding a unique sound in that genre is one of the biggest things because, as people say, “it all sounds the same.” So I want to try to branch out more.
UPTIGHT: I think your music does a great job of that. There is something in your discography for everyone.
ARTUR: Thank you.
Photo by VIKA BRENNICK
UPTIGHT: Can you walk us through your songwriting process? How do you typically approach a piece?
ARTUR: Yeah, I have this project coming out hopefully in the summer and it’s bigger than anything I’ve ever done, and the writing process for that has been so amazing. We have like seven songs done, I think. I’m working with one writer and one producer, and we finished the demo the day we got in the room, fully done in one day. It kind of feels like my brain is working out for seven hours, and then I finally get a break. Before, my songwriting process would linger a lot, and I would get frustrated, and I just wouldn't like the song. I would like to write some of the song, post it, and be like, “I love this song,” but then I would never touch it again. Now, I’m trying to write more with a purpose and get the song done. I just write for joy a lot. I don’t really try to go at it like, “Oh, I’m going to finish this song.” It’s sort of a way to let off steam sometimes.
UPTIGHT: Balancing that, can you talk about stuff you do outside of music? What are some of your hobbies?
ARTUR: Yeah, I’m a senior in college right now. I’m going to graduate with a music business degree from Berkeley in the spring, and balancing that, I work full-time as a server. Doing music has been so rewarding. I think there are a couple of times that it sucks, and it’s super hard and feels so overwhelming, but now that it’s all coming to an end, like my time at school, I feel having the space outside music and being involved in other environments is always going to be so important to me, having an outlet other than music. Some of my hobbies are cooking, I love running, and I love watching TV. I need to get my screen time down, going on TikTok. Obviously I love music, but I also love posting on social media. I love beauty and fashion, all that good stuff.
UPTIGHT: Yeah! Expressing yourself is always perfect and a great outlet. What are your favorite tracks of yours?
ARTUR: I think my favorite track has to be my song “What If They’re Right.” That was my first single on my last EP. Obviously a lot of my songs are about something I have gone through, but this song specifically was written about such a real spot of what I was going through at the time of it coming out. It wasn’t something that happened two years ago, it was still going on. I’ve never done that with my music, releasing a song about something I’m actually going through at that time. I just love that song. I love the writing. It was so fun; I wrote it all on my own, lyrics-wise. With my first project that I released, some of the tracks on there were the ones that motivated my social media growth the most. “Kept Me Alive” got a lot of attention online, but [with] “What If They’re Right,” I’ll listen to it and be like, damn. It hits close.
UPTIGHT: How do you think your sound and songwriting have developed over the last few years? Your debut EP, Everything I Am, came out in 2022. How have you evolved since then?
ARTUR: It’s kind of crazy; it’s been almost three years since I released that project. I think at that time when I approached that EP, I was working with two producers, and what I liked was that I was so new to music and did not care about marketing it. I was just like, “I am going to write these songs,” and I would post the dumbest videos about them. At the same time, I look back on it, and I was very real about it all. I really love those songs. It was a very close-knit group of people who were working on it with me, and the release party was in my dorm room, which was really cool. Now, my songwriting has become a bit more professional, more like work. It is something I still do for fun, but now I take it a lot more seriously, and this is what I try to do full-time. I have a lot more confidence in myself too, and I feel that I can answer questions like these now. Three years ago I’d have been like, “Uh, I don’t know, I just like them.” I think I just started taking things more seriously, gaining more confidence in what I can do and in what I have to say. I think a lot of the stuff I write about isn’t about breakups, but the other things that hurt, which could hurt more. I used to think that no one would want to hear about that, and then I realized that I can write about whatever I wanted to write about, and that just made me believe in myself more.
UPTIGHT: I can tell that you’ve grown a lot, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you in the future. What is your experience like being an indie artist in today’s music industry?
ARTUR: As everything is, there are some positives and negatives. Some of the cons are that it’s competitive, like all fields are right now, especially in the creative field. It feels like everyone is doing it, and it’s like, “Oh my God, how am I going to be the one that stands out?” For a while I was thinking, how was I going to be the one to break out? I kind of had to take a step back from that toxic mindset, almost. I think a lot of people are chasing after how to be the next Chappell Roan, idolizing someone else’s fame and story. Learning how to not do that has been super helpful because I’ve been stuck in ruts where I panic literally all the time. I always think, “What am I going to do in two years? Nothing has changed.” Then I realized that everything can only grow; things can only grow from where I am. I try not to compare myself and try to focus on myself and my own path more. I think social media is the doom of all that. Honestly, a lot of what I look at online is not music-related. I do my music, and then I have to tune it out. Otherwise, I will compare my stats and my show sizes to everybody else my age. I cannot do that. Pros are that there are just a lot of cool young people who are doing it and killing it. I think it’s really awesome to see that women are dominating the industry right now, and that’s super inspiring. Also, once you’re in the music industry, it doesn’t seem as big as people have made it out to be.
UPTIGHT: I totally agree with trying not to compare yourself to someone who’s bigger. We all know how it took Chappell Roan ten years to blow up, and we all have to tone it down because everything takes time.
ARTUR: Exactly.
UPTIGHT: What has been the most rewarding part of your career?
ARTUR: I think the most rewarding part is having people come to my shows and actually know my lyrics. That is still something that I cannot conceptualize. Like, I’d play a bar gig, and a girl would be there who is like sixteen and knows every word to my song, and it’s just crazy. I kind of have to check myself and remember that people actually do listen to my music. You can’t see it, but when someone is physically at your show, singing along with you, it’s so amazing. I feel like the community online has been super rewarding too. Just talking to people online about music. I have been a part of fangirl [communities] myself, like One Direction and all that. I knew what it was like looking up to artists and being so connected with music, so I get it. I have such amazing listeners, and they feel like my friends. It’s just so awesome.
UPTIGHT: That’s really nice. What are your plans for the next phase of your music career? Any upcoming projects or maybe even a tour?
ARTUR: Right now, I’m in the midst of working on my first album, like a full-length album. We’ve been working on it since September, and I’m hoping that it comes out in the summer or early fall. I am trying to look at some small labels because I’m independent right now. I’m looking to take all of this and turn it into something more serious. Now that I’m graduating school, I’m trying to plan this all out. So, yes, the album is amazing. I’ve been spending a lot of time on it. I have a couple of opening spots booked with some touring artists in the next few months, and fingers crossed, I want to do a little East Coast tour once I graduate school, like maybe Nashville, Philly, New York, and Boston. I’m really pumped for the new stuff that’s coming out.
UPTIGHT: Do you feel a strong sense of community with your fanbase? How do they inspire you?
ARTUR: I feel a super, super strong connection with my fans. Anytime I’ve done a merch line, it gets sold out like people are ready to buy, which is crazy. It’s the people that are waiting to listen to my music, like when I do these little Zoom shows, because I don’t have the means right now to do a whole world tour. I was doing one the other day, and there were like eighty people there, and they were all listening and singing along. I think when I do those shows, I forget how special it is and how three years ago I would’ve done one of those and no one would’ve joined. Now, with those eighty people, it’s not a big thing, but to me it’s huge. I love my fanbase; they’re so awesome. It’s what every artist says: they are the reason that the train is moving. The fangirl community is so powerful in shaping the industry; they are the people you want to get tight with because they are going to predict who is going to be the next big thing. I dedicate a lot of time to making my pages online very welcoming and comforting to people.
UPTIGHT: It’s like a close-knit family, connecting with everyone. If you weren’t doing music now, what would you be doing instead?
ARTUR: I think if I weren’t doing music, I would go to school for business, or I’ve always had dreams of doing veterinary stuff because I love animals. I feel like I would always be doing something creative. I thought about modeling after graduating school, and I’ve always loved makeup and experimenting with stuff. I would for sure be doing something creative or helping people.
UPTIGHT: Yeah, the ability to make art is so great. What song or album have you had on repeat recently?
ARTUR: So, when I listen to music I use Apple Music, and I don’t know why people hate on that. But when I listen, I listen to random songs. Let me pull up the last three songs I listened to a lot of the time. Okay, it’s so random. I’ve been listening to “Every Breath You Take” by The Police. I love that song, but of course, TikTok had to bring it up again. I’ve been listening to “Cool Kids” by Echosmith. I love that song. My recents are “My Kink is Karma” by Chappell, “The Man” by Taylor Swift, and “The Night is Still Young” by Nicki Minaj. Clearly I have a very random music taste.
UPTIGHT: That is so relatable. I have a big playlist of all my songs too, so I get it. To wrap up, what is the best advice you’ve ever received – either about music or life in general?
ARTUR: In the last few years I really had to internalize this advice, but the life you’ve wanted to live is happening right now. So, trying to be really in the moment and not yearning for someone else’s success. Truthfully, there are times when you think you’ve “made it,” but if you’re constantly going, “I want that life, I want that life,” you’re never going to realize you are having the life you wanted. In high school, I was depressed and didn’t have a lot of friends. I was from a small town, so I was like, “I cannot wait to go to music school and release music,” and now when I’m stressed and anxious, I just remember that my 18-year-old self would be so happy with where I am now. I try to be nicer to myself and learn how to turn my phone off and be in the moment and not constantly stare at a screen. I think that’s where a lot of my problems are starting. Just take a look around and really soak in your life. That’s what I’m trying to internalize now.
It is clear that Vivienne Artur’s passion for her music comes from the heart of her artistry. With a sound that continues to evolve, Vivienne is undoubtedly an artist to watch in the upcoming years. We look forward to seeing where her unique musical path takes her next.