I caught up with American anime/videogame voice actress and singer-songwriter, Brianna Knickerbocker to discuss her upcoming music released under the name 'Starless'. For anime fans, you may recognise Knickerbocker's voice from popular anime series including 'Demon Slayer', 'Re:Zero' and my personal favourite 'A Lull In The Sea'. Having established a prolific career as a voice actress, Brianna Knickerbocker is breaking into the music industry with dreamy pop singles that tell compelling storytelling narratives.
Hi Brianna, thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Please could you introduce
yourself to our readers?
Hey! My name is Brianna Knickerbocker, yes that is actually my real last name! Or you might know me as Starless if you know me from my music. I’m originally from Pittsburgh PA, a hardcore horror lover, and I have an old lady cat named Pancake.
So far, you have had a prolific career winning ‘Staff Choice Award & People's Choice Award for Breakthrough Voice Actress of the Year’ as well as creating music under the name ‘Starless’. Could you tell us a bit about your background in both music and voice acting and how you came to pursue it as a career?
I fell into acting when I originally moved to LA, and it was that missing puzzle piece I was looking for. I kept pursuing that love of acting and it eventually led me to anime and videogames, which ended up being a dream come true. Music was another dream, but it took me a few years to find it and to know how badly I wanted it, but I finally did almost 4 years ago now. It’s been beyond fulfilling. And now I’m building on that and working on my first professional music video, that’ll be coming out this October!
What advice would you give to someone who may be interested in either making music or becoming a voice actor?
Follow your heart and what makes you curious and don’t be afraid to “fail”. Contrast is a powerful teacher. Failing just means you got in the ring and actually tried and you probably learned some valuable insights into what you want/like or don’t want/dislike. That’s invaluable.
Your latest single ‘No No No’ blends pop with dreamy synths and instrumentation, could you tell us a bit about how you recorded this single and the inspiration behind the track?
The way I write songs is first with a melody idea. I’m obsessed with finding interesting melodies. Then I put a first draft of lyrics to it, send it off to my producer and he puts music to it. That’s what further inspires me to dig deeper into the lyrics to find a compelling narrative. We’ll bounce a few drafts back and forth and all of a sudden, the whole song is built and beautiful and ready to be shared with the world.
"Follow your heart and what makes you curious and don’t be afraid to “fail”. Contrast is a powerful teacher."
How would you say that your latest single differs from your previous releases like ‘Burning’ and ‘Move’?
The narratives of my song always have a bit of a perspective shift, the character who’s singing and what situation she’s in and what she wants. I guess I really do use acting in my music. Because I love finding a new story every time (of course I do have some favorite stories I tend to go back to). 'No No No' also differentiates musically in that it has this paused nuance to it, it feels still, at least to me. It feels romantic and like this intimate conversation.
What do you hope that your listeners take away from your music?
It’s okay to feel what you’re feeling. Feelings aren’t this terrifying thing you have to hide from.
They’re actually so beautiful and we’re lucky to be alive on this planet and get to feel so so much. It means we’re alive. I want my music to make people feel alive.
What are your plans for the rest of 2022, will you be releasing more new music and gigging?
I have a really exciting collab with Lex1ne coming out in September and then 'Vampire' drops in October, my favorite song I’ve ever written and my first professional music video!! There are no words for how excited I am.
Could you recommend some of your current favourite songs to our readers?
Right now I’m replaying some older Black Atlass songs-my favorite is 'Kinda Like It', Plaza-obsessed with his song Remember, and electronic tracks like Madison Mars – Atom, Yellow Claw - Open (feat. Moksi & Jonna Fraser). Way too many to list here. Music is life.
And finally, do you have a message for your fans?
I love you all to the moon and back! Thank you for all your support and for coming along with me while I chase all my wildest dreams. I hope you love my music video!!! Come say hi on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starlessmusic/ and go check out Spotify for my
Check out Starless' latest singles 'No No No' and 'Underneath-Blue mix' in the links above or listen to Starless' music on my Spotify Featured Artists Playlist (link in bio).
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