Q&A: Veronica Everheart Unveils Sonically Expansive EP “Lighter In The Morning (1/2)”
INDIE-POP SONGWRITER – Veronica Everheart has returned with her highly anticipated sophomore EP, Lighter in the Morning (1/2), continuing her journey into introspective lyricism and modern soundscapes. Known for her one-of-a-kind voice and emotionally raw songwriting, Everheart delves deeper into the complexities of the human experience, crafting music that feels both personal and forward-thinking. With this release, she interlaces a unique fusion of digital textures and vulnerable storytelling, inviting listeners into her innermost thoughts.
Everheart describes the EP's creation as a pivotal moment in her growth as both an artist and an individual. Her collaboration with producer and musician Junius plays a central role in shaping the EP’s distinctive sonic palette, combining ethereal production with grounded lyrical content.
“The recording of this project was a confluence,” Everheart says. “A confluence of my growth as a songwriter and woman, Junius’ and I’s respective tastes as artists and our dedication to making something beautiful.”
This EP marks Everheart’s first release since her 2022 debut, ushering in a new chapter of creative exploration. Fans will recognize her signature introspection, but Lighter in the Morning (1/2) also pushes her sound into bolder, more innovative territory. The tracks blend wistful melodies with intricate electronic elements, delivering a compelling mix of fun and emotional depth.
As the title suggests, this is only the beginning of a larger musical project. Everheart is currently working on a follow-up EP that will complete the Lighter in the Morning universe, promising more introspective yet exhilarating tunes. As Everheart continues to evolve as an artist, her capacity to merge digital soundscapes with the richness of human emotion makes her work stand out as refreshingly modern yet timeless.
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
VERONICA: I focus a lot on authenticity and I take a lot of inspiration from the New York, early 2000s indie scene, so I got really into that for a while, and then I moved on to more electronic elements. I want to blend both of those things with this newer authentic sound. I think that's the style that I'm going for.
LUNA: What is the ideal environment to experience your music? Is there a particular setting, mood, or time of day that enhances the listening experience?
VERONICA: I'm from Phoenix, so a lot of the visuals that we've done for the project are centered in the desert. I think it's like desert music, but it's like a blend of that with New York City, because I recorded most of it there, and I lived there briefly, and my producer also lives there. I have this back and forth between a desert and then this huge city with not a lot of nature around it. I think that juxtaposition, if you find yourself in one of those locations, I think you could probably relate to the music.
LUNA: Are there particular moods or themes you find yourself gravitating towards when writing and performing? How do you channel these into your music?
VERONICA: I think a lot of it is about experiences of growth as a person or inner struggles. I think when I perform, I can almost feel other people who have experienced that. When I write music, I am speaking from my perspective and from the heart. I think a lot of people understand that struggle. A lot of my themes relate to mental health or the struggles with people that you love around you. I think that it’s under the surface, a little bit. I think as people, especially hearing that live for the first time, I think they can pick up on the lyrics. In a live setting, they can pick up on the energy because I feel those words that I wrote, so many people can then relate to it.
LUNA: You have released your latest EP Lighter in the Morning: Part 1. What can listeners expect from this new era of music?
VERONICA: It's definitely a departure from what I did previously. It's definitely more loud. I think my first EP was very much just indie-rock. I think the new sound that I'm creating is something that is unique but also familiar. I think people can anticipate something similar to the first EP, and that it's still me, but something that they can relate to. I think we've challenged ourselves a lot by creating this sound, so for an indie-rock artist to now have this project, I'm hoping it's refreshing, different, and unique, but also maintaining the elements of familiarity with the first project I did, or with that genre in general.
LUNA: What did the creative process for Lighter in the Morning look like? Can you walk us through a typical writing and recording session for the EP?
VERONICA: This EP took a long time to write. I had all these songs over the course of several years. I think one of the oldest songs is five years old, but a lot of it was written just like me, on an acoustic guitar in my dorm room in New Jersey. At the time, I didn't really know what I was doing with the song. Then I met my producer and he really liked the music, so we started to work on it together. A normal recording day is both of us going insane pushing the barrier of what I was comfortable with in terms of production. I never really cared about studio time. He wanted to add something wild to the guitar. I never had the skill to do that before. He really pushed the songs to be something that I've always wanted them to be, but didn't have the right tools to execute, so him and I just are beating off of each other trying to make something really crazy and unique. The writing process is always the same for me, but then when him and I get together, we really push whatever vocal and guitar parts I have into something really special.
LUNA: Lighter in the Morning: Part 1 is your first big release since your Cherry Picked EP in 2022. Have you experimented more or taken any risks – either lyrically, sonically or emotionally – with Lighter in the Morning since Cherry Picked?
VERONICA: Sonically, like I mentioned before, it's very different, and there's a lot more aggression in the way that I sing. I think I wrote Cherry Picked when I was 20, not that I'm much older, but I think I've matured a lot still by going to college and really becoming an adult woman. It’s very different from anything I've done before, and I'm excited to continue to navigate that sound world.
LUNA: What is your favorite song off the project and why do you love this song? Is there a certain element, lyric or message that you gravitate towards the most?
VERONICA: The third single I released “Let Me Go, For It Is Daybreak” is my favorite, just because it was the last song that was written and I was traveling back and forth from New York to record this EP. I brought this song, and I wasn't really planning on recording it then, but then my producer said it was phenomenal and we should do it right now. We did as much as we could and Frankenstein parts from a song that we didn't end up recording. We took a drum loop from a song that we didn't end up recording anyway, but it ended up being perfect for that song. We didn't really record it all in the studio because we didn't have enough time. Each instrument is from a different location. I think it really makes it sound sonically unique, at least to me. It's a very emotional song, and since I wrote it more recently, I relate to that song more than maybe the others at this point in time, just that was the youngest one.
LUNA: How do you think you’ve matured as an artist since the Cherry Picked EP?
VERONICA: I think I've challenged myself a lot more. I think I was doing things faithfully, or how a lot of other people would approach music. I think a lot of musicians are stuck in this mindset of we have to record it like this, and we have to make content like this. I think a lot of people, myself included, are afraid to really push what it means to be an artist right now, because there's so many artists. I think realizing that and breaking free from that, I was able to make this project and then think about what kind of image do I want to have? Like, regardless of if it makes me popular or not, just to have something that's genuine in myself? I think that realizing that it's just my art, and that if I work really hard and do the way that I want to do it, then someone will eventually listen instead of trying to cater towards an audience, not that Cherry Picked was necessarily doing that. I think I was stuck in this scene of all the indie-rock girlies. I have since challenged myself to really step out and listen to other types of music and use other instrumentation. It's not just bass, drums, guitar and vocals, there's so many of the other instruments, and even within the main instruments, it's how we recorded most of the album with a string acoustic guitar. I was really pushing the boundaries of what is considered normal. I think it is reflected in the EP.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like
that you would like to share with Luna?
VERONICA: I'm very excited, working very hard and playing a lot of shows, hopefully some bigger shows will be announced soon, and also starting work on new music and just going to keep going at full steam ahead. Very excited. Very stressed out.
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