Alina Baraz on Folding Napkins and Marrying Her Fans

Since her debut in 2015, Alina Baraz has carved out a very specific lane for herself. On Spotify, you’ll find her music in playlists titled “All The Feels,” “Autumn Leaves,” and “Anxiety Relief.” Her music speaks for itself— minimal and airy production is layered with soft, moody vocals and lyrics about love, passion, and inevitable heartbreak. Last year, Baraz released her debut album, It Was Divine, which featured collaborations with heavy-hitters like Nas, Khalid, Smino, and 6LACK. This time around, in a new four-track EP titled Sunbeam,she’s paring down her sound to something more solitary and personal. “This EP is a bookmark for me,” she says. “It’s full of little pieces of nostalgia and moments of stillness that I can always come back to. It serves as a self-reminder.” To mark her recent release, Baraz answered a few questions about napkin folding, lucid dreaming, and marrying fans, from the writings of Andy Warhol.

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ANDY WARHOL: Do you dream?

ALINA BARAZ: I dream in full colors and they’re mostly lucid dreams. There’s nothing musical tied to them, I think I process my emotions in my dreams.

WARHOL: Showers or baths?

BARAZ: Showers if I have plans, baths if I have nowhere to be. 

WARHOL: Is there anything you regret not doing?

BARAZ: No.

WARHOL: What was your first job?

BARAZ: At an Indian restaurant on Lee Road folding cloth napkins.

WARHOL: When do you get nervous?

BARAZ: When I’m feeling uncertain.

WARHOL: Why can’t it just be magic all the time?

BARAZ: I don’t really care to live in a world of constant magic. I want contrast.

WARHOL: What did you have for breakfast?

BARAZ: Avocado toast.

WARHOL: What are you reading right now?

BARAZ: Randomness on Quora.

WARHOL: What do you think about love?

BARAZ: It’s everything. 

WARHOL: How were you discovered?

BARAZ: I don’t think it’s a one-time thing.

WARHOL: What’s the craziest thing a fan has sent you? 

BARAZ: Nothing is crazy. Everything I’m sent has thought and intention behind it. 

WARHOL: What are your beauty secrets? 

BARAZ: I love skincare, but I’ll still pick sleep and water.

WARHOL: What’s your favorite movie? 

BARAZ: Can’t possibly pick.

WARHOL: Would you ever marry one of your fans? 

BARAZ: Why not?

WARHOL: Are you interested in furniture?

BARAZ: Yes.

WARHOL: What kind of clothes do you like?

BARAZ: The kind that fit my mood.

WARHOL: Do you have a TV?

BARAZ: I do. 

WARHOL: What do you love about New York City? 

BARAZ: The pizza, the seasons, walking through the neighborhoods.

WARHOL: Do you keep a diary?

BARAZ: The thought of one journal is unsettling. I write every day, I just don’t read it back.   

WARHOL: What are you most proud of?

BARAZ: My creativity and what it grows into.

WARHOL: How many hotels have you been kicked out of?

BARAZ: None.

WARHOL: Do you get eight hours a night?

BARAZ: It’s either a full eight, or it’s none at all.