A musical project run by Alexandra Duparc, the aura exuded by rising indie-pop singer-songwriter Skandra is one that is blissfully empowering. Splitting her time between Paris and Los Angeles, Skandra’s heartfelt, poetic lyrics sound like beautiful lines torn straight from the pages of an intimate diary. After more than 15 years of experience in the music industry, Skandra has dedicated her life to not only fulfilling her own dreams, but to inspiring creatives to find and take up their own unique space in the music industry.
The life experiences Skandra faced at an early age helped her become both a “multi-talented humanitarian and artistic genius,” as declared by LADYGUNN magazine. Aside from proving herself as a talented artist, the legacy Skandra is building invites us all to share the glowing stage with her.
Photo by Anna Azarov
Entering a new decade
At the early age of 14, Alexandra won Poetry Nation’s International Poetry Contest, and released a book of short stories titledOther Halves. The following year, she joined the band The Tints as a singer, songwriter and keyboardist. While on tour with the group, Alexandra was able to score more than 30 films, and spent time curating her own art. These heartfelt musical creations would later be released under her solo artist name, beautifully entitled ‘Skandra.’
Skandra released her first three hit singles, “Tangerines,” “Ashes” and “Rivers” in 2020. Although it had been nearly three years since she had last released any music, Skandra “had written maybe 80 songs during those three years.” Taking a step back from releasing work gave her the ability to develop a “huge library of work” and spend time curating her own unique space as a solo artist.
“I really wanted to take these bedroom lo-fi songs and produce them to the next level. That was the goal with these,” she says. And to the next level she certainly went. With the release of “Rivers,” Skandra filmed an elaborate music video alongside French husband Ylance Duparc. “It was all kind of a passion project,” she says. Set in a whimsical Parisian mansion, the video was made with the help of friends who had recently started a new creative agency and had fallen in love with the single after hearing its demo.
After recording her album (which is soon to be released), Ylance posted a video on TikTok requesting fans to be a part of making his wife’s dreams become a reality. The video later went viral on the platform, gaining more than 20 million views and 4.3 million likes. Skandra was overwhelmed with the support she and Ylance received. “My expectations for these songs were like, ‘My friends and family are going to remember that I make art,’” she says. “I had no clue this was going to happen.”
Photo by Anna Azorov
Skandra “glow”ing up
Skandra traces her love for songwriting back to her 7th grade English classroom, where her teacher required the class to practice free flow writing every evening. Through these experiences, she developed a love for poetry and, ultimately, words themselves.
Combining her love for writing with a background in childhood piano lessons made her passion for songwriting come almost second nature. “You know when you leave a conversation and you later think about what you should have said?” she asks. “You say it perfectly in your head right before you fall asleep… That, to me, is the best perspective to have when you write.”
The meaning songwriting holds to Skandra goes far deeper than the words she creates on paper. As a 12-year-old girl, her brother passed away after an overdose on heroin. “That was the moment when I went, ‘I want to make music for the rest of my life.’” She credits music as being a way for her to help cope with the many challenges that come with being alive. “I think that the strongest moment in my life was not giving into those same kinds of things.”
Photo by Anna Azarov
A safe haven for creatives
“Opening people’s eyes to their potential, I think that’s my biggest motivation as an artist.” For young women who are struggling in making their dreams become a reality, Skandra insists that hard work itself isn’t enough. “You have to be persistent. You have to be delusionally persistent. You fully, delusionally have to believe that you are necessary in the world as an artist.” Not only has Skandra proven that she is quite necessary in this world as an artist, but she’s adamant that as many individuals join her as possible.
Years ago, Skandra received a message from a fellow creative who was looking to promote their work. “I found myself completely uninterested in what the message was. I felt like such a jerk,” she shares. Through recognizing this reaction, she realized just how desensitized she had become to the beauty of the many art forms surrounding her. “People send me things all the time, people post things all the time. We are living in a world that is so over-saturated with creation, which is great, but then we become desensitized.”
Skandra then started hosting a series of pop-up events in her living room, where she would invite friends over to talk with her about the projects they were working on. Over time, the events grew in size, leading her to found her non-profit organization, Treehouse, which hosts monthly music and songwriting events in Los-Angeles. “It’s become this whole community,” she says. Through the platform, Skandra has created a safe space for individuals to collaborate on and promote their various art work. Skandra honors and acknowledges the innate identity we each hold as being creators in our own right.
Photo by Ylane Duparc
Creating her universe
In terms of Skandra’s own artistic identity, she shares, “I always get told I have a very strong ‘universe.’ I guess that means visually, sonically. It’s like a brand, but it’s who I am across all mediums… it’s colors and places and dresses and lights.”
Developing an artistic identity is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of artists’ careers. Finding ways to continually produce content that is both in alignment with their identity and pushes it forward is an art and a science, and staying creatively engaged is an ongoing practice.
In asking what helps Skandra stay inspired, she highlights the importance of human connection and of acknowledging diverse perspectives. She shares that COVID has been the biggest challenge she’s faced as an artist, particularly during the first five months when finding this inspiration was particularly difficult. “It was very frustrating, but I think most people were [frustrated]. I focused mostly on Treehouse and using that to spotlight unexposed voices and get people to play at our quarantine concert… When it came to writing, it was really in spurts.”
Photo by Anna Azarov
Growing into her future
Skandra is adamant that as we go about creating our art, it’s our responsibility to use our voices to advocate for meaningful change in society. “You have to call things out as you see them… whether it’s injustices or misogyny or racism or mansplaining… There’s a long list of things that as a woman you can observe. You should never stop yourself from speaking up. If enough people [speak up], then those things change.”
As far as what the future holds for Skandra, she hopes to continue to build her legacy with Treehouse and resume in-person events as the pandemic subsides. In terms of her own work, she has a handful of songs she’s trying to release this year.
The overall impact Skandra wants to have on the world? “I love the concept of opening people’s eyes. Whether it’s to being honest with themselves or to their capacity to create. I think some people don’t realize that — just how able they are to make things… If I can do it, you can, too,” she says.
