steph
There’s something wonderfully human about steph’s music. Honest without being overly private, vulnerable while still leaving room for humour, her songwriting explores the messy, complicated and sometimes downright ridiculous sides of being human.
Now stepping into a new chapter simply as steph, after previously releasing music under her full name Stephanie Meincke, the Danish singer-songwriter is embracing something that feels much more natural: being exactly who she has always been. Her latest single, “October 31st,” dives into the strange ways we can find ourselves returning to people and situations we know aren’t good for us — wrapped in a darkly playful Halloween setting.
I caught up with steph to talk about new beginnings, toxic relationships, songwriting, self-doubt, social media, and learning to let go of the guilt that comes with simply being human.
Photo credit: Sebastian Fjord Grenz
For those discovering you for the first time, who is steph? How would you introduce yourself beyond your music?
steph is the friend that shows up unannounced at your door with a bottle of wine and a game of twister in case you felt a little sad. She's serious and silly all at once, and has your back whenever you need it.
You previously released music as Stephanie Meincke, and you’re now reintroducing yourself simply as steph. What made you feel that this was the right moment for a new beginning?
Last year I was hit by a strong urge to just cut the crap. One day it just felt as if writing music in my full name felt waaaay too serious. I mostly write songs about my own life, and for as long as i remember, everyone I know has called me steph, so why not just release my music as whom I've always been: steph. It feels more natural now. More me.
Your music seems to sit somewhere between folk-pop, soul and singer-songwriter traditions. What artists, sounds or experiences have shaped your musical identity the most?
I love, love, love Lizzy McAlpine and Kacey Musgraves - however one of my biggest inspirations is the Danish singer-songwriter Tina Dickow.
You studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. How did your time there influence the artist and songwriter you are today?
It has been a wonderful privilege to study what I love the most! No doubt it has made me a more mature and thorough musician and songwriter. I've also met my wonderful band at the academy.
Your new single “October 31st” tells the story of someone who repeatedly returns to a toxic ex on Halloween. Where did the idea for this very specific Halloween tradition come from?
I wrote the song last year after a quite unhealthy relation to someone I once knew had ended. It wasn't me that called it off, and because of that I felt guilty towards myself for not following my gut-feeling and ending it first (cause somehow I knew that the relation wasn't good for me all along). And that inspired me to write a song about why some of us keep running back to what we know is bad for us. The Halloween reference-idea came up simply because I wrote the song in mid October last year, and the streets were in fact flooded with skeletons and pumpkins, and I loved the imagery behind it.
There’s something both dark and almost playful about the concept of returning to a toxic relationship on Halloween. How did you balance the melancholy of the story with that slightly ironic sense of humour?
It came quite naturally to me (and Nikolaj Lippert who produced the song). As I've written in the first question I am, as a person, a funny mix of being very serious and very silly at the same time. This song is in many ways just an extension of me.
You’ve described the song as being about how we can convince ourselves that something unhealthy is actually worth it “in the name of love.” Why do you think we sometimes knowingly return to situations that hurt us?
Honestly I don't really know. That is what made me write the song in the first place. Like, how have we, as a species, ever survived evolution and being the "fittest" of all, when me and my friends keep finding ourselves in these kinds of situations. The search for "real love" must have one hell of a grip on us, cause to me it seems unhealthy at times.
Do you think songwriting can be a way of making sense of our own unhealthy patterns or experiences, even before we fully understand them?
Yes, 100%.
Mental health and emotional wellbeing often find their way into music, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unconsciously. How important is it for you to be honest and vulnerable in your songwriting?
I want my music to be personal - but never private.
What do you personally do when life feels overwhelming or when self-doubt starts affecting your creativity?
I turn OFF social media. SoMe is pure poison to my self-esteem, and it always helps me to clock into the real world when I'm doubting myself. And if it's really bad, then I go for a walk towards the sea. That always helps.
The music industry can be both exciting and incredibly demanding. What has been the biggest challenge for you as an emerging artist, and what has surprised you the most about the industry so far?
I work my way into and through the music industry with slow but steady steps, and therefore not much has really surprised me. I'm good at understanding things before I dive into them - however I'm repeatedly astonished by how much social media has changed the music industry (both for better and for worse).
You’ve already had international attention with “Full-Time Driver.” Has that experience changed the way you approach releasing music or dealing with expectations?
I'm so proud of everything I achieved with Full-Time Driver; however, my processes now feel so different, so to me the processes of the two songs are hard to compare. But of course I would love for "October 31st" to get some international attention as well. For now I'm just happy and proud that I have been able to make that good of a song.
Looking back at the person you were when you first started making music seriously, what is one thing you wish you could tell her now?
I would tell her to have patience, to stop pleasing, and to just go for it herself.
What is a lesson life has taught you that you didn’t expect to learn through your journey as an artist?
That starting over is completely fine.
Finally, if listeners take one feeling, thought or message away from “October 31st,” what would you hope it is?
That sometimes we people do stupid things - like running directly back to a failure. However I also hope the listener can use the more expressive distortion-part of the song to finally let go of some of the self-grudge about doing so. Messing up and fooling around is a part of life and a part of getting older. <3
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