WAV Artist of the Month – ALLEYCVT
ALLEYCVT is making waves in the dubstep scene — quickly emerging to fame after releasing her first single just two years ago. “Electric Shock” was released in April 2022 and in 2023, ALLEYCVT amassed 5.2 million streams on Spotify. So, how has the young artist from Virginia skyrocketed to success so quickly? She shares her impressive journey in this April edition of MP3 MAG’s WAV Artist of the Month.
Fans know ALLEYCVT’s world of music as Planet Supersonic. It’s a place where the singer’s ethereal vocals meet alien-like production. The artist is known for using social media to peel back the curtain on how she creates songs with earth-shattering bass drops. However, she didn’t dabble in dubstep until much later in her music career.
ALLEYCVT’s passion for music and singing can be traced back to childhood. In college, she pursued her career as a singer and songwriter, taking several trips to Los Angeles to work with producers and create music. In 2020, she left Virginia to pursue her music career full-time in L.A..
At the time, she wrote songs and experimented with pop and hip-hop beats. However, two weeks after she landed in her new home, the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many producers, she used the time in lockdown to cook up new music at home. As a budding artist new to L.A., she wasn’t sure if she would make it.
“It was definitely a struggle for sure because I moved to L.A. to do music and to do sessions and to produce and work with people. And then all of a sudden, L.A. was the epicenter of COVID and nothing was happening.”
During lockdown, ALLEYCVT now had the time to experiment with a new genre. As an avid rave-goer, she loved electronic music but never tried producing it until then.
“It never really clicked in my brain that I should be doing electronic music. I always thought it would be hard to produce & was intimidated by it. When COVID hit, it forced me to lock in and level up!”
Soon, she ignited her passion for creating wonky bass music and used TikTok to share her song-making process with the world. ALLEYCVT admits she was against TikTok when it first came out, calling herself a “hater” of the app. However, once she saw how it allowed other artists to market their music, she decided to give it a shot despite not feeling ready to share her new dubstep persona.
Her first few videos were remixes she made of popular songs that got a few thousand views. When she began promoting her first single “Electric Shock,” her page quickly gained traction – amassing tens of thousands of views.
Now, ALLEYCVT has 145,000 followers on TikTok and millions of views.
An electronic music aficionado may roll their eyes at the new TikTok era of electronic producers, but ALLEYCVT notes social media gives artists more power than ever to achieve success. She likens TikTok to a new-age YouTube, where artists can get discovered for their raw talent and ideas.
However, with the highs of social media, come the lows. Once ALLEYCVT’s name boarded a rocketship to new heights, the pressure of trying to go viral began taking a toll on her mental health. Consistent posting turned into a trap of seeking validation through a certain number of views on a new video.
Today was not a good mental day at ALL for me. I am human tho and that’s ok. Tomorrow will be better 💕
— ALLEYCVT (@ItsALLEYCVT) March 27, 2024
“It’s hard not to equate the views to the quality of the music you’re putting out. You’re like, ‘Is this bad now? Is this actually not as good as I thought it was?’ So, it kind of messes with your head for sure.”
On top of internal expectations, artists are forced to deal with haters online. It’s something ALLEYCVT deals with from time to time on various platforms. She says it’s hard not to take mean comments to heart when putting herself and her work out there.
Now, she has tougher skin through her rise to fame. Gaining popularity on social media led to ALLEYCVT hiring a team that helps her tour the country and book big-name festivals. Her first headline tour was in the fall of 2023, leading to multiple sold-out shows.
ALLEYCVT says her busy schedule now distracts her from negativity online. Plus, she’s noticed a silver lining to the dark cloud of keyboard warriors:
“I think any sort of hate or any sort of discourse around you, whether it’s good or bad, just kind of makes you more known to people and makes new fans discover you.”
ALLEYCVT is living proof that the power of social media can help an artist turn their dream into a reality if they put in the work and keep a consistent presence online. The multi-talented producer attributes her fast-growing success to social media and her hardworking team.
Now, she is working on her debut EP and is taking the 2024 festival season by storm with sets at Coachella, Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, and more.
