Check out Angela Chambers and her latest track, “Say It To My Face.” This single, from her new solo EP, blends R&B, alt-pop, and electro-pop, with Chambers repeatedly singing, “say it to my face.” Recorded in Nashville, this track showcases Chambers’ range as she balances her time between the US and Berlin, Germany. “Say It To My Face” has the potential to find a home on Spotify’s Pop Rising, Indie Electronica, and Synthpop playlists.

Angela explains, “I drove to Nashville for a songwriting session with a feeling of nothing left to lose and some bottled up emotions inside, and came up with the “Say It to My Face” melody stuck inside my head while I was on the road. I was sick of a passive aggressive world that kept me hanging on by marionette strings. I was nostalgic for some good old “Face to Face” confrontations, which I never got anymore, because everyone was too “busy” hiding behind phones, computers, ghosting, unfollowing or tuning into their own radio silence.

1) Can you elaborate on the emotions and experiences that inspired the lyrics of “Say It To My Face”?

“Say It to my Face” was written during a tumultuous time in my life and career, while I was still learning how to cope and deal with the face of rejection and trying not to take things too personal when it came to the music biz, even when it felt as though people had turned their back on me and I could not find the right people to work with who actually believed in me as an artist, or I felt like I was waiting for the next smuck or industry shark to try and take a bite out of my songs. Writing this song kind of inspired me to let go of the negative energy and toxic relationships that I was experiencing and holding onto at the time and to put it into the words of a song, so I drove to Nashville to meet with Doug and the melody kind of popped into my head as I was driving. It’s a song about the era in which we live, where it’s normal for people to ghost, unfollow, and ignore others and pretend they don’t exist, almost like some sick game to an extreme extent that has become psychologically damaging for some people and which no longer feels normal or relevant to me. The song is an ode to the good old times when people would actually say things to your face, even if that meant they would punch you in the face or try and pull your hair out, instead of hiding behind computers, phones, or tuning you out with their own radio silence.

Check out our interview with Angela below, where she delves into the creative process behind the track.

What was it like recording your new EP in Nashville, and how did that environment influence the sound of your music?

The songwriting process in Nashville was a lot of fun. For my upcoming EP entitled, “The Key Of Me” I was working with Canadian producer, Douglas Romanow, and he was kind of pushing me in new directions artistically and creatively. We were experimenting with some pop formulas and it was exciting to see what came out of those songwriting sessions. I pushed myself vocally as well to see how I could test the limits in terms of delivery of the lyrics. I like the RnB/Pop vibe for my voice and I think it fits nicely with my new direction. Geographically, Nashville made the most sense to write and record the songs because it was not far from my house in North Carolina.

How do you manage to balance your time and creative energy between living in the US and Berlin?

I would say it has been quite challenging to spread my time and energy between two different worlds and recently I have been spending a bit more time in the states to be closer to family. It felt like I was being torn between worlds while living abroad and feeling homesick for those who once understood me, which has become the fuel for the writing behind my upcoming solo album. Flying back and forth overseas, no feeling of home, a rolling stone, a wounded bird, a restless heart full of soul, divided between the continents. Many people keep asking me if and when I’m coming back to Berlin, and the answer is yes, I’m coming back at some point this year, since I will become an official dual EU/American citizen and gain my citizenship after 10 years of living in Berlin. I’m currently based in LA and working on some film and music projects out here now. I’m also excited about working together with a Grammy-Award winning producer out here in LA on one of my latest songs called “Wounded Bird” and for my full solo album. Hopefully I can become an enigma or a time traveller, kinda like David Bowie, in and out of the city, like a phantom of the opera. And while Berlin will always have a piece of my heart, as of more recently, I’ve been diving back into the US. Expats are stronger than you will ever know, even though they are usually taken for a grain of salt, judged meticulously, and looked at as interchangeable.

In what ways do you feel the music scene differs between the US and Berlin, and how have these differences impacted your music?

Sadly the aftermath of Covid times drastically changed Berlin and the social circles and music scenes that I was involved with. I felt as though I was being taken for granted in Berlin and treated as an outkast throughout various music scenes in the city, so I figured it was time for a change, and so I’ve been following my heart and going where my soul is needed and not just tolerated, where the weather suits my clothes, and where I no longer feel like an expat or a foreigner and where I get to feel love and appreciated by family and friends. Since coming to LA and playing some live shows out here, I already have way more feedback than I ever did in Germany. I would say like most cities, everyone has to find their niche, or do they? What happens when you don’t fit in with any particular scene, then you end up like me, and you must get used to the lonesome, because jealousy and envy is a real part of the biz. I find these days Im better off on my own, and not dealing with some fake hipsters in some pretentious secret society scene that one minute they got your back, and the next minute they are stabbing you in the back and trying to rip you down the ladder. I’m proud to say that I’ve always gone my own way, and there’s a beauty and a danger in that and in being a unique and actually talented artist these days. If you also add beauty and talent to the equation, then you will really throw people off. Which also ties back into my lyrics for the bridge part of my new song “Say It to My Face”, when I sing, “There’s just one thing you are so good at, throwing knives behind my back”, I am referencing just how ridiculous some of these “Scenes” have become. As within all secret society music scenes, I have realized it’s better to stand out from the niche groups that everyone keeps trying to place themselves into these days. The more uncomfortable I feel as an artist, the more I know that I’m growing.

What do you hope listeners take away from “Say It To My Face,” especially in terms of the message about direct communication and confronting issues head-on?

My hopes for the future in general is that people can actually listen and read between the lines of my latest song, and start to become more aware and conscious as the world turns and the poles re-shift again. Maybe people can start to turn the wrongs into the right things, instead of let’s go to the most extreme versions of ourselves, maybe we can learn to find a balance within the chaos. Maybe people can go against the grain a little bit and stop following the sheep that lead them off the cliff. For now, Im rolling with the changes.