Behind the Music: An Exclusive Interview with Mauve Bellami

Northern California alternative singer-songwriter Mauve Bellami is making her mark on the independent music scene with her debut EP, If Symptoms Persist. Blending atmospheric melodies, intimate vocals, and deeply personal songwriting, Bellami creates music that explores the complexities of human emotions and experiences.

In this exclusive interview with Amit Ahuja of HAWK-IT Media, Mauve Bellami opens up about her musical journey, creative inspirations, debut EP, and what lies ahead as she continues to develop her sound and identity as an artist.

Amit Ahuja: Before we dive into your debut EP, If Symptoms Persist, I'd love to get to know the person behind the music. What was growing up in Northern California like, and what are some of your earliest memories involving music? Was music always an important part of your life?

Mauve Bellami: My personal experience growing up in California wasn’t very glamorous, but I remember a lot of positives anyway. I was around a very diverse group of kids in school, and teachers, which I appreciate now as an adult. But, at least where I was, I always felt like the odd one out among my peers. My interests never seemed to align, I carried myself strangely, and I was very interested in music, art, and writing at a really young age, a bit obsessively.I was exposed to a lot of 90s hardcore hip hop and rap through my dad, and a lot of soulful r&b through my mother. I remember trying to sing along to Mary J. Blige and Sade in the back of the car on the way to school when I was around maybe 11 years old. My parents separated when I was about 7, and I was mostly raised by my mom at that point. I remember music was always playing in the house. She always said she needed music playing all of the time. She gave me a lot of CDs. 3LW, I am..Sasha Fierce, an old Keke Palmer CD, and Lady Gaga’s the Fame which I absolutely fell in love with. I sank so deeply into that album so young. I discovered other artists on my own after that and that started my own love affair with music.

Amit Ahuja: Every musician has artists and songs that leave a lasting impression. Who were some of your favorite musicians growing up, and which artists have influenced you the most? How have those influences shaped the music you're creating today?

Mauve Bellami: Early on I was very into Lady Gaga, MARINA (Formerly Marina and the Diamonds) and Lana Del Rey. Each showed me a different lane pop music could exist in that I don’t think I knew was possible before. They all had very unique voices and ways of writing that I really liked. Later on, I discovered Mazzy Star, Portishead, Banks and Daughter as a teen. I really liked how the music and the lyrics weren’t competing with each other. I mentioned Sade earlier, she remained a huge influence for me, because she leaves a lot of space in her music. I’m very drawn to that- leaving room for both the music and the storytelling. Artists I enjoy today that come to mind are Ethel Cain and the Marias. Ethel Cain is a huge inspiration for me. Her storytelling and ability to create these sonic little worlds that you live in for 5 to 10 minutes is just extraordinary. The Marias do the same in a different way, they’re able to write something simple and devastating and real and leave room for your own feelings. I’m still very inspired by every artist I mentioned but especially the ones that consistently leave space intentionally for the listener. I think that’s really important.

Amit Ahuja: Music can become especially meaningful during certain moments in our lives. Is there a song or album by another artist that helped you through a difficult time or made you feel understood? Has that experience influenced the connection you hope listeners find in your music?

Mauve Bellami: Definitely “Lust For Life” by Lana Del Rey. I was freshly 20

years old and I was just so confused about life. Several things had happened that left me feeling really down about the future of everything, even though I was so young. I fell deep into this album specifically because in addition to moments of celebrating life there are songs like “Heroin,” and “Cherry.” Those were my most played songs. I found myself in a lot of situations in my early 20s where I related to both of those songs a lot. At times, I related to the very positive songs as well, but I appreciated the contrast. I think too, that’s why I like to add contrast in my music now. Usually I’ve noticed feelings don’t come without contrast.

Amit Ahuja: I'd love to hear about your earliest experiences with songwriting. Do you remember the first song you wrote and what inspired it? What was it like discovering you could turn your thoughts and emotions into music?

Mauve Bellami: My first attempt at songwriting was about aged 13. I started a small girl group with two of my less than enthusiastic friends. I wrote a song called, “Magic Baby.” I tried to imitate a typical pop radio song. We never actually performed it anywhere, but it was a lot of fun to practice and pretend we were already singing on a stage. Sometimes, I start to forget the lyrics, but my little sister will randomly bring them up and I’m reminded all over again. It fills me with equal parts joy and cringe.

Amit Ahuja: As an independent alternative singer-songwriter, you're introducing your sound to new listeners. How would you describe your music to someone hearing it for the first time? What draws you to alternative music, and what makes your sound uniquely yours?

Mauve Bellami: I think my music is generally melancholic and atmospheric pop. I like dreamy sounds, intimate vocals, and tend to write about unsettling corners of human emotion. I’m drawn to alternative music because there’s so much freedom, including freedom to experiment with those contrasts. I like leaving room in music to breathe, and room for the listener to place their own feelings and thoughts in the music. I’m still discovering what makes my sound uniquely mine. I’m still experimenting. But I do know I usually want to make space for a listener to feel what they need to when listening and I’m very particular about that. That usually is one of the main things that guides me creatively.

Amit Ahuja: Sharing your own music publicly for the first time can be exciting and intimidating. What gave you the confidence to take that step? Did you experience any doubts or fears, and what helped you move past them?

Mauve Bellami: It took me a long time to get the confidence to share anything I’ve written online. I’ve been writing since I was young– short stories, poems, songs that not many people have seen. I think one day I just decided that all my favorite artists at some point had to just press upload. I’m still very nervous when I do share. I think now I’m just learning to sit with it instead of letting it stop me completely. It’s ok for it to exist, the fear of, “oh my God, people will hear this” but I just let it exist. It’s easier said than done, for sure. But I do my best.

Amit Ahuja: Every songwriter has a different creative process. When an idea for a song comes to you, where does it usually begin? Do you start with lyrics, a melody, or an emotion, and how does that idea develop into a finished song?

Mauve Bellami: I usually start with a feeling and the feeling turns into lyrics. I have to sort of condense from there honestly. It’s trickier admittedly, but I think it’s just because I’ve always written first. The process can vary sometimes, but usually it seems to be a feeling that arrives, I write the lyrics, I find the melody, and I cut the lyrics down to fit in the melody while not losing the story and still conveying the original emotion, since that’s most important to me. It’s sometimes a longer process, but it’s so fun.

Amit Ahuja: Songwriting can be a deeply personal form of storytelling. How much of your music comes from your own experiences, and how do you decide what to share? Do you tend to write directly about real events, or do you sometimes explore your feelings through fictional stories and imagery?

Mauve Bellami: Most of my songwriting comes from my own experiences, I just write it through a more surreal lens sometimes. When it comes to deciding what to write about, I kind of just write about everything. Writing has always been very therapeutic for me and helps me process. Putting it in a song, I’ve noticed, is even more therapeutic somehow. Sometimes I do write narratively, but even then I’m using that to process my own emotions.

Amit Ahuja: Growing up in Northern California, have the places, people, or experiences around you influenced your creativity? Is there anything about your hometown or local music scene that has shaped your perspective as a songwriter?

Mauve Bellami: Oh, definitely! I’ve met so many people that have left marks for better or for worse, and I’ve been writing about these experiences for years. And I have memories in specific places that the experiences are tied to. The smells, the time of the year, the weather, music playing in houses, in cars, the chatter around, it’s all connected and couldn’t be that way anywhere else, with anyone else. So I’m definitely still inspired to this day by different things that happened all over little parts of California. Different parts have become a kind of backdrop for my memories.

Amit Ahuja: As a new independent musician, you're discovering what goes into creating and releasing music. What's something about the process that surprised you? Have you developed any unexpected skills, and what part of being an independent artist have you enjoyed most?

Mauve Bellami: I work collaboratively with Lunar Mill on production, and that’s taught me how to communicate my creative ideas that are sometimes more emotional than technical. I’ve also learned different things in recording like harmonies and doubles, fun stuff like that. I think I thought creating would be the bulk of the work but there’s a whole business side I didn’t really consider, so I’m still actively learning about that, and that’s probably what has surprised me the most. My favorite part is absolutely the creative freedom and process. I love hearing things go from words I write into an actual song, it’s an incredible feeling.

Amit Ahuja: I'd love to go back to the beginning of If Symptoms Persist. What inspired you to create your debut EP, and how did the project first come together? What does releasing this collection of songs mean to you personally?

Mauve Bellami: “If Symptoms Persist” came together because I was circling the same uncomfortable thoughts surrounding relationships, communication, dreams. I noticed I kept writing about the same things. I wanted to release songs representing that kind of spiral on different subjects, but I wanted the sonic background for the songs to still be atmospheric and dreamy.

Amit Ahuja: The title If Symptoms Persist immediately sparks curiosity. How did you come up with it, and what does it represent to you? Is there a particular theme or experience connecting the songs on the EP?

Mauve Bellami: I chose the title because it felt kind of like feelings that were not leaving me alone, and had no resolve. They just kind of appear, are uncomfortable, and that’s it. So, the title “If Symptoms Persist” with no follow up felt very fitting, because there’s no real prescription for it, or way to solve it, they’re just uncomfortable and sometimes emotions are just that. They’re these circling little bubbles that don’t pop for a bit. And that’s it. There’s moments of peace in between. But for me, I notice circling certain thoughts is just something I do a lot.

Amit Ahuja: When putting together If Symptoms Persist, how did you decide which songs belonged on the EP? Did you want the tracks to tell a connected story, or was it more important for each song to stand on its own?

Mauve Bellami: I wanted the songs to be able to do both, to stand on their own but stay connected emotionally. They’re all about different things and different feelings and different grievances, but they’re all thoughts that I’ve circled and had a hard time coming to terms with myself. I think that shared feeling of being unresolved is what made them belong together.

Amit Ahuja: Every song has its own story, and some hold a particularly special meaning for the artist. Is there a track on If Symptoms Persist that feels especially personal to you? What is the story behind that song, and has its meaning changed since you wrote it?

Mauve Bellami: The song “Princess Mombi” is extremely special and personal to me. I’ve always felt, since I was young, like I needed to change parts of myself in an extreme way to be appealing to everyone- not just romantically, but in society. As I got older, and I started dating, it became even more extreme. It felt like from my perspective, people would want one part of me, but not the rest. Princess Mombi is a character from the film Return To Oz who keeps the heads of beautiful women in a sort of closet. She swaps them out. It’s one of my favorite movies, and the concept of removing different parts of myself to be perfect for someone else was something I wanted to write about and share, and I’m very happy I got to do that. The meaning has not changed since I wrote it.

Amit Ahuja: Are there any particular lyrics on If Symptoms Persist that you're especially proud of writing? What makes those words meaningful to you, and how do you feel about listeners finding their own interpretations of your lyrics?

Mauve Bellami: There are lyrics I wrote in “Rainy Dreams” I still feel very fond of. The line, “You don’t haunt me, it happens so rarely, but when it happens, it hits me again - that you didn’t want me, and that my dreams are the last place we stayed friends.” I think it’s one of the times I’ve described mourning someone who’s alive but not in my life anymore, and described the weird thing that happens where someone will pop up in your dreams that you haven’t spoken to– sometimes in years, and it genuinely causes pain. At least so far, it’s the best way I think I’ve described it. As far as listeners finding their own interpretations, I write with that in mind. It’s important to me to leave room for that. I love listening to music and having room to feel my own feelings, or remember my own memories or apply my own experiences, and so I always want to try to do that in my music.

Amit Ahuja: Creating music involves finding the right sounds to bring your ideas to life. While working on If Symptoms Persist, how did you approach the melodies, instruments, and overall atmosphere? Was there anything new you enjoyed experimenting with?

Mauve Bellami: I discovered a lot of different sounds making this EP, and it was so fun experimenting with them all. I got a lot of help and guidance from Lunar Mill and worked with them on production. I would describe the kind of sound I had in mind, and we would work together to try to create it. In the process, I discovered a lot I didn’t previously know. It was really exciting for me. I discovered I love drones of all types, and synths felt very fitting for this EP. Production is new to me in general, so I’m still experimenting. It’s been a cool experience.

Amit Ahuja: Recording and releasing your first EP is an exciting milestone. What was the experience of bringing If Symptoms Persist to life like? Did you collaborate with anyone, and what was the most memorable part of hearing the finished songs?

Mauve Bellami: Bringing it to life was nothing short of surreal. I had been working on it for so long. I wrote the songs around February of 2026, and then started production with Lunar Mill in June of the same year. And when it was finally released in November, it felt bigger than anything. I almost couldn’t even process it at first– that it was actually done. I collaborated with Lunar Mill on the production of the entire thing and they are incredibly helpful and kind. I remember pressing play on Spotify on the opening song which is “Princess Mombi” and just smiling ear to ear.

Amit Ahuja: Now that If Symptoms Persist has been released, what has it been like sharing your music with listeners? Have any reactions or messages surprised or touched you, and what do you hope people take away from the EP?

Mauve Bellami: Since I released it, I’ve been surprised to get a couple really nice comments actually already. I got one that said Princess Mombi was the best song they’d heard posted in their discord in a long time. I was really surprised that someone passed it along into a discord server, and then someone from that server came to comment to tell me they liked the song a lot. That was really cool! I hope when people listen they feel less alone about spiraling certain thoughts or feelings. I hope they know it’s not strange or uncommon to feel some of the things I sing about on the album.

Amit Ahuja: Music can be a powerful way to express emotions and work through personal experiences. Has songwriting played a role in your emotional well-being? Are there themes of mental health, healing, or self-acceptance in If Symptoms Persist that you hope listeners connect with?

Mauve Bellami: Songwriting is everything to me. Writing in general as I mentioned is extremely therapeutic. It helps me process really uncomfortable emotions or experiences, and even overwhelmingly great ones too. It’s just a tool I’ve always used and I think in conjunction with music it’s incredibly freeing. I think in my EP, while there’s no real resolution provided in any of the songs, I hope it helps for people to hear that if they have similar thoughts or feelings they’re not alone at all. Sometimes, it takes a while to find a way to make peace with uncomfortable situations, and sometimes, part of making peace– at least for me– is hearing a song that I might relate to. I hope that someone is able to do that with this EP.

Amit Ahuja: I'd love to get to know Mauve Bellami outside of music. What are some of your favorite hobbies or interests when you're not writing or recording? Do any of those activities inspire your creativity, and what's something about you that listeners might be surprised to learn?

Mauve Bellami: When I’m not writing or singing I love doing makeup, learning about makeup, reading about makeup. I used to draw a lot as a teen but I found it really frustrating more than calming. When I translated it to my face, it was a way better experience. I think some people have a narrow view of it, but it can be used to create so many different things. I’ve been really into it for 10 or more years and it's another creative outlet for me. I like to cook, as well when I have the energy.

Amit Ahuja: Outside of your musical ambitions, is there something you've always dreamed of doing or experiencing? It could be a place you'd love to visit, a skill you'd like to learn, or a personal goal. What makes that dream special to you?

Mauve Bellami: I have always wanted to travel out of the country. I had a few places I’d love to see in person. It’s a big goal for me, and I think about it all of the time.

Amit Ahuja: Now that you've released your debut EP, what are you most excited about moving forward? Are there new musical styles you'd love to explore, artists you'd dream of collaborating with, or goals you're hoping to accomplish?

Mauve Bellami: I’m so excited to release new music. Since the EP I’ve learned so much, and developed so much I think as an artist. I’ve figured out the sound that I align closer to, and I can’t wait to share it. Vocally as well, I think I’m more comfortable and want to share that as well! Some styles I’m excited to try are alternative r&b and shoegaze. I listen to both a lot and I’m excited to try my hand at both.

Amit Ahuja: Finally, looking back at your journey from discovering music to releasing If Symptoms Persist, what does this accomplishment mean to you? What advice would you give someone who's just beginning to write songs but feels nervous about sharing their music with the world?

Mauve Bellami: I learned a lot through releasing this first EP. I think that my advice to anyone that wants to release music and is afraid would be that, it’s normal to feel afraid. Music is a very intimate, private thing usually. Taking that leap is scary so your feeling is not abnormal. But I think the more music the better. If you have something to say, please share it. There are music fanatics (like myself) that cannot wait to hear what you have to share. And the fear will be there for a while, but if you can manage to set it to the side, and hit upload anyway, I think you’ll be happy you did.

With her debut EP, If Symptoms Persist, Mauve Bellami is making her mark as an independent artist through atmospheric sounds, heartfelt lyrics, and personal storytelling. As she continues to explore new musical directions, her journey is only beginning.

A special thank you to Mauve Bellami for taking the time to answer our interview questions and share her musical journey, inspirations, and personal experiences with HAWK-IT Media. We truly appreciate her thoughtful responses and wish her continued success in her music career!

Stay connected with Mauve Bellami:

Instagram: @mauvebellami

Spotify: Listen to If Symptoms Persist

For more exclusive artist interviews, music news, and independent music discoveries, visit HAWK-IT Media and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.

Interview by Amit Ahuja | HAWK-IT Media

***Photo Credit: All photographs featured in this HAWK-IT Media interview are the property of Mauve Bellami. All photo rights belong to Mauve Bellami.***