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Image via OPAL
Daily Discovery is a feature that highlights a new or recently discovered artist who we’re excited about. See the rest of our Daily Discoveries here.
OPAL is a 25-year-old singer currently based in Norfolk, Virginia. Before relocating there, she lived in Chicago and Los Angeles. Today she uses the influences and inspiration she’s gathered from these varying settings to create music that cannot quite be put into one specific box. Her latest single “FRANCE” works as the perfect example of this.
Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from and how did you get started?
I was born in Chicago, grew up in Los Angeles. Now I’m living here in Virginia, in Norfolk. I’m 25, I make music, I design clothing, and do pretty much everything. I kind of try to just create.
Yeah, I saw on your Instagram that you make all these really cool hats.
Oh yeah, thank you. I made all of those myself. I make 5-panel hats, bucket hats, baseball hats, all kind of stuff.
I’ve heard “France” and “Robot” before that, and I’m wondering how you describe your sound because it’s hard to attach to just one genre.
Yeah, you know I agree with you. It’s a reflection of myself. I can be a little all over the place so, it’s just me. Honestly that’s what I would say.
On “France” you repeat the line “I come from France” but there’s something almost extraterrestrial about it, can you explain what the inspiration was behind that?
So France is kind of like a mind state, or mentality. It’s like a feeling. It’s symbol of a lot of different things—it’s a symbol of freedom, luxuries, mysteries. Just all kinds of stuff, and it makes you feel good. It’s more symbolic than an actual place. It’s a place that a lot of people come from.
It feels like a continuation of “Robot,” is there going to be a similar theme on your future project or what you’re working on?
Definitely. I’m glad that you peeped that. It’s kind of like the whole dichotomy of just myself. That’s kind of what I want to put out there. So they all are spins off of each other, they all are very eclectic but they all kind of form one piece.
You said you were born in Chicago, moved to L.A., then Virginia. How has being in those different places impacted your music and creative process?
I think it’s cool to just be able to go to a place, be there, and live. Just be there with no past connections, you can kind of just hop somewhere and be there. So that has increased my strength a lot as an individual. And furthermore, all those places are so different, they have different people. You learn different things, they have different scenery. You’re able to see life in a different way. So I’ve able to open my mind to a lot of different things and see the world in a different way.
What artists would you say inspire you?
I would say anybody who has strength and perseverance. I like artists for their entire being. The music that you make reflects who you are, what you do on a daily basis, and how you feel you need to portray yourself to the world. So I’m inspired by everybody.
What do you want new listeners to know about you?
I want them to know that I’m very transparent, but I’m also very cryptic.
When can we expect to hear more music?
Next month, for sure. I’ve got a lot of music stashed. I’ve probably spent the last year or so stockpiling music and trying to fine tune it to really build something that’s valuable.
