Alle Norton, a child of the ‘90s, makes synthpop songs reminiscent of the 1980s. If her sound was a color, it would be neon pink and neon orange; if it were a thing, it would be a Trapper Keeper. It's a sound that would fit sonically in between early Janet Jackson, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and Berlin. The musician who calls her project Cellars has a degree in sound engineering, which probably explains the smooth variances of layered synths and bass grooves of her songs. In her latest set Phases, out April 15 on Manifesto Records, Norton says she was reflecting on when she first moved to LA at the same time she was going through a difficult breakup. Produced by Ariel Pink, the LP is a fusion of organic, emotional ideas and a slick, technical production—very ‘80s indeed. Norton talks to Myspace about turning Britney Spears lyrics into Christian songs, what Cellars means and what she’s up to in 2016.

Hometown: I moved around quite a bit as a child, but I spent junior high and half of high school in Houston, Texas, and moved to Austin when I was 17.

Homebase: North Hollywood

Why are you called Cellars?

The line “the most beautiful words in the English language are ‘cellar door’” from Donnie Darko really stuck with me, despite the fact I don’t recall much else of the film. It truly is beautiful word. It turns out that the notion of those words being the “most beautiful“ has quite a history; the quote was originally published in 1905 in Harper's Magazine. I named an older song of mine “Cellars” then decided to use that as the name for my project. I like the word because it connotes a sort of beautiful darkness. Also while I’m recording and writing, I feel like I am exploring the cellars in my mind and bringing the music and feelings to light, away from where the wild things are and the darker things dwell.

You were all over those "ones to watch" lists after your 2015 debut Lovesick, and there's a lot of buzz surrounding your upcoming release Phases. What do you consider your big break?

Well, I met the owner of my current label, Manifesto Records, at a friend’s show. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give him a copy of Lovesick​. A day or two later, Manifesto expressed interest in signing me. I was super stoked to have the opportunity to record an album in an actual studio (instead of in my room, where I recorded, mixed, and mastered ​Lovesick). ​I wouldn’t say I’ve necessarily even had a big break, and I haven’t really been waiting on one, since I just love making music regardless of acclaim. That said, I’m so glad I have more of a platform to share my music, and I’m hoping that the release of the album in April goes well and can make people smile, dance, or feel something good.

When did you realize that you wanted to be a singer? Did you have an epiphany early in life?

I have been eating and breathing music since I can remember. I grew up feeling that music was something I needed ​to do.​I was singing along to Barney as soon as I could talk. I was obsessed with my parents’ video camera from a very young age and used it to film myself singing and dancing constantly.

I did have one epiphany around age 6 or so when I watched a certain episode of the Adventures of Pete and Pete, and there was a scene where a garage door opens to little Pete, surrounded by lights and fog, holding a Fender electric guitar. I realized at that very moment that I ​definitely​ wanted to do ​that​, whatever it was. I began begging my parents for a guitar and finally received one when I was 8, and things just kind of went downhill from there.

I was always a singer, and grew up in an offbeat evangelical Christian church that had a rock band, and looking back as a non­religious person I realized going to church and singing every week really helped to learn harmony. I also was in a couple pageants when I was 4­ to 5 and sang in those — so embarrassing!

What's your songwriting process like?

I definitely write all of my own songs. I write as I record so I usually will start with a simple beat and record a synth or bass part over that. Once I have that idea down, everything flows from there and I’ll add synth or bass, and then more synths, sound effects, guitar, vocals, etc. Whichever instrument strikes my mood at the time and in no particular order. The songs take shape as I figure out a bass ­section and/or add and subtract layers.

I love making pop songs, so there are usually pretty typical verse/chorus/bridge arrangements for the most part in my songs. I often do vocals last. Once the song has pretty much everything but vocals, it’s easier to find a good melody. I mostly will just mumble nonsense words or freestyle whatever comes to my brain until I feel like I’ve found the right melody, and then I fill in the blanks with lyrics about whatever I’m feeling at that time. I like that my lyrics tend to be a sort of a snapshot in time for me and I don’t like to spend too much time at all revising them.

But sometimes my lyrics really don’t have anything to do with my own experiences, but rather imagined or exaggerated scenarios. I have a song out called ‘Beat Of Our Love” that has a lot of cheesy, saturated lyrics about meeting someone in a dance club. I get a real kick out of the saccharine love lyrics you hear in 70s/80s R&B/soul and pop and I love imitating them, often by distorting and heightening my own experiences in love.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

Man, I can’t quite remember. I liked making up my own songs and jingles to the demo songs on my parents’ little Yamaha keyboard (which I still have and used on my album). In 3rd grade, I wrote a Christian song about God called “The Rock” and my music teacher at school helped me transcribe it into sheet music. I also did this thing where I would take Britney Spears songs and rewrite them with Christian lyrics. I wanted to start a band doing that and call it “Repeat.” I was not a cool kid. I started writing my own, fully formed songs on my acoustic guitar while in high school and played a lot of coffee shop gigs and even got a little write up in the Free Press of Houston. I think the first song I wrote then was called “Rhyme and Rhythm” and it was pretty emo. I sang about begging my high­school boyfriend not to leave me, and mentioned heroin even though I’d never done any drugs, and of course there was a line in it that said, “I find it easier to cry.”

Who are your musical heroes?

I absolutely adore Prince, he has maintained such a solid career and there’s nothing he could do in my eyes that isn’t brilliant. He is truly an extremely talented singer, guitarist/pianist, and songwriter and he has an intricately cool brain.

Same goes for Kate Bush, who I have always wanted to be. She’s probably the only person that I literally wish I could just BE her, even for just an hour. Her voice is ludicrous and her writing is amazing, and I believe she was very involved in producing her own songs. I also love the way she dances, the colors, vibes, and settings of her videos.

Ariel was a musical hero of mine for a long time before I met him, and still is. He makes tape machines magic, and I always loved that he did everything on his own and even drummed with his mouth. My imagined idea of his recording set­up style, along with other “bedroom pop” artists like John Maus and my ex who plays as Part Time, was a huge inspiration to me; I realized that it was totally possible to make entire songs in my room. I had always loved recording things growing up, but I never realized it was so accessible or possible, since most if not all of the music I was exposed to along my path that far was recorded in a studio. Hearing brilliant music spattered across a lo fi cassette of madness for the first time made me realize that I could and should just sit at a keyboard and microphone and make my own records. I was sadly born at the death rattle of the analog age and thus applied what I interpreted to be the recording technique of my favorite artists to Ableton.

Recording as I wrote, layering tons of parts, playing all the instruments, and attempting to capture some sort of moment or idea in that song or session then moving on without spending too much time on editing and production, lest I lose sight of the initial vibe. I did sort of ruin myself by studying sound engineering in college, and as much as I wanted to make things that sounded like they were recorded to a half-broken cassette recorder, I found myself falling naturally into a more “produced” sound due to both my schooling, my soft spot for pop, and the fact that I wasn’t actually using tapes.

Speaking of Ariel Pink, how did you meet? How'd you end up working with him?

I was a long­time and die­hard Ariel Pink fan by the time he released Pom Pom, and my roommate at the time invited me to an event where they played Pom Pom in full and gave out pink donuts. He showed up and was outside when I went out for a cigarette, and I nervously bummed him cigarettes while standing next to Don Bolles (drummer of the Germs) pretending to know him since I had met him once before at a show, even though he totally didn’t remember me. (Turns out Don became an integral part of my forthcoming album; he showed up at Ultrasound Studios every day, playing on and helping produce Phases.) Ariel asked Don if he knew me, Don said no, but Ariel kept talking to me anyway. We got tacos with Matt Fishbeck (from Holy Shit), and my roommate gave Ariel a ride home, all the while I tried to keep a lid on my excitement and pretend to be cool. I gave Ariel my number presuming he’d never call it. But he did, and we subsequently dated briefly and remained friends. When I met the owner of my label and was offered a recording contract, I texted Ariel to see if he had a producer friend that would work with me, and he suggested himself. I never really expected him to like my music much, let alone produce and collaborate on my record. I was floored and beyond amazed to be able to essentially take a master class from a musician that had made such an impact on my musical life and tastes.

What is Phases about?

Phases began as captured tracks from different phases in my life; I re-recorded some songs that I had released prior as well as songs I had collected from recording over time up until a week before I entered the studio. Most of it covers my move to LA and the vertigo of making my way in a new place, as well as the kaleidoscope of loving and hateful feelings I had at different points throughout my on and off relationship. I was always in love with love, but that relationship definitely re­defined love for me and made me fear and respect it more. … Most of my songs are love songs. I think true love is extraordinary, rare, painful, and all too often fleeting; a flame with the power to burn and destroy, yet at the same time, so vulnerable that the tiniest draft could cause it to fade away. I try to move away from the subject in certain songs, but my weird infatuation with ideal love, whatever that is, always sneaks back into my subject matter somehow.

How do you describe your music to people who haven't heard it before?

Jammy and slightly psyched out. (Listen to it on headphones and drugs!) Pop inspired by the waves of the 80s. Soundtrack to a poolside scene at a Ramada Inn in Florida in 1987 on summer vacation with your family but you’re a bored and stifled teenager who falls in love with every cute girl you see, but you won’t talk to them because your parents will make fun of him and those girls probably wouldn’t even want to kiss you anyway.

Do you have any resolutions for 2016?

I don’t make resolutions, I prefer to just continue on making bad decisions.