Making music is an emotional thing. And when you're on a video shoot with 50 people there, you have to somehow, in a non-emotional way, say what you want and not feel guilty for it. And that takes growing up and that takes... not caring how people perceive you as much. And it just takes experience, I think.
— Banks
I like rap. I like anything with soul. I like anything you can feel, anything that makes you think that the artist had to make that song, or they were going to go crazy.
My parents are divorced, and seeing that was really painful for me. Really painful for me. But that's also a big part of why I'm intrigued by the dynamics between people - because I was close to something that fell apart.
Nothing I do is thought out or planned or premeditated. It's just that I'm breathing and living! You just have to breathe and live.
I never judge my own songwriting. It's just my heart. What's there to judge about your own heart?
I always say my music is like dark blue or black, like a punch to your gut that feels really good.
I got a psychology degree from USC, but music is just my whole life.
I really believe that if you want something bad enough, and you work so hard to get it, and you have it inside, then if you just never stop, it's gonna happen.
When I'm writing, it's the weirdest thing: it's not even a conscious process. I'm not even thinking when I write, and then all of a sudden, I'll have a song that makes me feel so much better than I did before.
I love grey. My mom told me that when I was younger, I would get mildly depressed when it was grey all the time. I'd be darker when it was dark out. But as an adult, I really love it.
I have a very feminine voice when I write, a very womanly point of view. My last name feels strong and powerful. To me, it's almost a bit masculine. I like the dichotomy of the two. Two sides perfectly represented within my name.
Being brave enough to just be unapologetic for who you are, that's a goddess.
I'm very moody, so I dress for whatever mood I'm in. Sometimes I want to be a little more boyish and flowy and comfortable. Sometimes I want to feel a little sexier and more composed.
I'm very passionate, very emotional, very sensitive. I've always been like that.
My voice has always been kind of distinct - even when I was four years old, my mom told me that people would be like, 'Why does your daughter always sound like a chain smoker?' I've always had this deep, raspy voice.
I feel more comfortable being confrontational and authoritative. It's important for women in this business.
I don't think of anyone as a 'groupie.' People who connect with my music are just inspiring and amazing.
A lot of times, people are ashamed of feeling weak and being rejected - so it's liberating to be able to sing about those things. And it's amazing when other people don't feel alone because they hear it.
Me in my music and onstage - that's me without any fears of judgement; that's me when I'm shining.
When I'm in show mode, I can't even think about putting on makeup; I just have to be centered.
I'm from L.A., but everyone thinks that I'm British.
It's that beautiful thing to love your weaknesses, your insecurities, and then put them all on blast. That's why I started writing, and that's why it was so hard to do it in public.
My music is the most 'me' thing about me. Everything is in my music.
I've never really been into social media - I don't have a Facebook; I don't do Twitter or Instagram or anything.
I tend to wear all black. I like feeling sexy, feminine, effortless, and real.
I know every line to 'The Little Rascals.'
Every artist is an artist, and every heartbeat is a heartbeat.
I love Lauryn Hill, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple. People like that. People you can really connect to on the most basic human level.
I got into writing music when I was, like, 14 or 15. It was a very private thing for me because I used it as an outlet and emotional release. I kept it very close to myself and didn't tell too many people about it.
I grew up in L.A. I actually grew up in the Valley, which was a pretty amazing place to grow up because everybody has nice, big backyards, and I was kind of a little nature being.
I make really good pasta sauce. The secret to getting it right is just patience and love.
People think I'm going to be this really dark human when they meet me.
It's funny because everyone says, 'Oh you're reclusive; you don't do social media,' but it's not about being reclusive. I like direct contact, and I like contact that's purposeful.
If you meet me, you might not get to know me. If you hear my music? You'll get to know me.
I have freckles; I don't like covering up too much. I like things dewy and natural, and I think that having moisture in your skin is really beautiful and youthful - sometimes that's more important than coverage.
Sometimes I see through things when people are talking. I'm really sensitive to other people, so I can tell if somebody's putting on a front.
Human emotion is more interesting than anything. Everything that is so overtly sexual is not real. Real emotion is sexy. It's vulnerable and raw.
Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around, and it felt like there were 25 extra pounds of gravity on my shoulders. It's like you're mute or something.
When you broaden the little box that you've been living in for so long, it can be very uncomfortable at first.
I love fashion. I like dressing how I feel, and my music shows how I feel - they go hand in hand. My performance style is pretty much the same as my everyday style.
I used to swallow people's energies, and then I learned, as I got older, that I'm too sensitive, and I had to stop doing that. Now I don't take as much in.
It's a big theme throughout my music to just embrace everything about your own mind and to always feel powerful. It's not just a feminine thing, but for men, too, whether they feel weak, or strong or crazy or reclusive. I want everyone to feel powerful no matter what little beasts they have in their head.
Once I discovered how important writing music was to me and just what a huge weight it lifted off of me, I knew that it was going to be the biggest part of my life, the biggest love of my life, the biggest thing in my life.
It's so inspiring to be around other people who have ideas you haven't thought of, and all of a sudden you're like, 'Wow! That's so amazing!' I definitely want everything I do to just get better and better.
