Austen Starr Talks New Single, Music Video And More

Sep 11, 2025 | Interviews

Words by Glenn Sargeant

Feature Image Photo Credit: Anthony Grassetti

Rising rocker Austen Starr, recent signee to Frontiers Music Srl, has unveiled her latest single “Remain Unseen” alongside a powerful new music video. She very kindly sat down with us to talk about the track, music video and more:

What is your earliest musical memory?

My earliest musical memory is from when I was around 4-5 years old, I think, and I was at
my parents’ gig. They were in a summertime cover band called “The Sunny Beaches” and
my grandparents took my cousins and me to the top of this huge sandy hill to watch the
band play on a barge. I still listen to their old recordings because my dad had an amazing
rock voice. My mom played keys and sang pitch-perfect harmonies. Unfortunately, their gigs
these days are few and far between.

When did you begin songwriting?

I wrote my first song when I was 11. It was terrible. The lyrics were (of course) some of the
worst I’ve written in my life. I remember most of it. It will go to my grave with me, haha!

You have your new single ‘Remain Unseen’ out now. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

“Remain Unseen” was the working title of the track Joel sent me; I thought it was a cool
concept so I wanted to write it as it was, instead of coming up with a new hook. My brain got
snagged on the barbed wire that was “Down the rabbit hole,” so I was stuck trying to
amalgamate “Remain Unseen” and “Down the rabbit hole.” From there, I started playing with
Alice In Wonderland imagery and writing a new kind of rabbit hole for Alice to fall into, about
which she would like not to be found out.

Did you solely write the track or was it a co-write?

Every track on the album was a co-write with Joel Hoekstra of Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian
Orchestra, Cher, Night Ranger, etc, etc… Joel has some serious credits. Joel wrote all the
chord progressions and many of the melodies, and I wrote all the lyrics and whatever
melodies were still missing.

Was it a difficult song to write?

Musically, everything is as it was on the initial scratch tracks Joel sent over, save for a few
melodic changes and a key change. Lyrically, this one was pretty quick to have an initial
draft, and the only tweaks were really small changes to add more Wonderland imagery.

Is the single accompanied by a visualiser?

This song got a full video! It’s performance-based, but fast-paced and has some cool
cutaway effects.

Where did you record the single and who produced it?

I recorded my vocals at my dad’s studio north of Boston, Massachusetts. Joel, I think, was in
Germany with Accept when he tracked the guitars. Chris Collier is based in Vegas, and he
provided the bass and drums as well as co-produced the song with Joel. Steve Ferlazzo was
on tour with Avril Lavigne when he recorded keys, and I believe Chloe Lowery recorded the
backing vocals in various locations as well.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

It’s funny now, but was super irritating at the time – my voice kept cracking on this one line,
so I had to do it over and over until I finally got a good take… But the bad takes were all
laced with expletives. My dad then made a separate compilation track of every expletive that
came out of my mouth that day. It was great.

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

This is more a question for Joel, Chris, and Steve, but the gear used to record my vocals
was a Neumann U87 mic through a Universal Audio 6176 preamp/compressor limiter.

Which of your new tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

“Remain Unseen” might, weirdly enough, be the happiest song on the album, despite its
sound. That, or “I Am The Enemy” which would simultaneously be not necessarily the
“angriest” but the most vengeful. The last track on the album is probably my most reflective;
it’s the one that means the most to me lyrically. If I were to describe each song’s mood in
one word, the album is: victorious, serpentine, vindictive, wistful, frustrated, smug,
incredulous, trepidatious, snarky, anxious, and resolute.

Do you have any further music releases planned for 2025/2026?

You can expect two more music videos and a full-length album!

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

Is this an overarching, lifetime “left the stage” or just “after you’ve played a show…”? If the
former, I hope that I’ve written something that resonates with people, and I hope that my
music outlives me. If the latter, I hope I put on a good show that makes people want to see
me perform again, and I hope, again, that something I sang resonated with the audience.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

I don’t yet; I’m sure I’ll develop favoritism as I progress in my stage-show proficiency.

How do you look after your voice?

I hydrate to perhaps an extreme, and I try (but often fail) to avoid dairy altogether. I warm up
a little before singing, but I could do a better job of that. I don’t have the best voice in the
scene, so I’m probably a lot more careless with my voice than some…

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Not a novel, but a few American short stories: Bartleby the Scrivener, A Rose for Emily, and
The Yellow Wallpaper. I think these would be really interesting to develop sonically to show
the deterioration of the characters from Bartleby the Scrivener and The Yellow Wallpaper,
and the disjointed mysteriousness of A Rose for Emily. As for writing lyrics, I would prefer not
to….

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

My hometown is Marblehead, Massachusetts. Five words to describe it? 1. Scenic, 2.
Quaint, 3. Cliche, 4. Nautical, 5. Affluent.

Do you have any live dates in the UK/Europe planned for 2025/2026?

Not yet, but hopefully I will get something in the books for ‘26!

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

The Pretty Reckless/Taylor Momsen is a huge influence. Green Day, as well. And the
pop-punk/emo bands of the aughts. The whole pop-punk style has really shaped my
melodies and I learned how to write lyrics by listening to Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco,
My Chemical Romance, and, oddly enough, Taylor Swift…. If you were wondering why I’m
so verbose

What makes Austen Starr happy and what makes you unhappy?

There’s a whole list of things that make me unhappy in my bio on my website, including but
not limited to the smell of leather, wet objects, the color yellow, the Northeast of the USA…
Things that make me happy? Cats, studying the human brain, lyric-writing, and my
antidepressants.