Pulling inspiration from her favourite aspects of 90s pop and the storytelling skills of legendary songwriters, ATLAAS melds the best of both worlds and woos listeners with her unforgettable moody synth-pop vibes.
 
Heather Thomas, the brains and pipes behind ATLAAS, spoke to us about growing up in a music-centric family, how theatre school revived her love for music and what she’s most excited about playing Harvest Sun.

 
What made you start making music?
I played music with my dad when I was really young. We would sing together as a family. We would sing songs that had harmonies and so that kind of trained my ear to hear different parts of music. My dad was a musician as well and had a small studio in our childhood home. I started recording stuff with him when I was 11 or 12 and taking singing lessons at the same time. That really got me started in music. Ever since I started that it was always the one thing that I felt I was really good at, and the one thing that got me excited about the world and life. I knew I had to do something with music to be really happy. Since I was quite young, I had dreams of being the next Britney, and that obviously wasn't my thing [laughs]. I kind of had a weird experience when I went to university for music. I didn't have the best time, and I ended up quitting after a couple of years and just not making music. It wasn't until I was probably 21 and my parents moved away. They were like 'if you wanted to go back to school and finish a degree we would help you.' 
 
I was a little directionless then so they were like 'okay, here try this, ' so I went to theatre school. I took a couple of theatre classes, and I loved it. I kept doing theatre school, ended up doing an honours theatre degree. At the end of the process, I was like 'damn, all this did was make me more confident,' and I realized that I actually could achieve my dreams which are making music. After that, I was like 'this is what I want to do. Screw theatre! I'm not going to be an actor. I'm going back to music, back to my roots!' and that's when I started ATLAAS.
 
Does any of that theatrical stuff seep into your performances?
Well, I've always been really dramatic, like ever since I was little. I've always loved performances that were more performative. I've always been interested in performance art. I've always been interested in movement and the visual side of the performance of music. It was only increased by going to theatre school. Honestly, I think the most important thing that I got out of theatre school was self-confidence. Being in theatre school, I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about other people, how to read and listen to people. That was what made me more confident in my own thoughts and start really trusting my own self.
 
When you started ATLAAS, where did that sound come from?
I think at the very core, and the foundation of ATLAAS is solid pop vocals and emotional lyrics. There's music; there's sound around it, synths and stuff but I think the core would be good pop songs; an emotional thing rather than a really intellectual one, which I really appreciate.  Whenever I write, there's more than just the top layer. I'm thinking of other things when I'm writing, so there are other layers to the song, so if you wanted to get into them you could delve deeper but at the surface, I hope, they're pretty relatable.

Sol James has a deep passion for singing her heart out, and it's obvious, especially when you talk to her about her craft. From her jazz roots, her blended mix of folk, blues, and rock music, to her now budding career in music therapy, Sol continues to follow her calling to use music to connect, heal and make audiences feel.
 
Sol spoke with us about her life as a musician and the importance of small community-oriented festivals like Harvest Sun.
 
 
What inspired you to start making music?
It's been a part of who I am my whole life. I was always involved in choirs, band, music classes, plays and all the things growing up. I went to school and went to university and took a performance degree in jazz voice. I got out of school and realized very quickly that I love jazz, but my writing didn't sound like jazz music, so I stopped resisting that and just let it come. That's the music that I perform now; it's more the style that reflects me.
 
Did you come from a musical family, is that how it was always in your life?
My family is musical, but my parents were all blue-collar people. They were parents who could afford to put me in music lessons. Thankfully, I was able to really foster this intrinsic motivation that I had thanks to [my parents] – who didn't get to pursue their passions the same way. I got out of school, and I just wouldn't accept music as not a career.  I think to their chagrin; it was not their first choice for me but they know it's a part of who I am, and they've been very supportive.
 
You mentioned your music formulated on its own. You started out with jazz, and now it's kind of like this roots/country vibe. So what inspired those stylistic changes?
Jazz is taught in schools, and so that was what was fostered. That was what I was taught. They don't hold rock band classes, at least they didn't when I was going to school. My influences were, growing up, far more country and soul roots based anyways, especially country and folk. My dad was into all that 70s rock, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and all these crazy bands, so I was influenced a lot by that but going into school you have to choose. Jazz was the closest thing to that, and I think it's a good education because jazz musicians have to be pretty versatile. They have to understand music in a way that makes it so that they can delve in and out.