Stilla Unveils Debut EP ‘Stillaverse’ Featuring Sleek Pop Anthems and Standout Collaborations

Melbourne-based pop artist Stilla has released her highly anticipated debut EP Stillaverse, showcasing her dynamic blend of pop, funk, and R&B. The EP includes standout tracks like the high-energy single ENERGY, the euphoric TOUCH ME, and her first collaboration, ADDICTION, featuring rising rapper Squid The Kid. Co-produced with Nathan Zammit and mixed by Hayden Lauersen, Stillaverse delivers polished production and intricate vocal harmonies, establishing Stilla as a force in the Australian pop scene.

To celebrate the release, Still has shared with us her 5 biggest inspirations behind the debut EP.

There are so many factors that influenced this project outside of just other music I listen to, however, of course there are particular artists I look up to when crafting my own sound. I wrote this EP over the span of a few years, so naturally, the influences on certain tracks shifted as my tastes & writing evolved throughout the process. However, there are a few core artists I drew particular inspiration from, whether it’s for production, lyricism, ad-libs, or other creative elements. – Stilla.

Ariana Grande

I’ll start with the obvious. My soprano queen, I’ve always looked up to Ari. She does pop so well, particularly the vocals. I grew up listening to her evolve, and would spend a lot of time analysing all of the vocal layers and adlibs in her songs. Vocal production is something I think she has inspired me to really focus on. If you listen to my last single ‘TOUCH ME’, that had a ridiculous amount of vocal tracks on it but the reward of that is so much variation throughout the song.

Bruno Mars

This one might surprise some people, but I have taken a page out of Bruno’s book to try to nail the more pop-funk-rnb fusion tracks on my EP. Particularly in my song ENERGY, I was sort of playing a character on that song, where it had quite a bit of attitude about it, and Bruno does this so well, particularly on his 24k Magic album he has had so many hits and there’s a reason for that! I also referenced some of his later work in Silk Sonic for a song as well on one particular song, you might be able to pick it once the full project is available!

READ MORE: mxmtoon Releases New Single ‘rain’ Ahead of Upcoming Album ‘liminal spaces’

Sabrina Carpenter

I love Sabrina’s use of cheeky and sarcastic lyrics in her song, and I think that inspired me to take more risks with my lyrics, rather than being worried if people will get it, if the delivery is right it can really work. Also something that’s important to me is the character of the lead vocal, i.e. considering how you articulate and deliver the lyric rather than just pitch and timing as the only factors that matter. Sabrina really nails this particularly on her latest records, and it is something I also put a lot of extra thought into on this EP to give the tracks that extra polish and to really narrate these stories in a meaningful way.

Dua Lipa

Dua is obviously a pop queen, but one of the things I love about her is that she makes music that is enjoyable for so many people. It’s fun! It was important for me when I embarked on creating this EP that it was fun, not just for me and my team to make, but also for the listeners. There are some vulnerable moments of course, but one of my aims was for this to be an exciting and fun project, and so far with the singles it’s been a great response. 

Charlie Puth

I would say we added a sprinkle of inspiration from Charlie Puth as well. I love watching his production videos, I’ve learned quite a few techniques from him. His ability to craft catchy polished pop tracks is unquestionable. I added countermelodies to songs to add to the ‘catchiness’ of the tracks, which is something Puth does extremely well. 

As you can see, I mainly used big pop icons as my inspiration for my EP. I was leaning into being unapologetic with the pop sound, and these artists are all the pinnacle of this genre. I am so excited for my debut EP to be released, it is a picture of my sonic world and I am delighted that people will finally be able to experience it with me. “STILLAVERSE” is available now everywhere.

Still’s debut EP, Stillaverse is available now, everywhere.