To begin with, Alma wrote 'Outcast' based on her own feelings of not fitting in and being stuck in a world that's moving on without her. Here, she feels trapped in her own mind, overwhelmed by emotions. Gasping in isolation, she brings stillness through her soft, intimate, haunting and quite personal vocal tone, describing loneliness and expressing the frustration of someone watching, and listening to her without knowing. She's screaming into the void at this point.
Next up, the second verse gets you into Alma's mind, which is conflicted and torn between staying the this place full of misery and leaving it behind. She’s reaching out, hoping someone will pull her closer, but at the same time, she feels like she’s burning away in exile, disappearing into nothing. Drowning in self-doubt and fear, her voice flows through all those instrumental performances, setting up a perfect atmospheric theme, especially for such intense emotions.
So, the music, it adds this soothing but eerie feeling, quite depressing and sad, but at the same time, extremely melodic, well composed and just overall well produced. Filled with violins, guitars, and heavy acoustic drums, the sound stays within the boundaries of the indie genre with a lot of interesting mixing elements in the post.
Alma specifically uses a breathy voice combined with a close-mic technique, and on top of that she adds that dynamic contrast, meaning, her voice gives both quiet, introspective and bigger, more cinematic moments. Even more, you have these huge waves of vocal harmonies with so many layered vocal textures in the background tunneling through reverb, floating in a massive space, like a choir in an open sky.
As a teenager, Alma started recording her own songs. At first, they were simple, but over time, she learned more about producing and spent hours in the studio, shaping every part of her music. For her, producing isn’t just a technical step, it’s part of the creative process. By handling everything herself, she makes sure her music stays true to who she is. Every lyric, melody, and instrument choice is her way of telling a story.