There are artist names that function mostly as identifiers, and then there are names that feel like invitations into an entire atmosphere. FallLeaves belongs to the latter category! Even before pressing play, the name carries a season’s worth of imagery within it: warm colors, change, softness, nostalgia, and the feeling of something settling into place.
That atmosphere stretches throughout FallLeaves’ music, too. Her debut album, A Glimpse of Fall, is a nine-track Afro-Pop project that joins a catalog already filled with titles like “In a Drought,” “Clover Lights” and “Stays Evergreen.” Across her discography, there’s a clear interest in connection, longing and the kinds of feelings that can be easier to sit with once they’ve been turned into something creative.
But FallLeaves’ world is also deeply hands-on. She writes her own material, records her vocals and handles her own mixing and mastering, which allows the final versions of her songs to remain as close as possible to the way she originally imagined them. Many artists dream of that, and FallLeaves has turned it into one of the defining parts of how she works.
In this World Of conversation, FallLeaves reflects on the person behind the name, the experiences that become songs, the balance between honesty and privacy, and why she hopes listeners will eventually come to think of her music as a place of peace.
This interview has been edited for clarity and flow.
Originally published on Creating Romancivity.
Matilia, World Of: Before someone can fully understand FallLeaves as an artist, what do you think they need to understand about the person behind the name?
FallLeaves: Well first off, this is so cool – the fact that I’m being interviewed – so thank you! Plus you spelled my name correctly.
Presumably, that doesn’t happen often. I can relate!
FallLeaves: My listeners, or otherwise known as my Maples, should know that I create music out of expression and not perfection. Creating songs is like painting to me – hearing all the colors blend together and seeing how it comes out in the end. Of course, clean it up, but still keep it vulnerable by the end.
World Of: Your songwriting credits use the name Autumn Sloan, while your artist name turns Autumn into FallLeaves. What does that transformation from your given name into your artistic identity represent to you?
FallLeaves: Yeah, that’s true! I was born in October; it’s my favorite season, and I love the warm colorway. I feel like when I’m FallLeaves, though, I can express myself in a different atmosphere, different energy, and resonate with others from afar. I’m more vulnerable in my writing and recordings. Listeners have also said that I have a chill, cool tone in my music! So that can add more to its meaning.
World Of: Was there one particular experience that made creating music stop feeling like a private interest and start feeling like something you wanted to step into publicly?
FallLeaves: Yes, I started making music in 2020, the summer of Covid, in late July, I believe. I always loved music; it runs on my mom’s side. My older sister also makes music! (You should check out Coffee At Midnight!) We were never the extroverted types to get up and start busting a move for the church choir, you know? So I just enjoyed singing to myself in the car, pretty much growing up. I’d hear songs and wonder things in my head like “how did she overlap her own voice in the song?” or get fixated on the cadence of the melodies. Notes I’d sing over and over again – even if just one line out of the whole track.
Then in 2020 I was looking for YouTube beats, and saw a Discord link in the description for the Prods server. Joined it and asked if anyone wanted to be in a girl group! No one did, but one female artist named Katto, who is now still a lovely close friend and also an artist, messaged me saying she’d be down for a song. After I heard my vocals actually on a track, I just knew that’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I can’t do that by being a private page, so I spread the sound of Fall to all.
That first recording may have given FallLeaves a reason to step beyond singing privately in the car and start letting other people hear what had been occupying her attention for years, but from there, the question became less about whether she wanted to make music and more about what pieces of herself she wanted to put inside it.
World Of: What kinds of experiences tend to remain with you long enough that they eventually demand to become songs?
FallLeaves: Great question! Love-driven experiences for sure; it doesn’t even take much, honestly. One interaction can become a song. I know what intrigues me, and I understand my personality type is sprinkled throughout this world. I feel like my music conveys a yearning for a connection that is strong, witty, and forever intentional. Hard to come by, so I’ll manifest it in my music!
World Of: Has music helped you communicate feelings you struggle to express directly, or does it reveal things you didn’t realize you were feeling until you heard them back?
FallLeaves: Very specific, love that! For sure, yeah, I agree! I think both in a sense. The writing process will feel like a flow of ideas and lyrics coming together that match my values. In the moment I’ll be like “oh, this is perfect, aligns with the theme.” Then when I listen back and sit with what I’ve written, I hear all the transparency. Even music friends and listeners will say they can hear my vulnerability in my work so that makes me happy. It translates clearly but also like wow, that feeling hit closer in the moment than I thought.
World Of: How do you separate emotional honesty from revealing more of yourself than you genuinely want the public to possess?
FallLeaves: I would say by sprinkling the truth in there while also adding concepts that I ponder on! Those can be ones I haven’t gone through yet and either wish to experience, or I just allow things to play out in the song how I wish to handle them in person. Having control over my narrative and knowing when to have the boundary. By doing that, you wonder how much of it my heart truly yearns for. I believe as you listen to me more with time, you will start to get an idea of when I’m vulnerable in some songs more than others.
World Of: What has songwriting taught you about yourself that ordinary reflection never could?
FallLeaves: It teaches me that my imagination and determination are not as common as I like to think. My level of passion for my craft has become my default. I’m always thinking about music, and it’s an eye-opener at times when someone mentions my consistency. I just tell myself I’m one day closer to the big stages and keep it moving, but it is important to take in how far you’ve come and just sit in the moments at times.
World Of: Nature and growth appear repeatedly across your names and titles, from FallLeaves and “In a Drought” to “Clover Lights” and “Stays Evergreen.” What does natural imagery allow you to say about human emotion that more literal language cannot?
FallLeaves: Oh no, not “In A Drought!” That was a time! I loved producing that track, though. I really love nature, and I find myself connecting more easily with those who get their peace from being surrounded by greenery and water creeks. The choice to go and unwind on a trail for leisure, to me, shows that you enjoy your own company. You don’t find your comfort in other people’s chaos. You just want to exist with Mother Nature and breathe in the fresh air. That’s the kind of people I want to be drawn to my music, so I put those elements in my art to attract like-minded beings. Clear-headed individuals who are not constantly polluted by internet doomscrolling and who crave dysfunction. My music is meant to bring peace.
That desire to create a particular feeling doesn’t stop with the imagery surrounding FallLeaves. If the music is meant to offer peace, she wants control over the details that determine how it actually reaches the listener, too.
World Of: You are credited as the recording engineer throughout A Glimpse of Fall. Does having technical control make it easier to be emotionally vulnerable because you can decide precisely how that vulnerability reaches the listener?
FallLeaves: Yes, I’m my own vocal engineer, mixer, and master, and yes, exactly! I feel like you could get an idea of my answer before you even see this. I’m not big on other people mixing my work even though my mixing/mastering skills aren’t radio quality. I only use FL Studio plugins. But yes, I realized early on in my career that I wanted to be in charge of how my stacks are layered, panned, the amount of reverb, the highs, all of it. I’m very specific on these aspects because my Maples come back to hear my sound each time: Vulnerable, giving that more polished sound, but still indie. No one else can see your vision as clearly as you, so being as hands-on as possible can bring the vision closer to being in reach.
World Of: When collaborating, what must another person understand about you before you feel comfortable allowing them into your creative process?
FallLeaves: That I appreciate intentionality and vulnerability. I want you to show up as you. Another thing would be understanding my creative process. I don’t mind discussing the song’s theme, and I send back a verse like that via email instead of writing line by line together or having multiple call sessions to brainstorm ideas. So that might not be everyone’s cup of tea…Lastly, I’m at my best when I perform my own writing. I’m not drawn to the idea of singing what others have written unless doing so as a paid assignment. I create and express from an intuitive standpoint, not so much a procedural one.
Being this hands-on could easily become a reason to stay fixed in one way of working, but FallLeaves hears the opposite in her own catalog. The control has remained; what’s changed is how confidently she knows what she wants to do with it.
World Of: From your earliest releases to a complete album in 2026, where do you hear the most meaningful evidence that you’ve grown, not only technically, but as a person?
FallLeaves: Man, another thought-provoking question! I appreciate this being so personalized, thank you! I guess in my lyrics. I feel like my lyrics could still stand up even years ago, but they are all so much more polished now. As a person, I’m much more confident in myself, my talents, and my communication skills than I was 6 years ago. I own the sound I like to make and put in much more effort.
World Of: As more people begin entering your world, what kind of relationship do you hope to build with listeners rather than simply accumulating an audience?
FallLeaves: I want to build a bond through my music that no other artist can make you feel. It will be the reason you always circle back to my tunes in your playlist. I show up for myself each time, not worried about how others manufacture their sound. No matter what the trends are, my songs are here to stay, and my discography will have that timeless feel to it. I put all my passion and energy into it; therefore, the feeling will remain one of a kind. Let my music be your peace.
World Of: What would you say are your biggest goals for the future when it comes to your music career, and what would you say to the people who are coming along for the ride?
FallLeaves: My biggest goal I would say is financial stability and longevity in my music career. I would love for music to change my life and the ones around me for the better. To be able to fuel other business passions of mine like a music label, be an A&R, and other business endeavors. I’d love for my prods OKJSMILE, Tweeta, and Sphinix – who contributed to my first project – to have their names known. So, the goal is to keep elevating while still releasing hits for my Maples that they can keep on repeat. To the new and existing fans, enjoy the ride!
And thank you so much for this very in-depth interview; truly a pleasure! I appreciate you taking the deep dive into my music sphere, Matilia! ‘ Til we meet on the big stages!
“Til we meet on the big stages” feels like a fitting place to leave it! FallLeaves knows where she wants the music to take her, but she’s just as interested in what that growth can make possible beyond herself. For now, though, the Maples get to be there early, watching that vision expand one release at a time.
A Glimpse of Fall, FallLeaves’ nine-track debut album, is out now.
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