In winter, Iowa transforms into an almost monochromatic canvas: gray skies, bare branches, and glistening ice crystals. This landscape served as the backdrop for the creation of Allie Crummy’s Dwindling Light. In January, Allie retreated to her home studio, escaping the biting cold, and began working on her new record.

Her artistry is built on a constant search for new ideas, using melodies and lyrics to navigate complex questions. In this interview, she shares how the imagery of winter shaped the sound of Dwindling Light, why her songs are always answers to internal questions, and how a children’s fairy tale inspired her to create something entirely different—the sunny Henny Penny. She speaks candidly about her process, the rare moments of studio magic, and how ideas find her in the most unexpected places—spoiler: in a Target parking lot. Read about all this and more in the interview below.

photo by Liz Brown

Allie, your new EP ‘Dwindling Light’ feels like a warm blanket for winter evenings—dreamy yet with a hint of mystery. Would you say it was intentionally created as a musical companion for the colder months? What was the idea behind this record?  

The feeling of a warm blanket for a winter evening is exactly the vibe I was going for! I wanted to combine the earthiness of the acoustic guitars and banjo with the transcendent textures of the reverb-y electrics and synths to reflect what we see in the winter landscape: the combination of leafless, stick-like trees and sparkly ice crystals and fresh fallen snow. I always find myself wanting to listen to more aethereal, atmospheric music in the winter. Perhaps that’s because, without leaves on the trees, we see more of the sky than we do in other seasons, and that makes me want to listen to music that feels expansive, like the sky. So for Dwindling Light, I wanted to fill out the sonic space on the higher end more than is my natural inclination. Also, “Permission to Rest” and “Welcome Home” both have these sweeping wind sounds that ebb and flow throughout each song; there’s something about the sound of wind that kind of puts a chill in your spine. 

The EP cover features a photo of a winter forest with a cozy house in the distance. To me, it feels incredibly comforting. Does this image hold a special meaning for you? Could you tell us more about the story behind it?

I am so glad you asked this question! Going into 2024, I knew I wanted to release a Christmas/winter EP, so I started working on it in January. In Iowa, where I live, we always get a few weeks every year where it is especially very cold (I’m talking about weeks where the temperature might never get above 0*F). During one of those weeks, I hunkered down in my basement studio and got to work on producing my song, “Welcome Home”. At the same time, my husband, Matt, went out for a brief walk (to fight against the cabin fever!). While he was walking on the trail that goes through the woods behind our house, he snapped the photo that I used for Dwindling Light. The house you see in the photo is our house, and what is happening inside of that house is that I was working on bringing the music of Dwindling Light to life.

Your songs always strike an emotional chord—they ask important questions while sounding quite commercial. Can you share how your creative process usually begins? Does it start with an idea, a melody, or perhaps an emotional state?

As someone who is newer to the art of production, I am celebrating internally a little bit to hear you describe my music as “commercial” (as opposed to “homemade” or “DIY”). I take that as a compliment, so thank you! The process of writing a song can vary, but many of my songs are born out of the deep questions that I, myself, am asking. Whether they’re questions about injustice or something pettier like ‘why doesn’t my hard work seem to pay off?’, I’m always trying to process my emotions, my concerns, and life’s conundrums — and one of the most effective ways I’ve found to process has been songwriting. 

Your new album ‘Henny Penny’ has a completely different sound—lighter and sunnier. What inspired you during its creation? Were there specific events or experiences that particularly influenced the lyrics and the album’s mood?

I kept having this feeling that I would describe as a type of casual annihilation anxiety. It was never anything that was debilitating or diagnosable or anything like that, and it would be triggered by the strangest things. A big national bank closing down a branch near my house, seeing empty downtown buildings due to the fallout of Covid, and the state of political discourse — it was all giving me dystopian vibes. I had enough feelings of uneasiness floating around in me that I decided to channel them into a song. I started writing “Caving In”, and after a bit, I needed a little help with the lyrics. I realized that the concept I wanted to communicate the most was, “the sky is falling!”, so naturally, I picked up a copy of the children’s book, Henny Penny for ideas. As I thought about that story, I realized that there are a lot of themes in it that resonated with me: the urge to follow along with a crowd, giving into panic despite a lack of evidence, being so afraid of one thing (that won’t hurt you) that you fall into a worse thing (that will hurt you), etc. So, after I finished writing “Caving In”, I kept writing songs based on these themes until I had a full album. It was such a fun process to write this way, and I had so much fun working on the production of each song as I went along as well!

photo by Liz Brown

It’s fascinating how you transitioned from the sunny ‘Henny Penny’ to the dreamy wintery ‘Dwindling Light.’ Did you feel a need to shift the mood?

What’s interesting is that I had finished producing the majority of Dwindling Light before I even had the idea for Henny Penny. Since Dwindling Light was going to be a Christmas/winter EP, I knew that I wanted its vibe to match the winter season, and I worked on most of it last winter (end of 2023, beginning of 2024). If Henny Penny sounds sunny, it might be a subconscious inspiration I got from looking at so many children’s book renditions of the folktale. The themes of the story, and the lyrics of those songs aren’t particularly sunny, but the cute little geese and chickens always seem to be depicted on a quaint, sunny farm. Ha!

You’ve released two projects with such contrasting atmospheres in a single year. That’s impressive productivity! How do you manage to stay inspired?

I read a lot. I engage in a lot of long, deep conversations with close friends that inevitably delve into life’s big questions. I also do production work for two podcasts that each interview really interesting people who are experts in their fields, so I end up getting exposed to concepts and ideas that I would not have encountered on my own. Ultimately, I am a very curious person, and I have found that following my curiosities helps me to feel like I’m still alive. It’s like an anti-aging routine that I do for my brain. Not only does it keep life interesting for me, but it’s also helpful for my mental health to actually try and answer some of the deep, nagging questions in my soul. Recently, I’ve been reading books about quantum physics, so who knows, maybe there will be an album to come that’s inspired by that topic?!

What do you enjoy most about working in the studio? Are there any moments in the process that particularly inspire or excite you?

I love working in the studio – both as an artist, and as a producer. I do enjoy that I am able to self-produce a lot of my music these days, and although it is very convenient and cost-effective for me to do so, it doesn’t allow me to experience my favorite moments in the studio: when people are working together and they come up with an idea that feels like it came about through magic. My favorite moments are the ones when everyone is working quickly, and everyone’s on the same wavelength that you barely have to use words to communicate what ideas to try next. These experiences are rare, but they are invigorating. Although there are perks to self-production, too. For example, I recorded a lot of the vocals for Henny Penny with my cat sitting in my lap. 🙂 

‘Dwindling Light’ has such a dreamy sound, almost reminiscent of Christmas, but not quite. Do you feel this time of year has a special influence on your music?

I am not a huge Christmas music fan, but because “What Child is This” (fourth track on Dwindling Light) is a classic Christmas carol, I wanted to include some quintessential Christmas instruments in it. Listen for bells in the instrumental interludes on that one! But, I keep calling Dwindling Light an EP for all the winter months, because most of the songs aren’t as much about Christmas as they are about winter in general, so I didn’t feel the need to use the Christmas bells on every song. In general, I wanted this EP to sound like how a walk through the woods on a still winter’s night feels.

With such a busy creative schedule, I’m curious: do you have plans or ideas for your next project? Are you already thinking about a new album or something completely unexpected?

I have been asking myself that same question. I’m not sure! I do know that I want to keep writing and recording new music, so you can count on more music soon! I’m just not clear on how much new music will be coming out, or what new themes I’ll explore. 

They say the strangest ideas come in the most unexpected places. Have you ever had a line or melody pop into your head at a completely inconvenient moment—like when you were at a store?

Oh yes! I remember one time, a really cool melody popped in my head while I was loading up my car after a Target run. I didn’t have the sense to whip out my voice memo app to record it, and I’ve never been able to remember what it was! I try not to get too down about things like that, though. I figure ideas like that are like subway cars: if you miss one, there’s always another one coming soon.

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