Kita Alexander on Balancing Motherhood and Music and Trying to Be Creative in a Pandemic

Byron Bay-based pop singer Kita Alexander considers herself lucky that her three-year-old son, Vali, likes her music.

When one of her songs comes on the radio while they’re in the car, Vali sings along to his mum’s smoky vocals. “Then, when the next song comes on, he goes, Mum, I don’t know these words, can you put your song back on because I can’t sing along to this song!,” Kita laughs.

It’s also really cute, the 24-year-old says, when she catches him wandering around the house singing one of her songs.

“I feel really blessed,” Kita says, “because I’ve got a friend, he’s a DJ, and their kid hates electronic music. We went to watch him and their kid was there and he went up to his dad at the booth and he’s like, Dad, turn it off, it’s too much. I feel really lucky that my kid likes what I do.”

Having Vali by her side when she’s suddenly struck by inspiration does slow down her songwriting process, however. “When I do feel like writing, if I’m just inspired and he’s in the house and I pick up the guitar or get on the piano, he sits down with me and he gets his guitar and we play together.

“I’m like, I kinda just need some space to get my thoughts out, but he’s like, OK, my turn, and he’ll have a little sing.” At the same time, it’s really fun to play music with her son: “I’m glad we can bond over it.”

Kita is still learning how to juggle parenthood with her music career — she says it’s about making the most of the snippets of time when he’s at daycare or on a playdate. “I write better and I work better when I don’t have him around,” she admits. “It’s not like we’ve got a full-time babysitter where I can just go, I’m inspired, off you go. I’ve really got to work him into what I’m doing.”