About

ALEX STANILLA is a restless artist in perpetual motion. Since he first picked up an instrument, performing at Carnegie Hall as a 10-year-old violinist, his music has mirrored his own personal growth: What began as disciplined training gradually gave way to self-taught experimentation, the sound of a songwriter learning his craft in real time. Over the years, the Lebanon, PA-based multi-instrumentalist’s songs have continued evolving, dabbling in everything from youthful alternative rock and emo to stripped-back acoustic confessionals, soul-tinged maturity and, now, a bold, collaborative expansion.

For years, those songs came to life in bedroom productions, with Stanilla stacking nearly every instrument himself through sheer instinct and resourcefulness. That independence shaped early releases like 2019’s Qualia and a prolific run of singles that blurred autobiography and cinematic character study, but as the curiosity of outside collaboration crept in, Stanilla’s output began to shift in both scale and ambition. 

“I wanted to A/B test the process,” Stanilla says of stepping into The Kaleidoscope recording studio in Lancaster, PA, with producers John Smith and Ben Roth after years of creating in isolation. “I wondered if it was really going to be that different, but within 30 minutes of being there, I realized how ignorant I’d been of the whole process.”

What followed surprised even Stanilla himself, with the partnership bearing standouts like the soaring “Overtime,” warm, ’70s-inspired “Let You In” and driving piano-pop “Savior” – immediately cementing them as the most confident songs in his catalog. That conviction continues on his newest single, “Mahoning,” a widescreen reflection on distance and the quiet realization that growth often comes from recognizing what’s been worn thin.

Written in a flash of inspiration on a mini keyboard while driving across the Ohio Turnpike – don’t try this at home – and finished at the Mahoning rest stop just inside Pennsylvania, the track embodies motion, with propulsive drums, glitchy electronic subtleties and angular, arpeggiated guitars giving way to a powerhouse pop chorus rooted in personal reflection. Some 25 years ago, it would have soundtracked the most talked-about moments of teen TV dramas; today, it taps into a familiar emotional frequency, the kind of melodic pull that reminds listeners why songs mattered so deeply in the first place.

Most importantly, it’s just the first step for Stanilla’s next chapter. He was recently nominated for Male Artist at the Central Pennsylvania Music Awards, a sign that the ambition behind his songs is continuing to register beyond the studio walls. And as he preps a forthcoming full-length, he’s intentionally leaving space for discovery, testing tracks live before they’re recorded – and using audience reaction to shape them – before entering the studio with the same spirit that’s transformed his recent work. 

“I think I hit a ceiling alone,” he reflects. “Inviting other voices into the room didn’t take anything away from the songs; if anything it made them bigger. I don’t even totally know what this next album is going to sound like yet. All I know is I’m just getting started.”