Is it just me who finds these ‘home-grown organic tunes’ really tasteful?
Read our discussion with Ssaule below!”
Describe your sound in 3 words
Dreamy, impractical, vocal-centric.
For ‘Is It Just Me?’ How did you translate the visual experience of the strange light and the subsequent realization into musical elements or lyrics within the composition?
Before diving into it, I think I must provide a bit more context. Halfway through 2020, the concept of traveling by plane seemed so remote that when I noticed something unusual in the sky (a plane, with Heathrow only a few miles away), I simply laughed at the absurdity of it. I jotted down a short note on my phone about this experience, and later realized it rhymed. Subsequently, while experimenting with a slightly dissonant/chromatic chord sequence that captured a sense of confusion and frustration, I began to assemble the song.
Can you provide insights into your songwriting process, especially in terms of translating real-life experiences into a creative expression like music?
The origins of my songs are seldom rooted in written form. A feeling, a memory, or even trauma can manifest as a specific chord progression, timbre, or a synth line, yet I don’t necessarily express it through lyrics.. ‘Is It Just Me?’ is probably my most personal and confessional song, at least the beginnings of it. My songwriting process starts personal but then later gets hijacked by alter egos, fictional characters and made-up scenarios.
How do you strike a balance between experimentation and more traditional/pop elements in your music?
I remember MTV and VH1 being on the TV at home non-stop from the moment I became conscious of the world at the age of 3, so pop hooks dominated my brain before the school curriculum even had a chance. Whatever comes out of me is influenced by it. Now that my taste is shaped by more than just TV, the favourites of any genre, are still, good pop songs at their core. I want to craft that, too.
My undergraduate degree focused heavily on electroacoustic and experimental music, exploring the concepts of sound and music in general. Participating in those discussions was liberating and dissolved my perception of right and wrong in music-making. How are you going to bring something new to the table, learn something new, and have fun without experimentation?
Artists and people that have influenced you?
The music from artists I enjoy now doesn’t directly reflect in my own sound, but their influence is undeniable. Currently on heavy rotation: “Love 15”, an album by the genius and underrated Majesty Crush of the Detroit shoegaze scene. The Spirit of the Beehive are probably the best new alternative band out there. Pure happiness to me in a sentence? The Breeders are coming to the UK. I will never get enough of Broken Social Scene. Elliott Smith.
One direct influence I can point out was my obsessive fangirl phase of wanting to be Ellie Goulding around her Lights/Halcyon Days era. I think that still influences how I write vocal melodies.
A song you would pay to hear for the first time again?
The scene from “School of Rock” when Jack Black puts on “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks on the jukebox. My brain was rewired then.
In which place or state of mind do you imagine people might listen to your music?
Most of it likely appeals to listeners with a melancholic leaning. However, I like to think my songs cater to both: those looking for a groovy tune and those seeking a soundtrack for gloomily staring out of a rail replacement bus window.
What would be the tagline to the sitcom of your life?
Gets weird or pig-related sooner or later.
Thank you!
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