Renouveau Media got the great opportunity to interview Siv Disa, a talented singer from New York City, already making waves in the music industry.
Iuliana: Hey Siv! How are you? So excited to interview you today on your latest single “Fear”. We’ll start by introducing yourself.
Siv: Hi, my name is Siv Disa (she/her). I’m a musician in New York, where I play and record dark electro pop. I grew up playing piano but switched to synths when I started playing in a band. I like botanical gardens, late nights in the city, and learning new instruments.
Iuliana: How’ve you been spending your time indoors? Has self-isolation changed your routine in any way?
Siv: Definitely, everything has changed. I miss playing shows live. I’ve been focused more on writing and recording and taking time to plan my upcoming album. I’ve been quarantining upstate, so I’ve been doing a lot of hiking as well.
Iuliana: Growing up, how important was music to you? Could you give us a briefing on how you first became involved in music? Is there anyone in particular that has inspired you to make music?
Siv: I’ve always loved music! When I was little I would go through my parent’s CDs to find songs to learn. Jewel’s Foolish Games and Seal’s Kiss From A Rose were early favorites. I also took piano lessons for years, which led to a love of classical music. As a pianist, I thought getting into pop and rock was impossible because I didn’t see pianists on MTV or anything, but as I got older I found artists that both played piano and wrote music I really love. Fiona Apple and Tori Amos are two of my favorites, and now that electronic and bedroom pop are taking off I think we’re seeing a lot more synth-led bands, which are an easy transition for classically trained pianists like myself. I think that’s super important because picking what instrument you learn as a kid is so often a gendered experience. Girls learn piano, boys learn guitar. Obviously this isn’t the entire story, but it’s enough of a trend that in talking to female friends who are guitarists, many express how much harder that makes breaking into the industry (if you want to listen to some great female led bands, check out Savoir Faire and Eliza and the Organix!) Music for me has always been the way I work through my feelings. I don’t think I really ever intended to write songs professionally, it’s just the path that emerged. I can’t function emotionally without having songwriting and composition as an outlet. The limitlessness of creation is what inspires me to keep working on music I think.
Iuliana: What can you tell us about your current single, “Fear”? What does this track mean to you?
Siv: Fear was written about a relationship that I intentionally didn’t care a lot about. I distanced myself as a defense mechanism, but as time went on realized how much that was hurting me. I wrote this during a time that I was doing a lot of emotional avoidance, as a reflection of how I was approaching life in general. If you’re so afraid of everything that you don’t let anyone in, do you even have the chance to be happy? I think I convinced myself that happiness with another person wasn’t an option, so it wasn’t important to try. Writing this song helped me challenge that belief, and eventually move past it.
Iuliana: I’ve noticed that you put a lot of effort into aesthetics for your music videos. What inspired the vibes for this one?
Siv: With a topic like fear, I wanted to do something unique that played off of horror tropes in a novel way. I really enjoy filmmaking, I’ve found, so adding the aesthetics that I enjoy watching into the music videos I create has been really rewarding. The central idea was presenting fear itself, without relying on a tangible monster. I was inspired by handheld cam movies like the Blair Witch Project, as well as the color palette and style of B Horror movies from the 70’s and 80s. I wanted it to feel like a tape you could discover in your attic.
Iuliana: How do you want people to feel after listening to your new song?
Siv: My friends joke that I write sad song only, but I don’t really think of this as a sad song. I’d hope that people come away from listening to fear feeling less alone. I think everyone battles an internal struggle of some nature, that seems at once invisible and too big to face. Questioning these things only ever helps, people are capable of change when they care about themselves.
Iuliana: What has been a favorite performance of yours so far?
Siv: I think my favorite performance was at rubulad (a bushwick diy space, the most wonderful venue) for the release of my last single Moths. It was such a great night, it was my first release since getting picked up by my label Trapped Animal, and just generally a night of much celebration.
Iuliana: Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? Who would you absolutely love to work with in the future?
Siv: Great question! God I live for music. My most listened to bands are the national, fiona apple, Ex:re, the supremes, joni mitchell, my producer’s band sam and the sea, and cat power. Fiona’s new album is simply the best piece of music put out in the last ten years. I could listen to it every day and not get sick of it. The musicians that inspire me on a daily basis though are the friends I’ve made by playing music alongside. Check out: Meaner Pencil, Someone In A Tree, The Newsreels, t0ska, Oropendola, Jigsaw Youth, Brett Gleason, Sharell Bryant, Claire Roche, Prince Johnny, and Michael Rider to hear some new music you might like! (I’m probably forgetting people. I’m sorry! I love you!)
Iuliana: At the end of the day, what do you hope your fans take away from your music? I’d like to know more about how you want your music to be timeless?
Siv: The songs that I love the most tend to be pretty personal, and pretty sad. I think that’s why I write the music that I do. Invariably in your life, there is a point at which you feel like no one on the entire planet truly knows and understands you. At times that I’ve felt like that, I always found that understanding in music instead of the people around me. I think I seek to recreate that feeling of being understood that was so important to me, it always has to mean something or it doesn’t need to be written! That level of connection is timeless; I think that’s the most important thing I can hope to pass on.
Iuliana: Are there any future projects that you would like to let our readers know?
Siv: I’m working on an album, release date tbd! There are also some new video projects in the works! For updates on both, follow me on Instagram and Facebook!
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