The singer, songwriter, producer and director talks about doing it all herself, her new single “Heavy Weather” and her upcoming EP.

Lockdown may have been the first time many of us worked from home, forcing people across the world to re-think the way they operate. The time has shown that working from home can be – for some – just as productive, if not more so, than the way they worked before. Sølv’s success is a testament to the digital world making things possible – the musician has been working out of her apartment since before the pandemic struck.

 

Entirely self-taught, self-managed and unsigned, Sølv directs her own music videos, writes, records and produces her own music and works on the artwork/graphics – working with a close circle of collaborators on the final outcome. It’s an admirable – if perhaps stressful – way of working. But being almost completely autonomous has its ups and downs. A self-confessed perfectionist, Sølv revels in having control over the entire song creation process, but it’s been hard to not let it consume her.

 

Exposed to the likes of Portishead, Roxy Music and Massive Attack at a young age sparked Sølv’s desire to push boundaries in music, whilst a love of today’s more conventional pop artists FKA Twigs, Banks, Lana Del Rey and Frank Ocean were influential in shaping her sound. The result is a dark-pop offering that has earned her hundreds of thousands of streams.

If you could summarise it, what would be the story of how you became a musician?

Music has always been a part of me and something that came as second nature. I’ve sung since I can remember. I taught myself guitar when I was 14 and started playing shows around my hometown, but only properly started to hone my sound a few years later when I discovered artists like James Blake and was introduced to the world of electronic music. This is what really sparked my love of production. Since then I’ve just been learning and developing as I go, seeing where things take me. I’ve never given myself a Plan B, there was never any question about what I wanted to do.

You’re entirely self-taught, self-produced and self-managed – what’s behind the drive behind being completely autonomous?

I love the creative control that being autonomous gives me as I’ve always had a very clear vision of what I want.  I know the exact sound and feeling I want to convey. I want my music to truly express an untainted window into my thoughts.  Production-wise – there’s a very particular energy I feel when writing by myself, it’s almost self-soothing.  As far as future management goes, I’m prepared to wait for the right person who gets me and is on the same wavelength.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing it all yourself?

The biggest advantage is that there’s nothing more satisfying for me than creating a song from start to finish. Emotionally it’s more draining as you are putting your whole self into every song, it’s a little harder to detach from it, but I feel so much more of a connection when I’ve worked on it all by myself, so it feels a lot more fulfilling.
Being a perfectionist and knowing exactly what I want can also be a detriment as I literally won’t stop until I’m 100% happy with something… which has caused a fair few meltdowns along the way haha. In the past, I used to let it completely consume me, both energetically and emotionally if I wasn’t completely happy with a song, but I’m learning to not be so self-critical these days.
Also, the time it takes to do everything is much longer when you are juggling it all. For this single, I’ve literally created all the visual content (artwork, teasers, graphic design, and videos) – everything is shot by me or my boyfriend so that takes away from production time. Luckily, I love that side of things too.

Your latest song “Heavy Weather” is about having that one person who can bring you out of the darkness and into the light. How much of your writing is autobiographical?

Pretty much all of my songs are based on my own experiences. Sometimes I’m inspired by film, art or something visual, but most of the time it comes directly from life; I’ll always end up finding a way for it to relate. Sometimes lyrics come out and I initially think I know what they mean, but then I end up realising their true meaning days, weeks or even months after writing them.

What’s your favourite topic to write about at the moment?

I never really plan what I’m going to write about. I just let things happen organically. At the moment I feel like writing is a way of figuring out what’s in my subconscious and then decoding it. However, there always seems to be a mixture of recurring elements; romance, angst, darkness and realisations. I also love to hide the meaning of songs and make people assume lyrics are about one thing when in actual fact they’re about something completely different. I like to keep the ambiguity so that people are able to attach their own meaning to my songs and relate them to their own situations. I guess that comes with a less ‘literal’ writing style.

Give me a window into your creative process – how do you go about making a song?

It’s a lot of trial, error and experimentation. I always start off with a sound that creates the right mood. That will usually mean finding a sample I can manipulate, a synth sound (which is what happened with Heavy Weather), or an atmospheric texture to set the tone. Then I can move onto the next step, I tend to build the verse or chorus first by layering drum samples and a bass line which then sparks a melody.  Then I’ll just keep building. It’s all quite instinctive. I love layering my vocals and adding all the little atmospheric finishing touches. I’m also really into experimenting with granular synthesis at the moment.

 

I tend to just go with what feels right rather than planning things. Usually the hardest part of the process is actually just finding the right vibe to start with. That can take a while, but once I’ve got it everything seems to flow from there. It’s important to me that each song encapsulates its own world of sound.

 

I see songs as specific colours, moods, visuals and see them like little movies playing in my mind.  It’s kind of hard to explain but my overall aim is to mimic that sonically to convey the atmosphere of what I see in my head.

If your music was a flavour, what would it be?

Ummmm… Tiramisu? Sweet and indulgent yet dark and intoxicating. Yum.

What’s your proudest achievement so far?

I wouldn’t say there’s one in particular, but it makes me really happy when I read DM’s from people who tell me that my music has helped them through really dark times. I’m actually also really proud of this upcoming EP because it’s definitely the truest and most authentic to myself.

What’s one album that totally changed your life / changed the way you saw the world?

‘Channel Orange’ – Frank Ocean.  It was released at such a poignant time in my life and that album really tells a story from start to finish. I also fell in love to that album so it’s almost the soundtrack to that. It reminds me of lazy summer heat and naivety, but in the best way possible. It evokes so many memories. I remember sitting in my mum’s car, playing Pilot Jones and literally feeling the bass shake me. I’d never heard production like it. The combination of soundscapes and the complex stories woven into them definitely woke me up and set me on the path to finding my sound.

What’s next for you?

So, “Heavy Weather” is the first single from my upcoming EP, which is taking my music in a slightly new direction. The full EP will be out later this year. I’ve also got a collaboration coming out in September which I’m really excited about, a headline show planned for next year and a huge bank of music that I can’t wait to get out.

Listen to Sølv's latest single "Heavy Weather" below: