Q&A: Sierra Spirit Haunts Hearts with Melancholic Ode to Unrequited Love
SIERRA SPIRIT KIHEGA — hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, embarks on a soul-baring musical journey with her solo project, Sierra Spirit. As a Native American artist with roots in both the Otoe-Missouria and Keetoowah Cherokee tribes, Spirit draws inspiration from her lived experiences within the Native community, crafting a narrative that delves into the raw and honest experiences of growing up.
Her upcoming debut EP, titled cointoss, serves as a poignant testament to the emotional landscape of Spirit’s journey. From themes of loss to love, and a transparent exploration of mental health, Spirit weaves a tapestry of personal and cultural narratives. The EP promises an authentic portrayal of the challenges inherent in the process of self-discovery.
Spirit's musical style is a unique fusion of melancholy, guitar-driven and twangy indie rock. Influenced by artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, The Japanese House and Ethel Cain, Spirit has carved out her own distinctive brand of music. Her sound encapsulates a sense of emotional depth and vulnerability, creating an immersive experience for listeners.
The lead track and Spirit’s debut single “ghost,” delves into the emotional turmoil of being in a one-sided relationship. The song reflects on the struggle of investing time in a connection where one feels undervalued. The lyrics capture the fear of realizing that the other person knows you intimately, despite the imbalance in the relationship. The emotional weight becomes so overwhelming that the protagonist would rather conceal herself, metaphorically hiding, than confront the harsh reality of being entangled in an unfulfilling dynamic. The imagery of walking home down the highway, rather than enduring the shame of continuing in the relationship, adds a visceral layer to the narrative.
Through her raw lyricism, Spirit invites audiences to connect with her personal journey while fostering a broader understanding of the Indigenous community.
“I will always be unapologetically Native and tell my story through my music,” Spirit says.
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna Magazine. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you, what inspires your creative persona and style?
SIERRA: I am Native American. I grew up in Oklahoma and I lived there my whole life, so the whole perspective for this upcoming project is growing up as an Indigenous person taking into account a lot of the history and culture and the not so great stuff that comes along with it. I started writing songs for this years ago before the project even came to be, but it really follows through my formative years.
LUNA: What artists inspire you, whether that’s artists you listen to or pull inspiration from sonically or lyrically?
SIERRA: Phoebe Bridgers is a huge inspiration since I started listening to her in 2018 and when I was learning how to play guitar. I played my way through her album to teach myself and I really admire her storytelling and her lyricism is just incredible. I love the sound of artists like The Japanese House and Julien Baker. I grew up on country music and always loved the classics like Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton.
LUNA: Your debut single “ghost” is about to be released and a huge congratulations is in order! What is the inspiration behind the single and how did the creative process look like?
SIERRA: That song is probably one of the first ones that had a good amount of formation to it. I started writing that one after my first real heartbreak, and at that time I was more naive and still a little too nice, so I needed somewhere to have an outlet because I couldn't just rip it out on them. I didn't have the guts to do that, so I had been writing bits and pieces of that song for such a long time and then within the last year and a half I got to play guitar well enough. The songwriting style clicked for me and fell into place. That one has been years in the making, so I got to grow up with that song as I’ve been writing bits and pieces for such a long time.
LUNA: Alongside the single, you also released a music video for “ghost.” I absolutely love all the ethereal nature shots and how raw it felt. What was the inspiration behind the video and how was your experience filming it?
SIERRA: My partner actually works in film and video and came to me. He’s been a huge help in supporting me to get this project off the ground and pushing me. He came to me with the concept for the video because I had a really good idea of what I wanted to do. I put it in his hands and trusted the process. We have a friend that has a house up in Vermont that we’ve spent a lot of time at, and we were lucky enough to be able to set up shop there for the day and film in the middle of July. It was so hot and we were sweaty and gross, but we had such a good time.
LUNA: “Ghost” is a glimpse of your upcoming debut EP. I would love to hear anything you’re excited to share about the EP and its inspirations.
SIERRA: We’re rolling out the cointoss EP in the first part of this year. A lot of the songs are related to my experience growing up as an Indigenous person, struggling with mental health, loving people in my life who suffered from addiction and its side effects. For every song I came into the sessions with a story and a place in my life that I wanted to base the songs off of. I have a story to tell for these moments in my life and it’s a timeline for me being very honest about the plight of being an Indigenous person. It’s a community that’s often overlooked and I feel like Native people are just now getting their spotlight in all forms of media. This project for me was about making something that I would have been able to look up to as a kid when there really wasn’t anybody that looked like me. In movies that aren’t old westerns, there was no modern take on Indigenous people in music and film. Just taking my experience into account and being able to make something that I would’ve been really impacted by is really what drove this record for me.
LUNA: Why did you choose “ghost” to be the lead single compared to the rest of the body of work you are about to release?
SIERRA: I’m so emotionally attached and invested in it, because I was still getting into the habit of playing instruments and songwriting. That one was such a long time in the making and it feels really good to put out the biggest piece of myself that I felt in this EP. I can hear myself growing up over the course of like five or six years when I listened to this song and it's one that I am really proud of. It has a lot of history and meaning for me and it felt like the right way to lead it off.
LUNA: How does it feel to finally have your most vulnerable work out in the world?
SIERRA: It's really scary, but also this is something I would have killed to have listened to when I was growing up. My little sister is now the age that I started writing this EP, and being able to look around at the people in my life and leaving Oklahoma was really hard and scary. A lot of my family lives near the reservation and it’s such a tight knit community that everybody usually stays really close and it was hard to leave. I think it was the right choice for me and it’s going to help a lot of people. There's a lot of different ways to interpret it and whatever someone wants to make of it, if it helps them in some form and they connect with it, that's really important to me.
LUNA: What can listeners expect from this new era of music?
SIERRA: Hopefully just a really cool modern take on Indigenous people. There's a lot of tradition in that community. Here in America, we are finally getting to a point in time where we’re seeing more than something in a history book, and I’m always going to leave my music with my culture, who I am, and the stories that I can tell about the people that I love who are Indigenous and the people who taught me about our community. I will always be unapologetically Native and tell my story through my music.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
SIERRA: I would love for people to be able to connect with the music in a way that will help them heal. A lot of the songs on this track have a lot of very raw storytelling for me and sometimes can bring up some really rough memories, but I think allowing people to connect with it in whatever capacity and interpret it as they need to to find their own way of healing is exactly what I wanted from this project.
LUNA: What do you need in your space when you feel creative inspiration hitting you? Do you have any rituals you do before you produce your work?
SIERRA: A lot of my songwriting comes when I am just about to fall asleep, so as long as I've got a comfy spot to lay and I'm on the edge of falling asleep, I wake up with a new idea. As long as I’m with my partner that’s a very emotionally safe and formative space for me, whenever they’re nearby is a time I feel safe to write. As long as I have my people around me and I’m in a cool, safe space, that’s really all I need.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the next year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
SIERRA: It's really incredible for me to be able to put myself at the forefront of this project and I feel like people are interested because you don't really see Native people in this light and the media and being able to draw people in. People have a lot of negative stereotypes behind the Native community, and to be able to bring a positive light and show that we are kind, intelligent and talented people. So leading into this project and coming into this year, expect some more good music, the second EP is already in the process of being written.
LUNA: Is there anything that I didn’t ask that you would like to add to the interview?
SIERRA: I just wanted to give a shout-out to my manager Aaron Taos. He's really pushed me to get this project done and out there, and he's been a really fantastic outlet for me and a huge motivator. This project really wouldn't be anywhere without Aaron, and I'm really, really grateful for the team that I have. The song is being released on his new imprint Howdy Partner Music.
