Q&A: syd B Pulls At All The Heart Strings with 'ARE YOU FEELING IT TOO?' EP
ANYTHING IN OUR LIVES THAT CAN LAUNCH US INTO A NEW PHASE REQUIRES SACRIFICE. The sacrificial entity could be time, friends, family, or, most likely, ourselves. When you are a person rising, coming upon something that could change your days, you don’t understand or know when or where you will be sling-shot into a whole new version of life. The build up to any catalyst is accentuated by a jumping off point - no matter if it relates to our passions or us shifting lanes in our careers and lives. The rush felt from below, the place where our dreams await, leaves a person anxious, skin jumping at the sight of a future that was once crafted in the sanctuary of their childhood bedroom.
When it comes to music, a single has the chance to work wonders. It can set you for life - with fans and money - or it can leave you remaining in the mundane. Then there is the EP - the sampling of what an artist could be. It is the pre-chapter to all the stories your voice has worked toward singing, up to that point, but, now, life offers you a way to sing them in the correct key at just the right time. The most euphoric feeling is the high note of discovery a new artist is about to offer to the industry. Radio stations briefly mention them, Spotify has a few of their songs on major playlists, yet you are laying wait for the entire world to witness what you have already glimpsed. A few months back, I interviewed a young woman named Sydney Bakst. She’s a shooting star, whose light I don’t see diminishing, but it’s one I wish more people could put into their lives.
I’ve never had the chance to meet her in person, yet, through our couple of conversations we’ve had, I can tell Sydney has music moving through her. From the musicality in her feet that placed on her this path to her voice, layered with beats of soft realness, all the way to the passionate rhythm that fuels her to be a person in music whose discography can be a staple point in your life - Sydney was born to bring us music. Earlier this month on July 9th, Sydney released a new sonic child to the world, ARE YOU FEELING IT TOO?. Personally, I feel it is her best work to date - one that shows her maturity, the potential of her voice washing over you as you press play on every song, and, the best part, the rush I felt as a fan because a growing inkling tells me this project will change everything for her. One of my favorite quotes comes from a man named Jimmy Valvano. In one of his last speeches, he said, “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.”
The one thing I picked up from talking to Sydney is that she has a philosophy: make art that speaks to someone and something. In this latest project, she not only hits that right on the head, but the words of Valvano come to mind. The first few times I heard ARE YOU FEELING IT TOO? I sat on my couch in full thought about the moments I shared with past partners, laughed at the stupidity of the pick-up lines I used, and cried that there was one person that became the person, which would have been my biggest mistake. All great art should make you feel like a full day. The moment Sydney and I began talking about the EP, not too long ago, even she could tell this was going to be something special. Read below to learn more about the EP and for a breakdown of the project.
LUNA: What inspired the title of the new EP?
SYD B: I think, the moment I wrote it down, I was thinking about all my ideas of love. For me, when you are truly in love with someone, it is reciprocal - meaning if you are in love with someone it's because that person is just as much in love with you. And I was writing about falling in love and those moments before either of you say I love you for the first time. Literally, the thought in your head is: Are you feeling this too? That moment, that’s what the title is all about. What I’m trying to get at is that it’s more about the feeling than actually communicating it. I think when you are really in love with someone words don't need to be said, you just know. Overall, though, the title related to what we all went through during quarantine, as well. Every time I talked with someone during it, they all said the same thing or were thinking the same thing: Are you feeling dark today too? Everyone I talked to seemed to be in sync which was sad but beautiful. So, depending on who you are, you can read the title in two different ways. It can be applied to mean something more general or something personal. I like music that can be applied to anything - either general or personally. In terms of the whole project, I wanted to tell the story of this one relationship that started out on a high for both of us then I quickly realized we both weren’t feeling it.
LUNA: What do you love about this new EP that has, recently, been released?
SYD B: I would have to say I love the message of the album the most. But, I just loved the process of making the whole thing. I think anytime I've released something I’ve had nerves, asking myself: is it going to hit or what's going to happen. I’m not lying when I say this, but with this project I’ve only been excited. I think it's because I've gotten to sit with the whole thing with only myself. No one is influencing me on this - I curated the list of songs, the creative and I’ve gotten to be patient with what goes where and how I dish it out. I know there is a push to make more and more songs, that's good too, but I think it kills the process of making something you love. I think you can hear and relate to this EP because it sounds very true to me. It tells the story about what happened to me. Even if the EP doesn’t do well, I’m still going to be excited because I love this project and I think because I love and connect with it then it is going to connect and be absorbed by more people. The best part is spending time thinking about things since a lot of things have been rushed in my life lately. Even this interview is something that I wasn’t worried about because I sat with myself and the album and knew what it meant to me. I’m confident in the new music. The fact that it’s going to live on my Spotify makes me smile.
LUNA: ARE YOU FEELING IT TOO?...It’s a question that when written, your mind can’t help but think about the your own personal history of being reciprocated - either by the world or, more significantly, the only person you’ve gotten close enough to, the one whose dimples or laugh or bursting smile, came to you the moment you read that title. I know the latter is what happened for me. Sydney, soon to be permanently known as Syd B. to the world, isn’t only a musician. She is a surveyor of human behavior, picking apart the major aspects of life like self-discovery, family, how we respond to the situations life throws our way, and love - which takes center stage in this new EP. Love can be a hard thing to digest - even when we know it’s not the right kind. All of our journeys with it, fall into our own pages of memories, opening up in unwanted moments yet we reside in them anyway. It’s that FEELING we can’t help but chase - the sort thing that encompasses Sydney’s new music. The tough part about love is when you look in the mirror and ask yourself: What did it make you become? It’s a staggering question. A combative one, most of all, but the people who have the courage to ask it, I believe, are the true romantics of the world. Yes, Sydney Bakst is a romantic - the healthy kind.
This entire project speaks to two peoples' evolution together. A raw connection fueling their desire for one another. But, quickly, the honeymoon phase dipped away from each passing sky they went by. At the end of the day, Sydney was the one who, during & after, had to ask the tough question about whether raw connectivity has longevity; or, does longevity in the game of love only come from something realer? The EP embodies the stops and turns of this relationship. Making Sydney utilize different sounds, embrace a new lyrical approach and sit with learned lessons about herself, placing those reflections on the beginning track to the final minute of the project. There aren’t many young people who think with a growth mindset, and the ones who do can’t put it into something creative. Whether you listen to the soulful sound of “Body,” or musical palette that Floyd Fugi and her get into on “Guilt Trip,” you’ll be astounded by how Sydney’s minimalist approach - from production to songwriting - sings volumes. When the high heat of a relationship begins to cool off, and you begin to realize there was never much there, how does one reflect about it all? There are journals. There are friends. There are creative outlets. All are helping hands to figuring out how and what we want to live for. The best part of this EP combines all three of those - in a format that you can groove too. No need to listen to me speak more about the amazing tracks on this EP, let Syd B. take you track by track into her journey through love.
TRACK 1) “ARE YOU FEELING IT TOO?”
SYD B: This track highlights that honeymoon phase like being high off of someone's energy and love. Being like “Oh wow I’ve been looking for you the entire time, I didn’t know you existed.” That feeling, that connection you don’t need to put words to. It feels complicated but it is a really simple feeling. I wanted the opening song to be a simple introduction to the ride the EP takes you on.
TRACK 2) “Get Well Soon”
SYD B: I am someone who is a caretaker. When I see someone going through something hard, or feeling a lot of pain, my first instinct is to be there to try to fix it and be that person to help them through it. Really if someone is not well or going through something on a deeper level there isn’t much you can do. It gets even harder when their stuff bleeds into your life and your mood. That’s when it gets toxic. You are trying to be there for that person and they don’t want anything to do with you, or help. This song showed me working through my codependent behaviors. I felt mean while writing this song, but looking back on it a lot of people can relate because the feeling is really just like I can’t be around you when you are going through all that you are.
TRACK 3) “Guilt Trip” ft. Floyd Fugi
SYD B: This one came from a story that happened - before the COVID Times. Me, and the partner I had, took a weekend trip to Palm Springs. It ended up turning into a silly fight about our age difference - for most of the weekend. During it all, I had a realization that they weren’t my forever person, but I’ll stick around until it gets bad enough, ya know what I mean? That was the emotion and event I was working with on this track. Even though we were arguing about silly things, it seemed the pros still outweighed the cons. That was a fun one to create though, even if it extends from not such a happy memory. No matter what, the song is still a bop.
TRACK 4) “Freezing”
SYD B: This was the first single I dropped from this project...This one I was in a relationship with someone who had become completely numb to me and it was hard to deal with because I feel so much and I’m open and outward about it. When someone is numb and silent and I can’t read them I really get lost in it because I was constantly trying to feel something from them. I wanted to feel them in some way, or connect with them, but it wasn’t happening. In turn I became numb and cold to make that person comfortable. It's a cold love song. If you are going to be cold then I’m going to be cold too...Lyrically it's one of my favorites.
TRACK 5) “Body”
SYD B: This one might be one of my favorites, personally. The song came about during a turning point I had after a recent break up. I cried for maybe 10 to 15 minutes then I felt this insane weight lifted off of me. Instantly, I was back to myself. During this relationship, I was giving so much of my body and my mind to someone else then they left. Quickly, I realized I was able to be back in my body. Owning myself, wholly, not letting someone feel like they own me. To me it is about my confidence in who I am so I love listening back to this track to hear this affirming atmosphere. It just shows my turning point post break-up because I grieved the relationship while I was in it, ya know. I felt so empowered when it was over because I wasn’t worried about pleasing anyone. I felt my body was my own again.
TRACK 6) “Something Else”
SYD B: I didn’t realize until I got out of this relationship that I lost my sense of self. I was constantly paired with my partner which wasn’t okay for me. I say in the track “I want to take a walk outside / without you by my side” because I literally felt I couldn’t do anything by myself without being monitored. Yet while I was in the thick of the relationship I thought that was true love, I thought that made us a team. When I got out of it, I felt like I didn’t know how to do anything by myself. As I looked back, I understood that it wasn't love. It was more manipulation because I wanted to do things by myself but got convinced it wasn’t normal to do certain things by myself. I think part of being a woman is having to deal with the expectation of having a man take care of you yet, for the longest now, I knew I have never wanted to have my life, financially or socially, dependent upon a man. In hindsight, I realized that isn’t what I wanted my love with another person to be.
TRACK 7) “Lifetime”
SYD B: This is the book end to the project and that part of my life. I realized before making this that the relationship I’m talking about on this entire thing didn’t last long - only 3 months - yet it has this lasting impact on me. The relationship brought out all my insecurities, weaknesses, and showed me I can really fall into another person when it comes to romantic relationships. And that manipulates the way I think. I truly think it doesn’t matter how short or long your contact with a significant other is, it’s more about that experience, and the parts of the other person ingrained within you now. I think a lot of these things sound negative yet they are a blessing. I truly believe I’ve been blessed to have that relationship because I learned so much about myself and it showed me a mirror about who I want to be, going forward.
LUNA: What are you hoping listeners take away from this new release? And how this release can help you set up for your future career?
SYD B: I feel this EP is a leap in the maturity in my work. I mean as we mature, our work should too. For me, if you listen to the sounds and the tones and the words, it is clear this is the most mature piece of work I have put out. I’m always hoping to legitimize myself more and have different people listen to me while having people gain a stronger connection to what I’m making. The major goal is to connect with people and develop a platform that can make an impact of some sort. I hope this project helps me grow the community that surrounds my music because it will just set me up for the projects to come. And you know, gearing up for that album everyone is asking for.
LUNA: Any updates on when we can have our first official syd B album?
SYD B: Honestly, this project almost turned into an album. I had two more tracks I could have put onto this, but I wanted it to stay an EP. An album sounds like a scary thing to most artists, but I love projects so an album is coming very soon. I'm a project girl till I die because of the world you get to create around it. I love listening to albums from beginning to end. Also, I'm sort of waiting till I have more of a fan base so people listen to my album the way I want them too. If I put one out right now, maybe I will get a few singles pulled, but many people won’t be listening to the full thing - except a few. I want to wait till I can put an album out the way I want to and have people listen to it with the lights off with headphones on and dive into it the right way.
LUNA: What does success as syd B, the artist, look like to you?
SYD B: Success for me as an artist has always been about being able to support my family, connect with people all around the world, and allow music to take me all over the world to meet and be immersed in different cultures. Besides that success is about having the free creative reign to make everything I want to make. I know all that comes with money, especially the things I want to do visually. And, another major part is, having a fanbase the likes of James Blake and Frank Ocean - where they listen to anything I put out. I know there is pressure for me right now to grow a fan base so I have to be methodical about what I do and how I do it. Eventually, the freedom to do whatever is on my mind - since I have a lot of ideas I want to get done - is going to come. I need to stay focused on the music, be patient, and work.
CONNECT WITH SYD B
SPOTIFY
-
From Pavietra 🕊️ https://t.co/BXVgWlZud8 -
slowthai by Rosie Matheson 🤩 https://t.co/z7SDfFQ5iF
-
RT @i_D: Ian Kenneth Bird photographs young punks on Polaroid: https://t.co/MKT0tMUqO9 https://t.co/a0tTl12ML5
-
RT @AnOtherMagazine: #DreamHome – this isolated idyll in the mountains of Lanzarote 🌵 📸 via Nowness, photography by Clemence Blr 🔁 https://t.co/GUusdxD0cg
