Music spotlight: Interview with Sonia Espiritu
Sonia Espiritu is a 20 year old Rock Goddess in the making from Oakland, CA who made the decision to put her music out into the stratosphere that is social media and we’re so thankful she did!
We got to talk to her about her music and what inspires her to create.
MR: What was the first song you fell in love with?
SE: The first song I fell in love with was Only Ones Who Know by the Arctic Monkeys. This girl I used to know sent me her rainy day playlist when I had just transferred middle schools.
MR: What songs do you have on repeat?
SE: Currently I have April by Beach Bunny, Self Control by Frank Ocean, Alien Crime Lord by The Voidz, 10% by Kaytranada ft. Kali Uchis, Корень имбиря by Buerak constantly playing on repeat for me this month. For me, it’s typically a playlist on loop.
MR: What songs were on your 2020 top songs list?
SE: My top songs of 2020 were Me & You Together Song by The 1975, Long Lungs by Kevin Nichols, Drunk II by Mannequin Pussy, Savior Complex by Phoebe Bridgers, and Hunny Bunnies by Beach Goons.
MR: What musicians do you admire most and why?
SE: I really look up to SZA in many ways as a musician and influence. I used to feel stupid about worrying and singing about boys and relationships instead of things that were “more important” like climate change, thinking “well that’s not very strong and powerful feminist of me.” When SZA’s Ctrl album came out, I felt that it validated me and a lot of other young women out there that it’s okay to feel these things and it really made me feel less alone. I can only hope my music can do something like that for others.
MR: What got you into music?
SE: I can’t really pinpoint an exact moment or thing that really got me into music. It was something I was drawn to, something I’ve always enjoyed and wanted to do.
MR: Were you nervous about putting your music out there?
SE: Oh my God, who isn’t!? I always worried I’d get made fun of or that it wouldn’t be any good. I think the feeling of having something you’re so passionate about, that you love so much turning out to be awful in the eyes of others is probably one of the worst feelings to experience. I think that was the main reason why I didn't put music out sooner.
MR: You have such an awesome sound reminiscent of bands like Best Coast and The Cranberries - what bands inspire you to create?
SE: Thank you! I have actually always looked to The Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, and David Bowie as inspirations for sound - an ever-evolving but still true to rock-esque type of sound.
In recent years, I’ve been looking more towards Fugazi, Fight Like Apes, and New Order for their upbeat sound post-punk, reminiscent of the late 80s to early 2000s.
MR: How would you describe your music?
SE: I think for the most part, it’s guitars, electric drums, and lyrics. Anything that comes after that changes and varies. I find a lot of my music tends to fall in the alternative, indie/indie rock, and post-punk genres.
MR: What's your creative process like?
SE: I usually write lyrics first. They’re all centred around some sort of event or thing that’s happened - a dream or something I might’ve tripped on like a scandal and then either the chord progression or drums will come immediately after or I’ll think of something for it later.
I find a lot of the songs I make immediately turn out better than the ones that take a long time to form - it comes more naturally, I guess.
MR: How does it feel to have so many people listening to your music and loving it?
SE: I actually try not to think about it, but look forward to the next best thing I can make.
Actually, every time I see someone on Soundcloud like one of my songs or see one of my songs make it onto some stranger’s Spotify playlist or see my stats finding one person in Germany listening - it’s all a surprise to me. I don’t think I’m really used to it yet, to be honest.
MR: Your song Ultra Quiet is about the abuse of power in the music industry, what inspired you to write this song?
SE: Over the summer of 2020 many musicians were being exposed for sexual abuse, assault, rape, bigotry/racism, and even pedophilia. This wasn’t the first time we’ve seen this happen in the community and unfortunately it won’t be the last.
This normalcy of violence and manipulation within the community scared me and the fact that many people lose interest in having these types of conversations is awful. I wrote Ultra Quiet to spread awareness and continue these conversations so that these issues can be prevented and so that musicians in this community can do more.
MR: What are you working on at the moment?
SE: I’m collaborating with a couple of girls right now and working on some material more on the Riot Grrrl side (post-Riot Grrrl is what we’re starting to call it) and I’m very excited about it!
MR: If you could collaborate with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
SE: I feel like Steve Lacy is undisputedly one of the best producers right now and I feel like I could learn a lot from him because he started out on GarageBand and I’m still using GarageBand for everything. Albert Hammond Jr, Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Grimes (her Visions album was all on GarageBand), Mike Crossey, and whoever produces for The Voidz are producers I also absolutely want to work with.
As far as song collaborations, I’d love to work on something with Beach Goons and Beabadoobee one day.
