My Exclusive Interview With Sirena

When you listen to sirena's music, you're diving into a shadowy world of late-night performances, dark city streets and angelic harmonies that practically lift you off the ground. In fact, her music and aesthetic are so intertwined that it seems like a mistake to enjoy one without the other. This interview dives into the thought process behind her hazy blue snapshots and deep, passionate records--and once you return to the surface, you'll feel like part of your subconscious is irrevocably changed.

1. Looking at your album covers and Instagram profile, it's clear that blue is your defining color. What made you choose blue in particular? Is blue your favorite color, or does this shade have a deeper meaning for you?

A lot of my music focuses on themes of longing, sadness, and heartbreak. I think blue has really been my color (as of right now) because this is where I am at with my songwriting. Overall, I feel that blue directly represents how I have been feeling in many of the songs, and how deeply and intensely I feel and experience things.

2. Your Instagram profile offers snapshots of dark venues and moody city backdrops. Is this the kind of imagery that you want to convey, or do you want your listeners to take away something different? Do you ever make mood boards or illustrations during the creative process?

My visuals and overall aesthetic definitely relate to my music and what I want to convey as an artist. I think having a distinct style and vision is essential to creating art--I especially love feeling that I have a personal touch to everything I do. I ideally want my listeners to resonate and connect with my style and feel close with me, especially if they relate visually or lyrically. I do love making mood boards as well! I love collaging and using color themes :)

3. Your music is perfect for night drives and city walks, to the point that listening to it during the day almost seems wrong. How do you achieve this dark, mysterious aura? What do you do when you need inspiration?

This is so sweet. Honestly, I didn’t really do this intentionally, but I think naturally I write my music from a pretty dark and emotional place. On top of that, I also unintentionally write and record most of my songs at night, typically really late at night too. Honestly, I haven’t really gone out of my way to find things that inspire me. I’m glad to say I get inspired often and pretty randomly!

4. While your song titles mostly appear in all caps, your artist name appears in all lowercase. What's the reason for this contrast, and how did you choose this styling? Do you think it affects the listening experience?

I think sometimes my emotions can feel bigger than myself. I think a lot of my experiences and hardships have felt overpowering in my life, and that’s sort of the place a lot of my music has come from...at least how I started writing and using music to process my experiences and cope. I think my song titles and artist name show that, whether some of it was intentional or a subconscious decision!

5. Angelic imagery appears throughout your visuals, especially the “angels call” release. What drew you to this imagery in particular? Are you aiming for an angelic vibe with your soft, delicate vocals?

I think angels represent a kind of hopeful feeling, and a yearning for that. This particular release was special to me because I was able to collaborate with a producer, LeSilenth, who also uses a lot of similar imagery, which we were able to connect on this kind of angel-core/dark/ethereal aesthetic. I would say we both really resonate with an angelic and dreamy style as well.

6. Most of your tracks have an intense, immersive sound that makes the listener feel like they're diving into deep waters. How did you achieve this sound during the recording and songwriting process? Have you thought about experimenting with different genres?

I think so far I have experimented with a few genres by now. I would say “angels call” and “FOLLOW YOU” are the two that are very different from my other dream-pop/alternative stuff. I have been experimenting more with synth-pop/electronic music, but also still creating acoustic/indie/dream pop stuff.

[A lot of new music is in the works :)]

I would say that regardless of the genre or instrumental production, all of my songs still have the intense, dreamy, and dark/haunting sound that I love. My production style is made up of a lot of heavy layering and harmonies that I blend together with a lot of wet reverb and delay. I really like tapping into a drowned-out, dreamy, and floaty sound.

7. With a bright, glitchy sound, "FOLLOW YOU" is a departure from your earlier works. How did this song come to be, and how does it fit in your musical landscape? What techniques did you use to create a poppier track that's still undeniably dark and mysterious?

This song was cool to do because it was a collab with a producer, Avthakidd, whom I really respect. He comes from a more hip-hop/rap background, which is very different from my personal style. I would say this was a happy medium/experimental compromise between us. A lot of music I was listening to at the time definitely inspired the creation of this song, specifically older synth-pop and newer hyperpop music.

There were more songs similar to this that we made, but I don’t think they’ll be released. However, it was definitely fun to make because of its experimental value and impact on my growing interest in more upbeat/fast/clubby music similar to this.

8. The glittery production makes "angels call" sound like an ascent to heaven. What did you want to convey with this shimmering track? Have you ever had a fan come up with a completely different (and unexpected) interpretation for one of your songs?

This is a really great question. I am so curious to know if anyone has really made any different or unexpected interpretations of my songs, but I think this is definitely something I would want to explore/see what people think! I could definitely see “angels call” having different interpretations. I’ll leave my answer pretty open-ended for now since I’m not sure yet!

For more surrealism, you can stream sirena's music on Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Music and follow her on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.