by alex grainger
photo by laiken joy
Satya released her single “Checker Print Kitchen” on July 1st. The strikingly raw vocals, recorded on Satya’s floor, tell the story of not only listening to the inner child in us all but also how true beauty is to be expressed. The vulnerable and nostalgic “Checker Print Kitchen” is the last track off Satya’s new EP Deep Blue that dropped on July 15th. Excerpts from her journal were masterfully crafted to create Deep Blue. The EP takes us through the experiences of the last year of Satya’s life, experiences from love to pain. Read more about “Checker Print Kitchen,” Deep Blue, and Satya below!
Can you tell us what your single “Checker Print Kitchen” is about?
Satya: “‘Checker Print Kitchen’ was inspired by the beauty in the raw, free, expression we are most tapped into as children. That natural state of expression is what this song is paying homage to. I hope that by paying homage this song reminds people to listen to their inner-child because I believe there is a lot of wisdom and joy that can come from listening to the voice of that child that lives in all of us.”
What was the creative process behind “Checker Print Kitchen?”
Satya: “I recorded the song on my floor one day while I was quarantined. I already had the lyrics written out in my journal but that day I came up with the melody and messed around stacking the harmonies. I wanted to leave this song pretty raw; the lyrics talk about being a child running around free. When I think back to my childhood house, I lived in Oakland on this cute street in this cute yellow house, with hardwood floors and a black and white tile kitchen. I have a lot of early memories there; that time felt unpolished and raw. I wanted the song to sound the same way.”
Is there a message you are sending to listeners in “Checker Print Kitchen?”
Satya: “As black girls, from a young age, we are taught to contain ourselves. Growing up, many of the insecurities I developed revolved around my appearance, my hair, body, and skin. I was looking up to white beauty standards, I was conditioned to base my value on appearance. ‘Checker Print Kitchen’ is about the beauty in my raw, free, Black expression. It is about coming to the understanding that true beauty is not something to be contained, it is something to be expressed.”
Do you have a favorite lyric in “Checker Print Kitchen” that is especially meaningful or powerful?
Satya: “The lines in the second verse makes me feel nostalgic, I speak about how I felt as a little girl; again that free, liberating energy:
‘Running covered in paint now
Running let the dogs out
Curls out braid my hair down
Incense curl up on the couch’
These lyrics speak to the spontaneity of being a young child and finding joy and happiness in the simple things. These lyrics are obviously about my own childhood, but I think the spontaneity speaks to a state that we all can relate to and all look back on fondly from being a kid.”
Can you tell us what Deep Blue is about? Are you telling a story through the EP?
Satya: “Deep Blue is about the love and pain I experienced this past year. I wrote all these songs over the course of the year. Most of the lyrics are from my journal where I wrote about how I was feeling that day or month. A lot of the songs started as little poems or pages I would write in my notebook. I would later put these excerpts to music.
The EP tells a story of falling in love, losing myself in that love and becoming blind to the harm of that romance. I kind of lost myself in someone else. I put ‘Checker Print’ as the last track, it was the last tune I wrote off the project, it's kind of like a reminder of the feelings I can always return to even if I’m going through a hard time. That free, pure, child-like expression helps me work through some of the harder shit life throws my way. Reminding myself that that type of expression is still inside of me is a source of power and refuge; it is really healing and liberating.”
How would you describe your sound? How has it developed throughout your music career to now with the release of “Checker Print Kitchen” and your EP Deep Blue?
Satya: “I would say that my music is vulnerable. I'm really drawn to the feel of a live band and I like in a track when you can hear little mess ups, you can hear people picking up the guitar, shuffling around, etc. I like the stripped down aesthetic of live music, I think that comes across in ‘Checker Print Kitchen’ where it feels like I’m singing to a small group of people, gathered intimately together. I think that vulnerability in music is inviting and brings intimacy and connection with the audience.”
How is Deep Blue different from your debut EP Flourish Against Fracture?
Satya: “I wrote Flourish Against Fracture while I was in high school, so I see it as a time capsule and I feel like Deep Blue really shows how much I’ve learned and how much I’ve grown from my experiences.
But there is definitely a connecting theme between the projects. I’m still growing and learning from pain. I am a very loving person so I always find a way to use the pain I have experienced in the past to create something where you can still hear the sentiment of love and care, either for myself or someone else, persevering.”
What are you most proud of upon the release of Deep Blue?
Satya: “I am really grateful and proud to have worked with the people I have. Maddie Spinner, one of the directors of the music video for ‘Checker print Kitchen,’ is also a close friend of mine, for the last couple years we always talked about collaborating on a project so it was really meaningful to work on Checker Print with her and bring both of our visions to life. Maddie and I are also very similar with how we viewed our childhood. We share a perspective on experiencing being free black girls as well as the deconstructing those false beliefs we’ve developed as black women from society’s pressures. I'm proud to have made something that represents this with her. I am also really proud to have the music video featured in the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.”
What was your reaction to hearing the finished EP?
Satya: “I’m really proud of the finished EP. There's a lot of emotions tied up in this project, it's really beautiful to be able to look back on those emotions and see how much I’ve grown from those experiences and reflect on what I learned from the pain. I also feel really relieved. I've probably listened to this whole EP over 1000 times.”
You mention how Deep Blue is about the journey to rediscovering yourself post pandemic. How did the pandemic impact your music? Did you learn any valuable lessons as an artist during that time?
Satya: “When I first started recording I would work in person with a producer. When the pandemic hit we had to work remotely. We mostly worked over FaceTime or Zoom, that's when I began learning more about Logic/when I learned to trust myself as a musician and as a producer. I play guitar, piano and I really love creating vocal arrangements. Around the pandemic is when I really leaned into that. Being a black woman in the music industry has also been a challenge at times, over this past year i’ve also learned to trust myself, my intuition and take myself and visions seriously.”
You aim to share stories of healing and self-realization through your music. How does creating music contribute to the processes of healing and self-realization? Are they separate from music, or do they meld together?
Satya: “I think they meld together. I write a lot for my own peace of mind. When I feel hurt or overwhelmed I’ll free-write and try to spit out whatever comes up, then I'll go back and highlight lines that stand out and build out my lyrics from there. Creating music contributes a lot to healing for me.”
You believe music is meant to build a community. How over the course of your music career have you built a community? What are you most proud of within this community you’ve created?
Satya: “I believe music builds community, having grown up in the Bay area, a huge part of the culture was the arts and music scene. The Bay area used to be big on art markets, and music festivals. I loved seeing live music and supporting art vendors. It was really inspiring growing up in a space where people were able to support one another/be able to make a living off of their art. I was in Oakland during the Black Lives Matter protest. As horrific as that time was, it was also really beautiful, the way I saw our community come together. Many artists from around the Bay came together to put on fundraiser events to support local black artists. We attracted people through our art and opened a door to spark conversations about how we can better support our community.”