A Conversation with Salli Edwards

What initially sparked your interest in pursuing a career in the arts for those who may not be familiar with your background?

I am a singer songwriter based in Melbourne, Australia. I was born in Tokyo, Japan and have lived in Manila, Canberra, San Francisco and Milan. I’ve always loved music and started singing as a child. I sang in choirs in school and also did theatre. But it wasn’t until I was much older and living in San Francisco, where I worked as a journalist, that I decided to pursue music seriously – although I wouldn’t say I just got up one day and decided that music would be my career! I was in a band, or more accurately a duo, and we started out doing covers of our favourite songs.

Eventually, I felt the need to branch out and start writing my own songs to be able to fully express myself and write from my own personal experiences. Once I made that decision, it’s like the dam just broke and suddenly all these songs started to come out! I was also going through a lot in my personal life at the time, so writing songs provided a much-needed emotional release. But it was many years of travel, personal growth and moving around before I finally recorded and released my first album ‘Revolving Doors’ in 2020 while in lockdown.

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your latest single?

My latest single ‘Stars and Snowflakes’ is from my new album ‘City Life.’ It’s inspired by a line from the classic ‘80s film ‘Moonstruck.’ I love classic films and this would be one of my all-time favourites. The line stuck with me for years – the premise is about how we are all put on this earth to mess things up, love the wrong people and make mistakes. That’s because we are not perfect and only the stars and snowflakes are perfect. I stored that in the back of my mind and told myself I would write a song about that one day!

I am constantly writing songs – in my head, in my journal, on scraps of paper. I find
inspiration in everything around me, from the mundane to the profound. My song
‘Apartments’ was inspired by walking around and noticing the rapid pace of new
apartment buildings going up in my neighbourhood. ‘For All the People’ which is the opening track on my new album, came to me one morning after I had been up almost the entire night watching the news about the invasion of Ukraine and other stories of people being subjugated or struggling to survive. I find there is a song just waiting to be written all around me and from
the things I see and experience.

What themes or emotions are explored in this song?

The song is really about unrequited love and how often the one thing you are looking for is right there in front of you – but you’re too caught up in searching for something perfect to notice. The beauty is in the imperfection because it’s real and it’s true.

How does this single fit into the larger narrative of your music?

I guess you can say it’s a sad song! Then again, most of my songs are sad and quite poignant.

All my songs are based on personal experience or things that I have observed directly. I find I can only write songs that way. Many of my songs have themes around the dynamics of relationships, but I like to write about them from different or unusual perspectives. Like a song about a breakup doesn’t have to be the usual “I’m so heartbroken” angle which has been written about millions of times. It’s like taking a snapshot of a situation and writing from there.

What makes me really happy is when I get a message from someone telling me they have listened to my music and how a particular song really resonated with them, or that they could relate to the lyrics or the message of the song.

Could you describe the creative process for you, from concept to production?

It’s not really a set process for me – I’m sure that’s how it is with all songwriters! Often it starts with a melody or a hook in my head. A lot of songs come to me when I am doing things like walking or driving or when I wake up in the morning. I then sing the melody into my phone to help me remember it because the idea can really disappear quickly sometimes.

Then I pick up the guitar and play around with some chords to fit the melody. After that, I rifle through my piles of lyrics to see if there is anything that goes with the melody or the mood of the song. Sometimes, it’s the other way around and a song starts with the lyrics and I noodle around with the guitar to find a melody that goes with the message or feel the song is trying to convey. I’ve also written songs starting with a chord progression and then write the melody from there. Some songs I have written in less than 20 minutes, other songs have taken months, where I might start with an idea and come back to it much later when it’s more fleshed out. Overall, I think it’s important to not force the creative process. If somehow it’s just not working or coming together, you can’t force it or the song will just sound forced and uninspired. There is a flow that happens when it is all coming together and if it’s not there, it means the song is not quite ready to be born yet!

Then I usually record a rough demo of the song with just my vocals and guitar. From here, it’s either sending it to musicians I am collaborating with for them to record their parts or go into a studio to record. For my last two albums, I had the privilege of working with some excellent session musicians from all over the world. I recorded my first album during lockdown here in Melbourne so going into a studio was not an option. We collaborated and recorded my songs online without ever being in the same room! I would send them my rough demos and each musician would record their instruments and then I record my vocals over them. Then all the tracks would be mixed into the final version. It was a fun process and definitely not your traditional way in a recording studio!

What can listeners expect to experience or feel when they listen to your music?

I hope listeners can take away something really personal from my music. I like to write songs from a personal perspective but in a way that’s also universal so that people can relate to them. Many of my songs are also quite ambiguous and can be interpreted in so many different ways. My song ‘Blindside’ from my first album I wrote about deception and being fooled by someone or something you least expected. But a lot of people tell me they thought it was a love song! I love how people can interpret my songs in ways that mean something to them.

Are there any interesting stories or anecdotes from the recording or writing of your songs that you’d like to share?

During the pandemic – I remember it was very early days when people were just learning about COVID-19 and there was so much uncertainty all over the world. I was in lockdown at home and wrote my song called ‘Traces’ which is on my first album ‘Revolving Doors.’ I was going through so many emotions at the time and I picked up my guitar and played around with some chords. Then I started channelling what I was feeling about the world at the time, about being in lockdown and unable to be with loved ones, and the uncertainty of this deadly virus that we knew so little about. The song pretty much came out in about 20 minutes, lyrics and melody. I love performing this song as it is quite an emotional song and is a way for me to really connect with the audience.

My song ‘Apartments’ was inspired by walking around and noticing the rapid pace of new apartment buildings going up in my neighbourhood, threatening to destroy the character and heritage of the city. That song essentially started the idea of writing songs from the perspective of living in the city for my latest album ‘City Life.’

I wrote the song ‘For All the People’ one morning after watching the news all night about the invasion of Ukraine. Throughout the day, I’d also seen several news items about injustice and innocent people being exploited. All these things must have been simmering in my subconscious because when I woke up the next morning, the lyrics and the melody of the chorus just came to me fully formed. I quickly wrote the rest of the song from that. To this day, it is my favourite song of mine and the one I am most proud of. It’s an anthem for all the people out there in the world who are suffering and how we are all connected as humankind.

As an artist, can you identify three key traits that define you?

Intuitive – I am largely self-taught so a lot of my music and songwriting come from intuition and just following what feels right as opposed to sticking rigidly to music theory. I have some chords in my songs that don’t even exist! I just play them as they sound good and go with the feel and mood of the song.

Creative – people I have worked with describe me as being creative and open to ideas. That is the wonderful thing about music and songwriting. There is no right or wrong and you can be as creative as possible and break all the rules!

Vulnerable – as a songwriter, I believe it’s really important to be willing to be vulnerable. The songs have to come from a really authentic and genuine place. Otherwise, it just comes out sounding hollow and contrived. The songs I connect with the most are the ones that make me feel something emotionally. I try to follow the same principle with my own songwriting by being honest and true to create something that listeners can connect with emotionally.

What do you hope to do in terms of your upcoming projects?

After I finish a major project like an album, I take a rest to ‘fill the well.’ This is what I call taking the time to replenish the creative stores and fill my head with new inspirations and ideas. My next album could sound totally different!

I would love to have a song placement in a movie, TV show or advertisement – I think that is every indie artist’s dream! It would also be great to do a collaboration with another musician who shares similar influences and interests. In the next few years, I would like to record a third album or EP.

Where can our readers find additional information about you and your work?

You can listen to my music on any of your preferred listening platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, you name it!) Or listen directly on my website salliedwards.com.