After delivering a warm and enticing array of laid-back offerings these last few years, New York-based singer and songwriter Sydney Fay is back once again with her sublime new single 'Until The End'.
Taking cues from the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Chet Baker, as well as Norah Jones and Corinne Bailey Rae, 'Until The End' makes for a wonderfully mesmerising listen. With her sweet and alluring voice layered over a warm and breezy neo-soul production, she certainly sweeps us off our feet with this one.
So with the new single doing the rounds, we sat down with her to find out more about her background and what has inspired her most recently.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
I first fell in love with the piano. My parents had me start taking lessons from a very young age—they thought that every child should learn to play at least one instrument, and I guess they thought the piano was a good start. Soon after I started lessons, I figured out that singing was really fun, too, and I focused a lot of my efforts on learning songs I could sing along to. I remember the very first song I was able to play and sing at the same time—all the way through—was “Tale as Old as Time” from Beauty and the Beast. I was so proud of that!
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
I credit my dad with exposing me to the pop music of the ‘70s from a very young age. He and my mom always say that the greatest year for music was 1977. We were constantly in the car listening to ‘70s radio stations and CDs. Elton, Fleetwood, the Bee Gees, Electric Light Orchestra, the Carpenters, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, James Taylor, Gladys Knight and the Pips—everything you can think of. So this was the music that I knew back to front without even really knowing that I knew it. It was just always on. I could probably sing a hundred of those songs word for word without even thinking.
In my adolescence, I had a pretty serious obsession with Justin Bieber. I used to watch his music videos on Youtube, pause them, screenshot them, then blow them and print them out to hang on my wall. I really thought that, when I was listening to his songs, he was talking to me. It turns out that was really just a prequel to falling in love with the music of John Mayer in the coming years. John Mayer truly defined my teenage experience. He was the first artist whose entire discography I listened to in one sitting, starting with his very first EP.
What was the first album you remember owning?
I was brought up in the age of CDs—and the first one that I can remember owning and loving was the album that came with a book called Philadelphia Chickens by Sandra Boynton. Each song is a little story about a different animal—and honestly, the music is amazing. I didn’t know it at the time, of course, but rediscovering it later on was such a treat. I was like Wow, this music actually kind of slaps. I highly recommend looking up the soundtrack.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
There are definitely a few. If I can name a few, it would be “Glad to Be Unhappy” (Nancy Wilson), “I Get Along Without You Very Well” (Chet Baker), and “Someone to Watch Over Me” (Ella Fitzgerald). They’re all standards, and I think that they’re three of the most beautiful songs ever written.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Not really! I feel like most often I’ll listen to a certain loop of songs over a period of a few days, and then suddenly I’ll be humming in the shower with those songs in my subconscious and I’ll accidentally spit out a melody that sparks something in me. I usually run as fast as I can to my phone to record it so I don’t forget and then later on work something out on the guitar that matches what I envisioned in my head to accompany it. It’s not very scientific.
Overall, songwriting is a very slow and deliberate process for me. I know a lot of musicians and songwriters write constantly then come out of a month of songwriting with 15 okay ones and 1 good one that really hits the mark and is worthy of recording. I haven’t found, though, that I can write anything at all without truly feeling like I’m in love with it. It’s a bit annoying, because sometimes this leaves me with two lines of a song for months and months because I haven’t found the absolute perfect words to express what I want to say yet, or the perfect melody that takes the tune exactly where I want it. No matter how frustrating it is, I just can’t bring myself to finish a song—or write at all—if it doesn’t express exactly what I want it to in the way that I envisioned.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
When I manage to pull myself away from 1940s and ‘50s jazz, I’m loving listening to all the projects that Laufey is putting out—she’s so talented and immersed in the world of jazz. I really hope to collaborate with her someday. I’ve also been listening to Arooj Aftab, who is so incredible, and the new Hiatus Kaiyote album. It’s insane.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Norah Jones, without a doubt. She embodies everything that I want to be as an artist and musician and I want nothing more than to follow in her footsteps. Sharing a stage with her is a goal of mine that I hold very close to my heart. I’ve always felt very connected to her and her music—growing up, she was the person that most people compared my voice to when they heard me sing. If I opened for her, it would be more than a dream come true.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
I honestly think the most rewarding part of being a musician is the feeling of finally finishing a song—the feeling that comes when your body and your brain know that something you’ve just played through is a finished, complete piece of music. It’s one of my favorite feelings. It’s pride and excitement and even sadness that it’s over, but such relief that it’s done, all wrapped into one.
And what is the most frustrating part?
One thing I’ve found myself particularly frustrated by lately is how important social media has become to artist discovery and fan engagement. It’s exhausting as an emerging songwriter feeling like I have to be putting out a constant stream of content for people to pay attention to me or not forget about me. I love having a social media platform and being able to share videos and music with friends and fans, but I wish less emphasis was placed on how that factors into the success of my career.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Don’t compare your career path to that of others. This has been my greatest vice ever since I started my music career—envying other people who are around my age or who might be similar to me in genre or career stage who I see accomplish something that I haven’t yet—so much so that it actually hinders my ability to create and push forward. I really try to be present with the idea that every single individual artist is on their own musical and career journey—there’s no falling behind or getting ahead. To focus on the successes of others and compare them to your own perceived “failures” is meaningless.
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Sydney Fay's new single 'Until The End' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.