Our Goodbye, the debut release by Vietnamese songwriter Silvia De Rosa, evoked such intense loneliness that it felt intrusive to listen to. Over lo-fi mist and gentle keys, Silvia sang beautifully of pain, regret, separation and loneliness in an effortlessly soulful voice.
The piano that the song starts with, sets the mood for the whole track and is the most appropriate introduction for a song with such sadness in it. You can feel the emotion in Silvia’s voice as her voice creeps into the mix. There are some subtle background vocals that are amplifying her voice and they also act as ear candy for the listener. The chorus is very different from what you normally hear and it gets stuck in your head.
The track follows a certain path that is almost triangular. The vocals keep getting higher until the percussions come in and then the chorus begins. The chorus is the loudest part of the mix making it take the center stage. Right after the chorus, the vocals start to dim down and the piano comes back up front. This is a basic yet effective arrangement and mix that is giving this single its structure.
Silvia is an artist that claims to be able to “sing your sadness” and I don’t think she is making an overstatement. The whole track is an example of this. You can even hear the wavering in her voice as if she was just crying. Its absolutely beautiful sadness.
We had the opportunity to interview Silvia just to get to know her and her music better. Here are a few questions from the interview:
What made you decide to get into music? Was it something you decided early on in life or is it a decision you made later on?
Even when I was a little girl, I always dreamed of becoming a singer. But for us Vietnamese, that doesn’t seem realistic at all so i put my dream aside and focused on studying. As time went on, I did well in university and got a good job but still something in me felt lacking. One winter day, when I had to say goodbye to my friends, I felt very sad that I had to write a song. That’s how my first song came out but as you can guess, it was not that good. Again, I put the dream aside to focus on my work.
It wasn’t my intention to make music, I think that’s what the universe led me to. I’ve met some people on Tinder and they’re all passionate about music. We formed a group together and they were the ones who helped me complete my song.
What is the idea behind the music video for your single ‘Our Goodbye’?
Now I want to dig a little bit deeper into the song and the music video. The song is about my love experience. I was in a relationship with this guy, we have a very special bond and he promised me so much but then one day, out of nowhere he broke up with me without any reason. All he said is that he does not deserve someone like me, that’s all.
So my head was filled with so many questions, why? Why did he choose to leave? Why? Why doesn’t he choose to stay? A week after that, I received a call from this lady. She told me that she and my ex are going to get married very soon. At that time, I felt angry, sad, disappointed, all feelings at one. I was furious and again I kept asking the question Why? I had so many feelings that I had to let it out so I wrote this song.
I didn’t know I could make a song to be honest but with all the feelings, the lyrics and melody kept coming out of my head. As I wrote this song, I realized that there is no “correct” answer and nothing will ever set me free from all of my emotions. So, I learned to accept the situation as it is and say goodbye to that destructive love.
A very generic question but always gives me a deeper meaning into the artists persona: What does music mean to you?
From what I can hear, music seems to be a platform to vent your feelings. Is this true?
Since then, music has been my way to communicate with the world and with my feelings. For me music means a lot, it’s definitely my life saver. I was depressed for a long time and with that shocking break up I fell back to the feeling of being unworthy and not deserve to be loved. I took all of my emotions and transferred them into songs. There was this one time I was so mad that I wrote a song filled with: I’m furious. It’s a way to relieve stress and emotions. So yes, music is a platform to vent my feelings.
Based on what you have experienced in this field, what is the advice you have for aspiring musicians?
Everyone can be an artist; everyone can be a musician cause we all have stories to tell and melodies in our head. Just stay honest with yourself, your feelings, write from the heart and ask the universe for guidance and then you are good to go. Making music is a very fun process and I believe it will help you find joy in life.
This interview made me realize what an inspirational story some musicians can have. I hope as readers some of you are driven to realize your dreams as well.
Check out Silvia’s new single:
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
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