K Sea Ya is an artist of multiple talents, and even more metaphors; with a strong focus on telling a story and telling a story well, they present “Crisalida” (Portuguese for ‘Chrysalis’)— keep reading for my thoughts, and stay tuned for a round of discussion!
The whole theme behind the song is period cinematic, and very, very artsy. There is flair and originality in the sound, and this is made even better with the production of the music video. The instruments play perfect symphony to the visuals and the lyrics, as they all come together to create an experience that fills the senses, and leaves the listener wondering for more. The imagery is crisp and vivid, and describes the melodic and lyrical themes of “Crisalida” absolutely beautifully.
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Now, here’s K Sea Ya in interview about “Crisalida” and more!
What is your inspiration behind making music?
My inspiration comes from life experiences and growing up to be a real human being. Also for many years I have been studying and experiencing how music can entrain the brain, body and emotions and with its support, healing subtle and dense parts of the body. That got me on a road to start learning and writing songs.
Take us through your songwriting and production process. What is your ideology for making your music?
I wish I was speaking to you at this moment and not writing it, because this process is much more fluid than what I can write here. Like music, it doesn’t flow in one direction, how it is conveyed in words, melodies and more, depends on the energy and emotion that comes up. The first song I wrote and released is called Crisálida (in Portuguese my original language). It means Chrysalis, and speaks about the metamorphosis process of a butterfly, also about the evolution of consciousness through knowing the heart. This inspiration came the spiritual process of life, my own understanding of our transformation as a living organism, and how we navigate these life transformations. My experience was like a butterfly. I felt inspired by my decade long experience with performance work that has an ongoing thread related to Rites of Passage. This was how I started to realize the process of the constant transformation I was moving through. Then I decided to write a song about it and it became my debut single as a songwriter and singer; it is part of an album that I am currently working called “Cantos para Transições” (Chants for Transition). To write a song, I first have an emotion with sensations that I want to investigate (writing helped me to organize an awareness around that). Then I journal for a little while. I eventually return to what I’ve written and activate my imagination to play with the words and verses of how I could possibly describe that emotion. Sometimes I’m even looking for a door to process a negative emotion with a positive emotion. I tune into the emotional tone with my own imagination, what does it evoke? And then the melody shows up, like a fish in water, and I catch it. When I hear it, I record my vocals on my phone. Most of the time it’s not so clear at first, then as I sing it again and again, thousands of times until it takes shape and the words and verses follow through like a magnet. Then I sing it again and again until it is clear as a song. After that I write it down and refine it, I share it with the few people I trust and ask for some emotional feedback. Then I refine it more, even when I sleep, and meditate. When I feel it is solid emotionally and with what I want to say, I bring the melody to the piano, I only play piano to craft my songs. I don’t have any formal music training. I have a teacher and my husband who give me some orientation of possible scales and harmonies. I am taking baby steps. Then after the melody is set, I create an image of the soundscape and create a playlist with some references to listen to and get some inspiration of how it should sound instrumentally. I share all of it then with the producer Caito Marcondes, and explain how I feel about the song. He is a very good listener and decoder. I record and share the melody to guide him, and he creates the arrangement and produces the musicians to play what we created. When he sends it back to me, I listen to it until it is good to approve, which means, it feels really good to sing on it. Once the instrumental part is done we record vocals. It can be in any geographical location since I am living in the US, and the producer and musicians are in Brasil. But I’ve been recording it as I visit Brasil and we finish the songs there. If I need more work, then I can record it again until it feels it is done. All of this is still very new for me, I am learning as I do and feel very grateful to be working with such a high class professional musician, especially the master Caito Marcondes, from who I am learning so much as we create together, and everyone who plays with us does so with the intention to bring something positive and healing to the world.
What are some challenges you have faced as a musician in coming up and getting recognition?
Ahah, I don’t even recognize myself as a “musician”, but I love working with sound, music and musicians. I consider myself more of a songwriter/performance artist who has something to say and wants to say that within a soundscape, a garden played by sounds and other effects, so the message can be given and received more clearly and lovingly. It is more fun as well to work with and play poetry with music. I am more like a poet who feels a lot, and likes to imagine a better future of a planet and humanity regenerated. I create for that future.
What do you think is the role of branding yourself as a musician in today’s age of social media?
Hmm… this is the part where the struggle is felt the most, and to understand how to do it in a way doesn’t get lost in “translation” with the immediate image of what I want to say. Images are a very static form of art, music is more alive and evolving. Images sometimes get us stuck in false ways of perception because they are frozen in time. I hope that I don’t get stuck in my own evolution and acceptance of change, transformation and the metamorphosis we need to cross as human beings in evolution. My role at the moment is getting my message across, and I always think of it like a butterfly in a garden. The butterfly is attracted by beautiful flowers and has a role of pollination, to regenerate the garden within her beautiful short life. So each song and image generated is like a butterfly, the song has a longer life like a garden, the butterfly is a moment that happens when the song is being spread, and then she is released to the next stage of her evolution as perhaps another form of life.
How do you combat creative blocks when you make music? Are there any methods or techniques you use to constantly have inspiration?
I don’t really combat it. At every moment something is evolving. Sometimes we have a seed under the ground, it looks like nothing is happening, until a sprout is out. When a sprout grows it needs the right environment and nutrients – that is what I care about. If there is no seed, it is time to harvest inspiration, get clear of what I am doing here in this world. After I have a seed, I plant and wait, until then it is time to nurture and take good care of it until it blossoms and it causes the butterflies to show up. I do daily practices, I call them spiritual practices, like prayers you need to repeat with your voice and body to clear up the mind. Recently I have been learning that there are so many people around me who wish to find and free their voices. I am able to offer some support for that for small groups, and with this offering I feel the garden has what it needs. I get inspiration, everyone gets inspiration on their own levels, and we evolve together. Don’t fight, the world doesn’t need more combat, it needs peace – music can serve that.
What does the journey look like for you moving forward?
The journey is what we do as we walk, isn’t it? Looking for where we want to go and working with the unforeseeable nature of the weather, that’s what I’m doing. The most important thing for me is to know and feel I am not walking alone anymore. I have a crew of people who also want to create a better world, more peace in themselves and in the world, so we journey for that together.
At the moment I am writing and working on a few songs to be released in the next two years, as well as my album “Cantos para Transições.” There is a release ‘Menina Grão’ (Girl Seed) coming soon, on May 13th with a music video too. Caito and I are working on a new song in English! Yep, that will be my first composition in English, and we expect to release it this year or the beginning of the next.
Oh, and collaboration is a big YES, so many. For the near future we are selecting a few special artists, especially women, who I wish to bring to be part of my album singing the ‘Chants for transitions’ album. These are women who are part of the cultural heritage in Brazil and worldwide, and are carriers of the future. They are guardians and butterflies of beauty, wisdom and ecosystem healing, they live and learn from it. All I can share for now… also we are in conversation with a well-known American Kirtan singer for a collaboration… more to come and hear in the near future.
Thank you so much for your clever questions and interest in this work I am doing, along with my team—for that I thank those who are part of it. I really appreciate thinking and feeling the questions as I write to you, next time we’ll speak maybe. Light, peace and love to you all.
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