Shalom
‘I just wanna be the hit that gets you high’, murmurs Shalom in the chorus of her new single, ‘Hit That (Gets You High). With a vulnerability that continues to elevate the music, her new EP, ‘Sativa’, both breaks your heart and makes you want to take a nice deep puff of your dab pen.
Weaved throughout the three tracks on the EP are moments of nostalgia intertwined with a lingering sadness. Shalom has been through a rough year - from working through friendship breakups, to moving countries twice, to new medical diagnoses - all have influenced the sound and storytelling on the EP. The raw honesty permeates even the lighter parts of the music, on ‘Fed’, Shalom talks about taking out her ex-best friends photo out of her wallet and the surprise emotions she had to work through because of it.
While Shalom’s storytelling continues to mature, the processing of her feelings through music has shown to be utilized in the transforming of her sound as well. Moving away from the indie rock of her 2023 debut album, ‘Sublimation’, Shalom’s diving into the indie electro pop/sleaze sound, leaning into her Hot Chip & LCD Soundsystem influences. The three songs delivered, you can hear the comfortability she has within the sound, showing off her ability to play outside all of the genre boxes and make music that reflects her in her current state.
We talked with Shalom about her new EP, from these new influences to how her mental health affects songwriting. Read it all below and be sure to support Shalom by following her on social media and you can find her music on all streaming platforms!
Photo Credit: Provided By Artist
GRRRL Music: The 'Sativa' EP represents a period of intense personal growth and coping through music and other means. How do you view the relationship between creativity and mental health based on your experiences?
Shalom: When I was younger I thought that I could only make good art if I was depressed. I’m talking last couple years of high school, that very specific 17 year old kind of depression. I was (and am still) a writer and I thought the best stuff could only come out of me if I was in the worst place. I think as I’ve gotten older and learned more about myself in therapy, I think that the better a picture I have of my brain the happier I am with the things coming out of it. Because it makes sense. The songs on sativa come from what was probably a new low for me, but I had a perspective I hadn’t had before thanks to time (and therapy).
GM: You've mentioned that LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, and Bodysync are among your favorite bands, and their influence is evident in the 'Sativa' EP. Can you elaborate on how those influences made room for you to incorporate elements of electronic music into your traditionally indie rock sound?
S: Ok - so Over and Over by Hot Chip was my favorite song when I was 14. You know how everyone has that song they fund on Tumblr or 8Tracks? That was it for me and it BLEW my head off. I guess I stayed on that side of the internet for a while, kind of got into LCD Soundsystem the same way, but then in 2019 while working at a vegan burger shop, my friend (and dear love) Rory put Dance Yrself Clean on while we were closing. And so the LCD Soundsystem love was revived. I've since seen them twice (after thinking I would never get to see them) and they remain a steady influence in my writing and what would become my production. Bodysync - which is made up of Ryan Hemsworth (who produced Sublimation) and Girrafage (Charlie Yin) - released their album Radio Active in 2022. I have it on neon yellow vinyl and it's one of my most listened to records. Working with Ryan on Shalom LP 2 stuff that February was the first time I got to be the producer man and I had so much fun playing with synthy sounds and exploring electronic ~things. After Radio Active came out I spent a lot more time listening to Ryan's older stuff and more DJ sets - beckoning my DJ era I guess?
Honestly, I don't know that I have a 'sound' at all. I just love sounds when they sound good to me and I love to put them together. Making this EP felt like a chance to dip into the electronic beep-boop world while still being able to do my sad girl bass and vocals songs. Fed is particularly special in that regard because Zach Shectman (who produced Sativa) added this frequency that just sits higher than everything else, and it's a happy marriage of the bass-vox-sad and the electronic-elements-sad.
GM: The song 'To VA With Haste' is deeply personal and reflects on a significant move and a failed relationship. How do you navigate the balance between sharing such personal experiences and maintaining a sense of privacy or boundary?
S: This is a tough one because my go to answer for something like this is, "Oh I keep the real private stuff for the people closest to me". I'm referencing my friends here - I am so grateful for my family and I always will be. But, as I learned last year, the friendships and people I kept closest to me made it clear that they did not hold me close in the same way. This song is actually about several failed relationships - and all of the ones I had built since moving to this country. I lost what felt like everything. So in all honesty this EP was 100% a 'I have nobody to talk to' project, and it is extremely personal. But there's a difference between what I sing into a mic and what I scream into my pillow. It could definitely be more personal, but I think the boundary is built with the writing.
GM: Is there a particular song on the EP that was the most challenging to write, and why?
S: To VA, for the above reasons. It's a crazy thing to reckon with when you lose all your friends in what feels like a blink but it's crazier when it happens and then you have to move 8,000 miles away. And when none of them say a word. In July 2023, by the end of writing To VA With Haste, I was certain about two things: friends don't treat people the way I was treated, and karma is real.
GM: Given your journey through significant personal changes, what advice would you offer to aspiring artists who are facing their own challenges?
S: Roll with it. Nothing is forever :( but nothing is forever :D - feel it all and let it pass. And make stuff about it if you can, even if you don't commercialize it. Making stuff is the therapy. Move like water and see what happens. That's what I'm doing anyway.