Artist Spotlight: Meet Sunset Salore
What was the initial spark or idea that led to the creation of "Mystery and Magic?"
It was written about the beginning of a relationship, and the euphoria of learning someone new. I liked the idea of changing up a love song to being a foot-tapper, reliving those micro-moments which are all signals you’re onto a good thing, and not to take them for granted either.
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for this single?
I guess just how much the whole process flowed. I worked with producer Spud Thompson, and we found a working rhythm really quickly, which helped just get the creative process moving, and the work hitting the mark quite efficiently. It was a really enjoyable process.
What did you enjoy most about making "Mystery and Magic?"
We managed to record this track from beginning to end in a day, which is incredibly quick. A long day, of course, but a day, nonetheless. We were determined to capture the flow state we were in and I think we managed to do that. Also, the sandwiches. I figured out pretty quickly that Spud doesn’t move from his desk when he’s in a flow state- and you can’t have your producer without nutrition, so I brought in different homemade food to share each day which picked us up a bit when we started to flag!
Can you share a bit about your musical background and the journey that led you to where you are today?
I grew up in Belfast, in Northern Ireland. My great grandfather was a pianist in the Belfast music halls in Northern Ireland. He had an act with his brother who was a singer. Apparently they were quite popular in the 1920’s or thereabouts! My grandfather bought me my first keyboard in the 1980’s, a lovely little Casio which is still in my parents’ house. I took piano lessons, and started singing in choirs, which developed my love for harmony, but I didn’t consider myself much of a lead singer until I moved to Melbourne. I won a drink at a karaoke contest in Melbourne and from there decided to take singing lessons. I ended up singing backing in bands for a number of years, and also in a three person acapella group, which continued my love for harmonies. I started songwriting back in 2017, and that flow was pretty much interrupted by the global pandemic and associated lockdowns. After that I realised I really missed music, and got back into songwriting, and a goal to write an EP. The material was strong enough to take forward into the recording studio….and here we are!
Can you walk us through your creative process when writing and composing music?
Lately what has been working for me is either writing on my Roland digital piano connected to my BOSS RC-600 looping station to capture the key hooks and then writing melodies and lyrics over the top. Or, the other method has been to work up something digitally in a DAW and then extrapolate the digitised concept out into something more fully fleshed. I meet with my coach, KYE, weekly and we work up a demo from wherever I have landed to that point. From there, I have been enjoying taking the songs that make the shortlist into the recording studio, where I’ve really enjoyed them being worked up to the next level. I’ve been working with Spud Thompson in production, and I’ve rewritten some parts of the tracks at the moment depending on what they needed. It has been a collaborative process, and I’m really enjoying that.
