100% SATICA: the rising singer dishing out truths
Get up close and personal with the Long Beach native as she drops her new EP dear April, ily.
Music
Words: Amy Francombe
Photography: Alex Oh
Former K‑pop songwriter turned R&B starlet, SATICA is a west coast musician with strong roots in Cambodian culture. Using music to stitch together her family tapestry, her songs are peppered with dreamy pop melodies and hip-hop beats that waver between the themes of family, violence and longing.
After releasing her debut EP Drippin’ back in 2017, the rising singer is back with her new EP dear April, ily. As a daughter of two Khmer Rouge genocide survivors, the EP is an ode to her upbringing. The tracks exude raw emotion in what plays out as a cathartic release from the tensions she experienced at home. Whether that be through paying homage to her parent’s sacrifice in Check$, or calling out society’s fucked up attitudes towards gun control in Son of a Gun.
Listen to the EP below before getting the 100% low-down on the up-and-coming songstress.
10%: Where were you born, where were you raised and where are you now based?
I was born in Long Beach, I was raised in Long Beach and now I reside in LA, which is not too far from Long Beach.
20%: At what point did you realise you’d be able to do what you love for a living?
I don’t think I consciously made a choice. I wanted to do it for a really long time, kept doing it, figured that I invested too much time and effort to not continue to do it, and just kept it moving.
30%: What’s a piece of advice that changed your life?
Fake it till you make it.
40%: What kind of emotions and experiences influence your work?
Definitely all of the family related stuff. Anything that has to do with people that matter to me and how they affect me, that will always translate into my music. Whether it’s love trauma, music is my biggest outlet.
50%: What can you tell us about your next EP, out today?
It’s more raw, honest and emotional than any of my past pieces of work. Again it was coming from a place of necessity rather than, ‘Oh I wanna make a song!’ It was like I need to write this because otherwise I will go crazy. This is my soul in music, lyrics and melody.
60%: Break down your typical day at work…
I go in, depends on who I work with. If I’m writing for myself I go in and bounce off ideas – things that I’ve been listening to and things I’ve been going through. I try to have an open mind for what sort of soundscapes, because as an artist I understand what it’s like to be confined and I wouldn’t want to do that with my collaborators as well. It’s just finding new sounds, interesting chords – just anything that will make the sound unique. I know it’s been a good day I have a song that I really enjoy and listen to over and over again in the car home.
70%: What can artists do to help save the world?
Use their voice as much as they can. Being as outspoken as you can. Use your art to say things that matter to you.
80%: Love, like, hate?
Love eating ice cream, like flowers, hate rude people.
90%: Describe your seven minutes in heaven…
Beautiful noises, lots of puppies and an unlimited amount of all my favourite food with all my friends and family.
100%: What’s your no.1 holiday destination?
Bora Bora.
