Review Fix Exclusive: Sydney Wright Talks ‘Seiche’ And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Sydney Wright, who discusses her new single, “Seiche,” as well as her creative process, goals and more.

Review Fix: How did your project start?

Sydney Wright: Almost 15 years ago, I started writing songs with friends from my hometown about their breakups. My heartbroken homies would come over with lots of feelings and sometimes lyrics. We’d put them to guitar or piano chords, and it felt naturally therapeutic. I felt useful, like I was helping them through something heavy. 

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Wright: I started playing piano at age 7 when my mom fortuitously forced my sisters and I to take piano lessons. About the time I turned 15, I begged her to let me quit piano and learn guitar instead. At that point, I had to try really hard to ditch my limits and make my own music instead of reading it off a page. That’s when I started writing songs. I was always in choir during High School and went to South Plains College to study commercial music, guitar, and live sound engineering. After I got some degrees, I studied Anthropology and Ethnomusicology for my bachelors. Learning about music across cultures really opened up my brain-box. It was like I’d been lighting fires with sticks and friction and then found a bunch of matches, gasoline, and starter logs. I’m so grateful that I was able to go to school. 
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Wright: My process is organized. I love writing lyrics by hand, then cementing them into reality by typing them into charts. I have books full of random lyrics with no song to belong to, and I base much of the music on live loop arrangements. I use spreadsheets and GoogleDocs to communicate music video treatments and collaboration ideas. I just released my debut full-length album, ‘Seiche’, and my next move will be tracking and producing another batch of about 6 singles here in Austin.  I’ll take my pre-produced demos to a short list of studios, engineers, and possibly co-producers, but I intend to take the reins in the production department for these new pieces. I love the producers I worked with on the ’Seiche’ album, Stefano Vieni and Alex Ponce. I am grateful that they are also artists and were incredibly deferential to my opinion, but I’d like to try my hand at producing myself. FYI, a producer is the person who makes final decisions about the overall style and sound regarding instrumentation and arrangement for the recording. I think I’ll be good at it, and I’m ready to try. 

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Wright: Feelings, stories, harmony, culture-based rites of passage, autobiographies, and polyrhythms. That’s it.

Review Fix: What makes this album special?

Wright: The tracks on this record were written over the span of a decade, and primarily huddle under a ‘coming of age’ umbrella. It’s called ‘Seiche’. It’s a French word that means ‘to sway back and forth’. Hydrologists use it to describe a surfing wave on top of a lake. They’re unnatural under normal conditions, and they’re caused by violent, sudden changes in atmospheric pressure or seismic activity. It forces the water to slosh back and forth to regain equilibrium. The song is about transcendence and choosing ‘Seiche’ as the title-track back in January was almost prophetic in regards to a close call I survived this year. I got knocked off a scooter and run over in a hit and run this June. I’ve been recovering with broken leg, back, and wrist bones, new titanium implants, a skin graft, and extreme gratitude for the people that love me and the opportunity to make a full recovery.

Review Fix: What’s the standout track?

Wright: I love all of my babies equally, but ‘Time of Night,’ the loop-heavy, doo-wop track has gotten the most streams thus far!

Review Fix: What’s on your musical bucket list?

Wright: I’m going to travel around the world and learn how different people make music. I want to know the history, learn the instruments, and understand what’s important to them. Then, I want write a collection of songs based on what I can learn. I want it to be a cultural mashup to promote solidarity connection and learning about each other.