On the idea for “Rivers,” she said, “It began as an acoustic song I wrote on a rainy day. It was slow and almost waltz-like. It’s about the admission that though something may feel like true love, it’s obviously destined to end. It sorts through thought processes I had throughout that prior relationship.”
“It’s about finding strength in this admission and being okay with it. My friend, Aaron from the band Twin oaks, added some electronic elements to it. Sean from Dead Sara turned it into what many have called a “sad banger” and Travis Warner produced it into its final form. The song has been through quite a lot, the poor thing,” she said.
On the concept for the song’s music video, she said, “Our friends had just launched SuperVision (a creative agency in Paris) earlier that year and after showing them the demo for ‘Rivers,’ they became excited about making a music video for it. That rejuvenated my excitement for the song.”
“I gave them an overall feel and my inspirations for the visuals and then Robin Clive went at it. Oliver Clive produced it within a week and a half. The crew, art direction, makeup, props, and more were all found throughout Paris and I found the location online. It was all shot in a single day and for all that, we were so happy with the result. It’s a little dream world,” she added.
Regarding her inspirations for her music and songwriting, she responded, “My interactions and experiences with people. I fear I’m always writing in my head, even in social situations. I find the most intimate details of a person’s existence so fascinating. I’d say songs come from specific moments with people or the self-reflection while being away from them.”
On life during the quarantine, she said, “As hard as it’s been, I’ve tried to make the best of it. I’ve noticed that when the world stops for any reason, no matter how horrible the reason is, we have a moment to reflect on what is important. We reevaluate. We are tested and maybe even work harder. I founded and run an organization in Los Angeles called Treehouse.”
“It’s an art community that has popped-up monthly for over five years and we expose underexposed artists. When the pandemic hit, we canceled all our live events planned for the year, and instead I launched the Quarantine Concert on Instagram,” she added.
“We had over 50 thousand musicians partake including Walk The Moon, The Griswolds, and Meg Meyers. It was beautiful seeing all this intimate creation. Later, we began interviewing artists on their work through a series called Dialogue. We focused on spotlighting Black voices,” she said.
“I fundraised for families in Guatemala, the LA Food Bank, and the NPAP. Now, Skandra has been launched into the world and has gone viral on TikTok, garnering over two million streams across streaming services - we’ve got a wonderful road ahead. Helping others as much as possible and keeping myself productive has been the key to getting through this insane year,” she said.
For young and aspiring artists, she said, “I’d say be willing to make garbage until you find your sound and voice. Even then, you’ll still make nonsense every once and a while but the more you write, the more you work at it, and the more you fuel the dream, you’ll find something so uniquely you and there are people out there who want to hear it.”
“This leads me to the second thing I always tell artists: just because no one is listening doesn’t mean there aren’t those who want to. It’s not about showing art to your friends and family in hopes that’ll lead to something. You’ve got to get the art in front of as many people as possible and there will always be a percentage of those that connect with it. You’re looking for your other halves; the kindred souls,” she elaborated.
When asked about her dream duet choices, she said, “I’d love to do a song with Cat Power to make my teenage-self proud and perhaps watch Skrillex turn one of my songs into a dubstep masterpiece because, why not?”
She defined the word success as follows: “I think when you’ve got enough ears listening to affect any sort of positive change, you’ve succeeded. I don’t think there’s an exact number or even dollar amount. I truly think success has to do with your power and ability to help others.”
Skandra concluded about “Rivers,” “I guess that it’s easy to put a song inside of the box that you wrote, and with ‘Rivers,’ I didn’t allow that to happen. I was willing to collaborate, change, and open up the song to electronic elements that then turned it into something I had never imagined. ‘Rivers’ was a learning process for me and I’m excited to have found my sound and build the rest of the Skandra universe from here.”
To learn more about Skandra and her music, check out her official website, follow her on Instagram, and her Facebook page.
