Siala
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For Siala, the process of music stems from an imperfect place. Growing up on the North Coast of New South Wales, her mother was a victim of domestic violence – until one day, 15-year-old Siala fought back against her abuser. “After knocking him out, I wrote a song about it. I found this rhythm of writing my emotions out constantly into music,” she says. “I felt so much lighter mentally. It helped me register and reflect on my feelings, and then I’d look back on situations and feel closure.”
Siala found solace in gloomy, guitar-heavy artists like The Smashing Pumpkins and PJ Harvey, later diving headfirst into hip-hop, R&B and jazz. Writing lyrics became a way to digest pain and isolation, melding her diverse range of influences into a cathartic sound that sits confidently in its own lane. “I started taking it more seriously when I was getting great feedback from mates. Any time I thought about performing or sharing sounds, it would give me butterflies,” she says. “I would vision it so clearly!” After watching The Weeknd perform live in Brisbane, Siala knew that music would be her future, and that she was destined for those same stages.