Tempo Talks: A Conversation with Sunset Salore
THE RELEASE
Sunset Salore is an Australian singer-songwriter who draws inspiration from life experiences, embracing challenges and change along the way. She released a powerful dark pop track, “Call It,” from her debut EP, “Love Kills the Monsters,” which successfully showcases her ability to blend genres and create emotional songs resonantly and captivate listeners with her storytelling.
Blending elements of modern pop with soulful and electronic influences, Salore creates a unique sound that completes the vocals, and it is no wonder the track charted on the World Indie Music Chart and European Indie Music Chart ‘Call It’ is also the most streamed song on the EP. The track urges the empowering of one's self to make tough and better decisions when you feel a relationship is out of place. It's a powerful anthem of self-worth, encouraging you to walk away and start again, knowing fully well you aren't the victim.
The track is not just a breakup anthem; it is a testament to self-realisation and courage to seek out the best. The song's message is passed well with a dynamic mix of instruments that builds intensively alongside the artist's vocals with nice storytelling. Her masterful songwriting and distinguished vocals stand out, making it a unique track and cementing her place as a compelling artist.
THE INTERVIEW
What inspired this track, and who do you look up to?
Call It was something that was inspired by a number of things. I wrote it after a bad day at work, and I channeled that frustration into thinking back on other moments I felt frustrated. I was reflecting on a scenario when something is the final straw, when you leave a relationship because you deserve better. This track is about that moment. It’s everyone’s story really, we’ve all been there pretty much.
Musically I listen to a lot of Meg Mac, Baker Boy, Jamiroquai, Teddy Swims, Miles Davis - it’s pretty eclectic! I feel like I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from Florence Welch also.
What lasting impact do you hope this song has on people considering its success worldwide since its release?
I’d like people listening to see themselves or someone they know in this, not necessarily this specific scenario, but there are times when we all feel like we deserve to be treated better, or want better for ourselves. The track is hopefully inspiring people to act on that, to create the future they want and deserve. It’s hopefully empowering!
Throughout the production of this song down to filming its video, were there any challenges and how did you overcome them?
The song itself happened very quickly. I started with the hook and within about 15 minutes everything else flowed. From there we knew there was something in the song we needed to tease out and that it should be on the EP. Production also followed suit and we locked down the track in a day, which is pretty fast to be honest, start to finish. I think because I took a pretty well shaped up demo into production it meant we could be more efficient, and work on enhancing what was there, rather than building most of it live in production. The video was interesting because honestly I’d had this vision for the video pretty much from the beginning, so it was just how we were going to bring it to life, and finding the right partners to extract that vision through directorship, acting, production etc. I think it worked really well. Madison is a friend and a lot of fun, it was instantly her I thought of when I decided to make this video and I’m forever grateful she said yes! We ended up going away for the weekend to take the pressure off, and really enjoy the moment. It made the making of the video a lot of fun!
How did you come up with the title and concept of your EP “Love Kills the Monsters"?
Love Kills the Monsters is the opening track on the EP. It was one of the earlier songs I wrote that made this project. I really enjoyed the play on loving your demons away, it was something that I wanted to encourage in us all - be kinder to yourself, there are so many reasons to have dark times, difficult days, etc that I felt if we were just a bit kinder to ourselves during this time, that we can improve our lives, or that of those around us. It felt quite powerful as a concept. Once that song was written, it was strong enough to take through as the overarching concept for all the tracks and it really set the tone for the other tracks that made the EP. I’m glad I pushed this one through!
As you look forward, what role do you see this release playing in your future projects, and what is the ultimate driving force that keeps you going?
This was the first time I felt ready to tell a story, and so it’s important to me not to make music for the sake of it, but to actually have something to say or a moment to reflect on. For me this EP sets the tone of the sound I was trying to find, encourages me to experiment with things I wouldn’t ordinarily put together, and to back myself to see the next project into fruition. When I can fund it of course!
Ultimately, I want to make good music and continue to have purpose. When either of those things wane I need to find a new direction. I believe that quite strongly. I always want to hone my craft, and I think there’s plenty of work to be done to continually improve and drive for new opportunities to bring music to the world.
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