Tempo Talks: A Conversation with Sunset Salore
THE RELEASE
Sunset Salore’s debut EP, “Love Kills the Monsters,” is an eclectic blend of genres, beautiful vocals, and reflective lyrics. Premiering on Scenestr and available now, the EP is a mixture of many musical sounds, from smooth jazz to funk that all fall under alternative pop, that will reach a wide variety of listeners. Two of the singles, “Call It” and “Mystery and Magic” were already released and gained a lot of traction through AAA Backstage and The AU Review. The latter especially, for me, stood out with a nice rhythm and vibes that felt like it belonged on television.
There are many themes explored over the course of the EP, including personal growth, self-acceptance, and healing. A big part of that is because of Salore’s emotional and health journey, taking on long-COVID and the isolation during the pandemic. She referred to the EP as “cathartic,” with the result being “to love and accept myself as I am.” The title is reflective of that, with the titular track possessing funky bass lines that I definitely went back to for another listen. As a sucker for beautiful vocals, this EP caught my attention.
The rest of the EP didn’t slouch, either. “Hope” had a slower, jazz style to it that felt soothing. “Calm down,” the opening line of “Feel,” opened up to catchy guitar riffs that rolled into the next track, “Potential.” The instrumentals on that one, combined with Salore’s tone, made it one of my favorite songs on the EP. To end the EP, “Don’t Owe You Pretty” is a heartfelt, slower track that felt cathartic while I was listening to it, almost like my own internal monsters were at bay by the journey’s end.
“Love Kills the Monsters” is a debut to be proud of, and Sunset Salore has no plans of slowing down. She has an upcoming live gig in February 2025 in Melbourne, Australia, where she’ll perform with other artists for a children’s charity. While “Love Kills the Monsters” is on all major streaming platforms, listeners can also purchase a hard copy CD signed by Salore herself through bandcamp. “Love Kills the Monsters” is a musical journey worth taking, so add it to your playlists or your CD collection for a great blend of music, vocals, and meaning.
THE INTERVIEW
Congratulations on releasing your first EP! Can you explain what the title, “Love Kills the Monsters,” means and how it connects to the overall message of the project?
Thank you! The EP was named after the song ‘Love Kills the Monsters’, probably the second song I wrote in the collection of this EP, and the first one we took across into the shortlist. It is the opening track. It was a reflection on inner demons, on things that are like shadows, lurking in the dark waiting to creep out and haunt you. I wanted to explore whether you can love those demons away, be less harsh on yourself or others experiencing similar, and whether we can just be kinder in difficult situations. I extrapolated that out really into a series of messages or moments based on self-reflection or experience that I hung together with funky basslines and grooves as an arc. I hope the takeaway message is one of reflection, growth, love, and unapologetic empowerment.
You mentioned that the EP was influenced by personal struggles, including your experience with long-COVID. How did those challenges shape the music and lyrics on this record?
Yes, there were a lot of challenges that sort of came to a head during the aftermath of the pandemic which made me reflect back on broader challenges or struggles to get to this point. Practically speaking, long-COVID left me fatigued, with severe joint pain, and brain fog. That took several years to pass to a noticeable degree at least, ironically just long enough to catch another bout of COVID again. I struggled with identity during that time. I’d always felt competent at multitasking, and living a complex and dynamic experience, but I got to the point I couldn’t remember the right words to finish my sentences, and that is a really disorientating experience. It took me to a dark place. Coming out the other side of that I was in a reflective space. Learning not to be so hard on myself. It was the first time I’d really given myself enough space to meaningfully reflect, and it was cathartic to do so. I looked back over many years and many experiences and channelled that into this record. So even if a track isn’t about one experience, it looks at micro moments across the possibly many times of feeling similar across the years, and shapes it into an experience lyrically and melodically that I hope people can resonate with. I also didn’t want this to be a self-pitying record, it’s not about being the victim to circumstance, it’s about owning the things that happen, accepting that, and channelling your own empowerment to make changes that work for you.
Each song on the EP tells a different story. Which track was the most personal for you to write, and why?
You’re right, they’re all personal experiences crafted into stories, but I would say ‘Call It’ was the most visceral to write. It was probably also one of the most efficient. I had a bad day at work, and I came home in a bit of a funk and wrote the hook first, then the melody and lyrics in about 15 minutes – it really just flowed. The song is not about that day at work at all, but I held onto the feeling of frustration and annoyance, and reflected back at other times I’ve felt like that in other situations. From there I wanted to sew together a narrative that hopefully embodied that feeling. This track is about someone who is weighing up the micro-moments of things that no longer stack up in a relationship and deciding in that moment to end it. There are multiple experiences put into that song that are really personal to me, and the overall sentiment is absolutely the journey of emotions that presented along the way. I enjoy making a situation productive when I can! It’s a track of empowerment, release, liberation and identity. I think the bassline in this track, and across the EP perhaps, really is about highlighting and driving that empowerment.
You’ve already released singles like Call It and Mystery and Magic to great reception. How did those songs set the tone for the full EP, and how do they fit into the broader narrative of Love Kills The Monsters?
As I mentioned, the EP is a series of moments and narratives, hung together by funky basslines and melodies. Lyrically and thematically they are all about key moments in life which you can choose to be hard on yourself, or choose to be the victim at times, and the narrative here is about taking control of that, flipping it, being kinder to yourself, but also to be more assertive in your decisions – to own them. The ‘monsters’ can be anything, and can be different things to different people, and the ‘love’ can come from ourselves to others, to ourselves, or society in general.
‘Call It’ is really about turning a negative moment into something empowering with regards to ending a relationship that is not working. ‘Mystery and Magic’ is however a positive moment, and really a bit of a love song. The variety in the tracks is reflective of the variety of these moments in real life, just as the variety of monsters or love is also different for each of us, or in different eras.
You’ve received positive reviews from platforms like AAA Backstage and The AU Review. How does it feel to see such a positive response to your work, and how do you handle feedback as an artist?
It’s quite humbling to get such positive feedback to be honest. I was so focused on writing music that I would want to listen to myself and I didn’t want to get distracted by that little voice in my head saying ‘that isn’t good enough to pursue or release’ that I don’t think I really thought about how it might feel to have such a positive response! I’m really grateful for all feedback – negative or positive, as it helps you construct your next work, but this has been overwhelming. Large media outlets as well as smaller independent blogs have been positive alike, and that is incredible to receive. I’ve also had some really positive industry feedback both locally and overseas, and that means a lot too, because they’ve been in your shoes as a ‘newbie’ so to hear positive responses across the board is crazy to me! It’s lovely also to see the numbers come through to back it up, both the singles, ‘Call it’ and ‘Mystery and Magic’ have charted on the European Indie Music Charts, as well as the World Indie Music Charts, with ‘Mystery and Magic’ currently #4 on the World Indie Music Charts for the second week running. That blows my mind regularly! I’m just so grateful to every outlet, large or small, written medium or radio, etc to be sharing the music because, to be honest, that’s what it’s all about isn’t it, enjoying good music!
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