An Interview with Sierra Sikora

Sierra Sikora is a singer-songwriter whose work incorporates elements from genres ranging from folk, indie, pop and everything in between. Sierra has released indie hits such as 'Dear Athena',' Horizon Line', and her latest release 'Mint Chip Ice Cream'

In this interview, Sierra shares her journey, school-work balance as well as lets us in on her thrift finds.

1. You lead a double life — that of an artist and a student. How do you organise and structure your life to ensure that you don’t burn out?

Honestly, it can be really hard for me to manage my academics and my music career, in addition to my social life and personal endeavors. I'm not perfect at managing my time, but there are a few things I do to stay organized. I make a lot of to-do lists. I love making lists both for fun and practical reasons. I make to-do lists for individual days, and sometimes full weeks. I have a white board in my room I write it on and I check off as I go, which makes it fun (lol). I also have been trying to make calendars in advance to plan my entire schedule each day, like 2-3 weeks in advance. I don't always stick to it exactly but it helps me to doom scroll less.

2. Being a self-made artist, what advice would you give to someone who wants to release their music?

The biggest piece of advice that I give everyone is to stop waiting. Stop waiting for the right time to start and stop waiting for someone to do things for you, because there is never a right time and there is no guarantee that someone is going to "discover" you. That's not to say don't ask for help, asking for help with music making is great, essential even. But yeah, if you don't know how to do something, learn and do it. And I am guilty of this, but try not to be TOO much of a perfectionist, especially with your first release.

3. If you could collaborate with Olivia Rodrigo on a song, what would you write about?

Oh my gosh, that would be a dream collab. I feel like it would be fun to write about some niche, complex emotion or situation with Olivia. Something that isn't as overwritten as heartbreak or romance, but maybe a mix of both, or something else entirely. I like songs that aren't completely happy or completely sad, or completely one emotion or even two. Because that's what life is like!

4. You have mentioned previously that you thrift quite a lot. What have been your best finds?

My favorite pair of jeans I got for $1, which is definitely up there. I've also thrifted 2-3 pairs of converse and a pair of mini uggs. I honestly can't even list all the finds because there's so many! A lot of my favorite clothes are thrifted.

5. Artists often feel conscious and under-confident in their own creations when they come across other successful works. Is that something you can relate to? If so, how do you deal with it?

Yes, I can definitely relate to that. I do sometimes struggle with comparing my work or my number or my brand to other artists. It helps me to think about the fact that I love so many different artists of different genres and popularity, and they don't take away from each other. Artists are not competing against each other, because there isn't a limited amount of music that people can love. People can love so much music at once, so we should be supporting each other.

6. Some of your songs focus on your own emotions. I am sure journaling helps with that. How do you look at journaling?

Journaling for me is literally me talking to my notebook. I actually write "Dear Journal," at the top of every entry and act like it's a (one-sided) conversation. Journaling is really helpful because I can really just say anything, and sometimes writing something down allows me to think about my emotions in a way that I can't do just in my head. I recommend it to everyone honestly, I think it can truly help with being in touch with yourself. Sometimes I think of song concepts because of something I wrote down in my journal, too.

7. When you release songs based on personal experience with certain people, do you worry about what they might think of you?

I used to, but now I don't really care anymore. My songs come out so long after I write them that by the time I release them, they're usually not even relevant to me anymore. And I feel like most of the people my songs are about should know that just because I'm releasing a song about them doesn't mean that I am still attached to the situation. And maybe some will still judge me, but I am never going to know, so it doesn't affect me. Plus, it's my art! Just because it's technically about you doesn't mean it has to be for you! My art is for me! And for anyone else that finds comfort in it, of course!

Want to join the Sierra Squad? Check Sierra out on her website! here