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Sky Ferreiratreats music as a science.
Co-produced with Jorge Elbrecht and co-written with Tamaryn, Dont Forget ranks among Ferreiras most declarative pop tracks.
Speaking about the new single, Ferreira is less precise.
Its understandable, considering she hasnt spoken to press much since her debut album.
She speaks for another hour, even longer than our first chat.
During both conversations, Ferreira sounds confident thatMasochismwill arrive sooner than later even this year, perhaps.
Ifthe momentum of Dont ForgetcarriesMasochismto release, itll once again be thanks to her more than anyone else.
It was the same thing, where I really had to take control over it, she says.
I realized thats what works for me.
I havent really talked about anything to anyone, really, when it comes to my music.
At least publicly, I havent been putting myself out there, so to speak.
I felt like I needed to do it.
So I wanna dial it back a little, in that sense.
I think itll feel a lot more real once its out.
Im hoping that these streaming services dont compress the fuck out of the song.
Then it just sounds completely different.
But not in a biblical sense.
I felt very stifled for a long time, and I still do.
Its about being put in these situations for a long time.
Its a bit of freeing myself, but not in the most conventional way.
Because I dont feel free, necessarily.
Im not trying to throw everyone under the bus yet.
Then my whole record becomes that.
In my mind its like,You dont get to do that to me.
Youre taken advantage of from a very early age.
A lot of people feel ownership over you because you signed a piece of paper.
And these contracts, the rules dont apply to them, apparently.
Its like being an ant against, I dont know, Godzilla.
Theres a lot of little details that people dont understand about what Ive dealt with.
And its not just my label.
Its this entertainment-industry thing as a whole.
But I did feel, for a long time, like Ive been stuck in a cage.
My approach to things has never been fully conventional.
Maybe some of it from before seems more conventional now, but at the time it wasnt.
I do feel misunderstood to a lot of people.
And a lot of people project things onto me.
Life feels a bit corseted, a lot of the time.
Someones tightening it more and more, and then eventually, youre going to burst.
That song is about that its not really about revenge, its more like, I see through this.
I dont like people to manipulate me, but also, I have a lot of doubt.
I guess thats where, originally, theMasochismtitle came from.
Its not like, sexual; its more like emotional masochism.
And Ive been trying to learn how to be less like that.
I just want some control over my music and my career again.
And I dont want to be at the mercy of people ever again.
Thats what I mean by being stifled.
What has it been like to work with them?
Jorge is in my band right now, hes going on my tour with me.
We have a really good dynamic.
But God forbid an artist puts their name on something.
You collaborate with someone and people assume you dont do any of it.
Hes not trying to coddle you while doing it or something.
He really does listen.
Theres no ego involved.
And he has good taste.
And Tamaryn, shes one of my favorite songwriters and Ive always wanted to work with her.
I think shes an important artist too.
She writes such interesting, cool pop songs for herself.
She gets to the point of things, but also I like her sense of humor.
Its not like haha funny, but I like the bite in her songs.
Our musics different, and it still sounds like me, but she got me.
Its cool because Ive never really been able to work with many women before too.
Theyre just not announced.
I think theres a date thing that theyre figuring out.
I mean, a lot of its written.
I dont want people thinking I havent started the album or something.
A lot of its done.
Its just more mixing, rerecording certain parts, changing certain lyrics.
Hopefully it doesnt feel like Im on the clock, like on a Japanese game show.
I would like to be able to do that without that weighing me down.
But maybe it will just be these songs.
The songs actually a weird song; the chorus is weird.
People who heard it were like, Why isnt this chorus bigger?
In a way, its minimal.
But the song isnt minimal whatsoever.
I realized that about my music, Im just not a minimal person.
When I think of pop music, I lean towards the 80s and 90s without meaning to.
Its not that Im trying to sound like that.
When Im listening to music, its like,Why do I even like this part?
The song doesnt sound as complicated as what it is, but thats the point.
It shouldnt sound complicated to your ear.
The thing in the song that was important to me is the dynamic of it.
I dont think its a very quiet song.
I dont know what version everyone has been hearing.
Its not a quiet song.Its also very poppy.
I had other versions too, and originally the other versions were supposed to come out.
Im not gonna dance around words.
Lets just say I wasnt planning on everything being like, ten years or whatever.
I was supposed to follow it up with this song originally.
Downhill is almost like the song Night Time, My Time, but not.
Even my last album, its not like theres one sound.
I think its the overall sentiment behind my stuff.
I feel like my perspective and where I am as an artist gives me more freedom to do that.
Thats what ties it all in together.
Cause it does sound like a full album.
And I think people want that, instead of just one-off singles.
Its not like what happened with Downhill; its not this hurry-up-and-wait thing anymore.
Or, Im not going to let it be anymore.
I love how Im trying to word things without getting in trouble, right from the first interview.
Theyre like, Shes never doing an interview again!
I didnt before, but now I feel like theres some momentum behind it.
Things are starting to line up more and starting to make more sense.
But Id rather each album be good and have some lasting power.
I care more about quality than quantity, so to speak.
I do feel like it still sounds like me.
I dont like just one punch in of song or one punch in of genre.
Its really finding a balance and trying to tie it together.
Basically, I just like to make what I like, and my point gets across somehow in between.
I hope I said stuff.
I know its going a little in circles.
You have a lot to get out.
Its been a very long process.
I think in some ways, thats what this album represents.
Not that it would seem dated, but in the sense of where I am mentally.
There is such a thing of having too much time with something, for sure.
Ive been editingthis video, and I had to do the artwork myself.
There were some photos that could have been used that just didnt seem right.
When youre editing yourself for days and hours on end, you start seeing things.
I dont know if you noticed by now, but Im very picky.
I feel like Im pretty hands-on with everything I do.
When I collaborate with people, I give them their space to do it, obviously.
Once I turned the song in, I felt so relieved.
I thought I was done with trying to figure out the puzzle of it.
Now, its turned into doing that but with the video.
Im even annoyed by it!
I guess its a little bit like PTSD or something.
I would really panic about it.
You said earlier that you had some stuff that you were still working on with Ariel.
Its not like Im not releasing music till 2023.
The album is written.
Ive yet to be able to do that.
Thats why Ive been so particular with this song.
I even feel like the second song is going to be more of a statement for me.
Im going to put my foot down about certain things.
I wasnt touring and I didnt make a video for the last song.
I thought I was going to be doing that stuff, but that didnt happen.
Im probably expected to do all the work, but I dont really care anymore.
It took me a long time to get back here, but Im back.
Im not gonna back down that easily.
Ive done all the groundwork, and its ready, and Im ready.
This interview has been edited and condensed from two conversations for length and clarity.
