SYD WARWICK
EPK
Based: Vancouver B.C.
Genre: Alt-Folk, Pop
Label: Nevado Records
Publicity: The Syndicate
Website: www.sydwarwick.com
BIOGRAPHY (Standard, Short Version)
Syd Warwick is a singer songwriter based in Vancouver, B.C. Known for her moving performances, the vulnerability of her presence on stage has been said to be both comforting and disarming.
Warwick blends a low-fi nuance with uniquely crafted folk songs, full of pop sensibility and powerfully emotive lyrics. Her songs tend to bear a dark brooding complexity, often exploring the beauty of honesty, and of our deepest sensitivities.
Along with 4 large scale Canadian tours, she has played many of Canada’s most coveted music festivals. Such as, CMW, Rifflandia, Song & Surf Music Festivle, Tiny Lights Music Festivle, Sunfest Country Music Festival and Westward Fest.
In 2020 Warwick was the recipient of both Factor and Creative BC's Artist Development grants, and has since been recording her debut EP, ‘Sad Astra’ which is set for release on August 26th.
BIOGRAPHY (Sad Astra, Long Version)
Behind the ethereal melodies and lush instrumentation of Vancouver-based musician Syd Warwick’s latest EP, Sad Astra, lies a message of empowerment. We’ve been trained to hear empowerment from women as a roar, a yell about injustice. But for Warwick, like many women, it’s discovered in quiet self-exploration and delivered in a moment of reflection.
“I've always wanted to be brave enough to feel the things I need to feel in order to move forward. And that's what these songs are for me,” Warwick says of the EP she wrote and co-produced.
That bravery came at a cost. The process of writing and recording Sad Astra was long and difficult, cycling through evolutions of the songs as her style and message changed. Though it became her labor of love, the collection’s first single, “Lost the Light,” was a song that took longer than usual to reveal itself. “I wrote this song a long time ago, about a young relationship I had had years ago,” Warwick says. “Production-wise, it just, it never felt right. It went through a lot of different evolutions before it became what it is.”
For Warwick, songwriting has shaped her into the person she is today. Writing songs is how she expresses herself and processes the world. Creating Sad Astra has been a progression through healing, as she worked on older songs whose production eluded her and new songs that pushed their way into the world through her creative process. The hardship Warwick experienced in this creative endeavor was amplified by the difficulties of working during a global pandemic and uncertainty about whether or not the music industry would come out okay on the other side of it. For Warwick, being in a room with a friend to record these songs was one way through those hard times — and to see them released feels like a triumph.
Part of what she had to overcome in making the EP was creating the sound she wanted, and finding the right collaborators. That meant letting go of certain rules around the indie folk sound she felt beholden to and exploring more accessible pop production. Finding her sound put her in the same areas as women who have influenced her, including Ashe, Feist, Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, and Kate Bush. “One of the biggest blocks for me was struggling to find a producer who I felt confident could help bring these songs to life, the way in which I had envisioned,” Warwick says. “It really matters who you work with.” Warwick collaborated with producer Scott Currie (Kuri), who she credits with bringing something special to the table. Learning to center herself in the recording process also meant letting go of perfectionism, which had derailed her creativity in the past.
“As an artist, I sometimes forget that my music is not just meant to be something that I put out into the world, it’s also a gift for myself. It has allowed me to experience the world in beautiful, unique ways — ways that are just for me. Remembering this helps to remind me why I work so hard in the first place,” Warwick says.
Syd Warwick previously released EPs under the moniker of Abraham, opening for acts such as Luca Fogale, Haley Blais, Jordan Klassen, and Fionn. Along with four large-scale Canadian tours, she has played many of Canada’s most coveted music festivals, such as CMW, Rifflandia, Westward Fest, Sunfest Country Music Festival and Song & Surf Music Festival. Now preparing to release her highly anticipated debut EP, Syd Warwick is ready to take off. ‘Sad Astra’ is out and available everywhere as of August 26th.
Current Releases:
2022
Single - Lost The Light - June 15th
Single - Sorrow At The End - July 10th
Single - Mercury - August 10th
‘Sad Astra’ Full EP - August 26th
Below are Music Videos related to the listed singles, and EP.