SARIKA Visits Section 36 Music!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! SARIKA is a fantastic singer fresh off the release of her single, "Nightrunner". I was thrilled that she was willing to visit with us to discuss her music, future goals, and more. I’m sure you’ll enjoy everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when SARIKA visits Section 36 Music!

I really enjoyed your recent single, “Nightrunner”. What can you tell me about it?

Thanks so much, I’m so glad you liked it! “Nightrunner” is about one of those on-again, off-again relationships that’s not really good for either person, but you just keep coming back to it because of the familiarity of being with that person. I wanted to approach that situation in a playful, self aware way where you’re kind of like “shit not this again…oh what the hell.” I wrote it in 2020 and it was the first song I wrote in college after a bit of a hiatus, so I felt like it marked a new era for me as a writer because it was more mature and sophisticated than my songs from high school. I finally got around to recording it with a local producer this fall and here we are! It’s also my first release in six months and a new genre for me which is exciting.

You’re a frequent live performer. What is your favorite part about performing on stage?

I’m definitely still working on my performance skills and crowd work, but my favorite part so far has been learning and anticipating how people will react to things you’ve been working on privately for months. I’m not sure if the way I explained that makes any sense but for example when you’re performing for a new crowd there’s lyrics people always react to, lines they usually cheer at, and stage banter they usually laugh at. It’s fun to mix things up every show by trying some new stuff out and also throwing in stuff you know works. I’ve also been trying to incorporate some fun unexpected bits during my sets just so each show is unique—for example at my most recent show I wrote my own outro to Nonsense by Sabrina Carpenter and changed into a pair of Sabrina-esque white platform boots just for that song, and back in November my band and I took a long pause in the middle of a song and I took a shot of vodka on stage. It’s also just fun to perform for people who know your songs well and watching them sing and dance along, that feeling is unmatched!

When did you know music was going to be your “thing”?

I’ve always known to an extent, but it’s been a long journey of not knowing if I was good enough or if it was ‘practical’ enough. I’ve been into music since I was a kid–I grew up playing piano and making up little songs in my head, then started songwriting more formally throughout middle school and high school, and I’ve been singing on and off since around that age. But I’ve gone back and forth a lot about whether to really go for it as a career. Even though I kind of knew I wanted to by the time I finished high school, I went to a regular 4 year university and majored in economics and psychology. (I’m glad I did–I had a great time in college and don’t think I would’ve enjoyed studying music or that I was ready to be releasing music four years ago.) I didn’t really do much music in college and didn’t start pursuing it seriously until about six months ago. But over time it became pretty clear that there’s no other career that feels as right for me.

Who or what would you consider your biggest musical influences?

My music is all quite different so I find myself drawing from a range of influences, but some significant inspirations for my past few releases are Sara Bareilles, Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, and Charli XCX! And Post Malone. (That one comes as more of a surprise to people, but listen to my song “Speedboats” and then his song “Stay” if you don’t believe me. As for Charli, most of the music I have out is not like hers at all but the end of my song “California King” was heavily inspired by her production-wise!)

What would you say is your biggest challenge with your music career?

Definitely perfectionism, anxiety, and self doubt, which are unfortunately common among artists and significant in other aspects of my life. I always tend to second guess myself and put too much weight on other people’s opinions, even though other people often have conflicting opinions and you can never please everybody. Trusting my own judgment and allowing myself to be imperfect, while acknowledging my weaknesses and committing to improving them, is definitely one of my biggest challenges. Part of this has been getting over the fear of being ‘seen’ on social media–I’ve always been a big social media user personally, but using it to promote music is a whole different ball game. Another big challenge for me is consistency in my vocal performance, and generally being an untrained vocalist trying to do my original songs justice. I think I’ve made pretty significant improvements, but I'm still trying to get as much practice performing as possible and test out what my voice can do. 

What are your immediate music goals?

Great question! I have a lot of new goals especially with the new year being so fresh. My biggest one is probably to open for some more established local or touring acts in Boston so I can get experience playing larger venues and continue to grow my audience. I also want to make a music video–haven’t done that yet! And these are a little more lofty, but I’d love for one of my songs to be included in an editorial playlist on Spotify or Apple Music, or to be placed in a movie or TV show. 

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Those are great goals. Hopefully she reaches many of them!  

As always, I want to thank SARIKA for visiting with us, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I'm sure you’ll all want to follow her and see what she has going on. I would follow her on Instagram  and Spotify to make sure you don't miss a thing. You should also visit her website. It's a great way to keep track of everything she has going on.

Thanks again SARIKA, and good luck reaching your goals!