Sheridan Reed is an Austin, Texas-based singer/songwriter who made his independent debut in 2018 with his single “We Should Both Be Here.”
After his first cross-country tour in the Fall of 2018, Sheridan released a new music video for his debut single, which has amassed over 200k views on Youtube alone. In 2019, Sheridan Reed followed up with his debut single with his brand new 5-track debut EP 'Serendipity' along with a music video for “Money Maker.”
Both Sheridan’s music videos have seen nothing but success, as well as “Serendipity." which premiered on Live Nation’s Ones to Watch on May 3rd, 2019.
Leading with the delicately intensifying weight and warmth of “Learning to Swim,” Sheridan Reed moves with concepts and the fine art of sound design. Breathy yet increasingly powerful vocals lead into the harder hit of the hook.
Meanwhile, the unique soundscape rains down and descends in unison with the chord progression. It’s an easy ambiance to get lost within, familiar yet fresh in content, and a wonderful way to kick off the album. “Serendipity” as a full project is a conceptually thoughtful journey; insomniacs and deep thinkers will likely connect and revel in the sentiments.
Minimalism takes over in many cases, letting these precise expressions and fragments of ideas strike out in a softly, powerful way. “Money Maker” is a gorgeously soulful and interesting example, a personal highlight, surprisingly memorable, leaving its catchy hook and melodic development lingering in your mind after listening. The further into the playlist you get, the more the overall story-line of love lost, love betrayed, love found, and the beautiful and mysterious events that lead to each.
“Someone To Hold” stands out, the intro creates a sense of drama, and the longer-form melodic verses offer a pop-inspired sentiment with rising anticipation. The hook continues with brightness and pop-inspired accessibility. “Someone To Hold” seems to prove more seductive and juxtaposed, with a free-flowing melody and various layers that intertwine to raise the energy and intensify. Moments that are less poetic and more personal emerge, and these moments allow the listener to feel a sense of understanding and belonging with Sheridan Reed.
At this point in the project “Serendipity,” the dreamlike energy and embrace of the set-up have a definite level of identity. All that’s left is to keep on connecting, keep bridging the gap, say things that feel familiar yet new, and find expressive and brilliant ways to say things that are deeply relatable. Fortunately, Sheridan Reed has mastered this art already, and the latter half of the album sees plenty more intimacy and honesty emerge amidst even more of this hypnotic ambiance.
“That’s Just Life” is another highlight, a little familiar, a little personal, the perfect balance. This track is melancholic enough to tug at the heartstrings but energizing enough to utilize contrast and lift the air in the room. This brings me to the point that a live performance from Sheridan is undoubtedly where these songs would reach incredibly compelling new peaks.
Then the acoustic-led “We Should Both Be Here” pours through and breaks the mould, ending the album in the same way Sheridan Reed kick-started his career. “We Should Both Be Here” is instrumentally pure, partly hopeful, partly tired and broken down. A beautiful piece of music. “Serendipity” in full is a dream to spend time with and absolutely a project I’ll be revisiting.
Back in Austin after his first international performance in Paris in August of 2019, Reed continues to play locally while anticipating several new single releases in the coming months. Stay tuned.
It’s such a pleasure to feature your debut EP 'Serendipity,' to our readers. How long was this project in the making?
Thank you so much for featuring “Serendipity” I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! The project as a whole, from inception to writing, recording, and release all said probably took about two years. All in all, it didn’t take the longest time, and I was working on my next upcoming singles at the time as well, but for those two years, most of my time and energy was poured into it, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. It was a huge leap forward for me as an artist and the direction my music is going, and I can’t wait for you to hear the new stuff.
We also loved the 2 music videos you have out for “We Should Both Be Here” and “Money Maker.” Can you dive into the concepts behind both videos? What was the filming process like for you?
Awesome!! They were the first music videos I’d ever done and had been a blast to create alongside the cast and crew. The same cinematographer, Cassandra Klepac, directed both videos, and we came up with the concepts in tandem. The first music video for “We Should Both Be Here” we put together with cast, crew, location, and concept in about 24 hours halfway through my US tour, and it was intense.
It was my first time really being on video like that, so there was definitely a sense of stepping out of my comfort zone, which I really enjoyed. The concept for that video was essentially a woman getting home from being out with friends to her loft that she shared with an ex or boyfriend that has been gone(me), still feeling his presence all around her and missing him, thinking, “We Should Both Be Here.”
In the second video, we focused much more on motion and movement, trying to emphasize and uplift the concept of internal beauty and beauty in the movement and the impact that can make rather than what’s on the outside.
Congratulations on your first international performance! What was it like to perform in Paris this summer?
Paris was a whirlwind!! I had been travelling for about the previous month leading up to it, so I was definitely road weary but excited. It was a fantastic experience getting to perform abroad, especially in a city I love so much. I’ve had a fascination with Paris for as long as I can remember, and it was a privilege to play there; I can’t wait to go back.
You have an incredible list of successes in just over a year after your debut! What accomplishment are you the proudest of? Do you have any advice for fellow up-and-coming artists?
Rather than accomplishments, I’m probably most proud of having just such a fantastic team of people that I get to work with. They all believe in me and what we’re doing, and everyone is a positive force uplifting each other. As far as advice for upcoming artists, surround yourself with good people that are more talented and more intelligent than you.
Thank you so much for chatting with us! What are you working on next? You mention a few new singles in the coming months, and we can’t wait to hear more!
I’ve got a whole batch of singles, somewhere between 5 and 8, that I’m going to be releasing over the next several months in 2020, along with a couple of live performance music videos for two of them, as well as a new video for “Someone to Hold” from the EP, “Serendipity.” I’m really excited about this new stuff to get out there, I think it shows a lot of growth in my music and direction, and I think people are really going to dig it. Thank you for taking the time and featuring me. I appreciate it!