Skyler Reed is the Atlanta-bred, genre amalgamating songstress whose heart feels most at home when performing in the limelight. Since an early age, the young intoner realized an au courant infatuation with music's greatest Contemporary R&B influencers—Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, and Lauren Hill—thanks to her late Mother. It's a bestowal that would encourage Skyler to follow her artistic passion to the earth's ends.
Based in Los Angeles, she creates Musical fantasias festooned with conjurations of her classically trained vocal capabilities.
On her most recent creative largesse, "Are We There Yet," a song that moves with ageless pleasure, transversing the copulating genres of Soul and R&B.
On "Are We There Yet," Skyler Reed tucks us into a terrene of lyrical suave that resembles that of an elegist. Her narrative is one that's derived from introspection. She sings about a metaphorical car-ride through the fast-paced and unpredictable trajectory of the world we live in, and as each warm and supple melody leaves Skyler's lips, there's a brief moment of bliss that embellishes our lulled mind-sets with a warm prismatic sense of delight. Behind her, a crooning-bass guitar synergizes with an earthy, tight-spaced drumset amongst a melodic orchestration of delectable chord progressions, a felicitous flute, and jaunty electric guitar. What's even more infatuating about the entire playthrough is the lightly carbonated up-swells of Skyler's background harmonies, that in intervals, produce a synergistic opus of cascading vocal bliss.
"Are We There Yet," is a boon in the magnification of Skyler Reid's already proven talents. And as if it were destiny, her Mother's memory lives on through the fluency Skyler displays in her artistry.
Hello Skyler and a warm welcome to BuzzMusic. What's been the most consequential lesson you've learned about yourself during the writing and recording of "Are We There Yet"
My most consequential lesson is that it takes really digging deep to create some of the most meaningful music. The pandemic, like I'm sure for most people, has put me in a more introspective place. With everything slowing down, there's more than enough time to be with my thoughts, reflect, and be reinspired. I've also learned that I am more capable than I've let myself believe. I worked on the production for each song for my upcoming EP, and some I drafted the original composition for. In the past, I would limit myself and only focus on the lyric and melody aspect of the music. I believe that working with my co-producer/songwriter, Jessica Lloyce, has given me more confidence in my musical ability. The "Are We There Yet" single is a dream of mine, with live instrumentation and amazing lyrics. It's an example of me stretching myself as an artist.
If you could try to describe some of the sentiments you aspired to highlight throughout this track, which defining words would you use, and why?
I would say journey and hourglass. This song compares the innocence of childhood coupled with the carefree spirit and lack of awareness for the construct of time, with adulthood and swiftly passing moments. This song stemmed from a great conversation that focused on how different time appeared and the mentalities between childhood and adulthood. As a child, you're constantly going somewhere in the backseat of a car, with no control of your journey. As an adult, you have full control, but you realize it's not as easy as going from point a to point b.
How do you maintain your fervor and prowess when it comes to your vocals? Is there a ritualistic practice you abide by that helps endow your vocal cords with the warmth they exude?
I'm a vocal coach, so I'm constantly warming up my voice with my students. I also take regular voice lessons with my own vocal coach, Dionne Osborne, who was also Drake's vocal coach. She's amazing and has extremely helped me this past year on tapping into more tones and enhancing my weaknesses. On recording days I drink a vocal healing tea I created as a product for my studio, and I eat light. I don't talk much and I do a few light vocal warm-ups. I'm really big on vocal health, and I just make sure my voice is in tiptop shape when I need to record or have a performance. I'm naturally pretty expressive when I sing, and I focus on expressing each line to embody the lyrics. It's something I picked up while studying classical music in college, but I use it every time I sing.
Can you tell us about some of the milestones you are aiming for this year concerning your Music career and the steps you've already taken to reach those goals?
This year has been an unpredictable one, which alters what I would have aimed for with my music. Nevertheless, I am aiming for more blog and playlist placements, so "Are We There Yet" can get the exposure it needs. The single has already been placed on several playlists and been featured in several blogs, which I am grateful for. I'm looking forward to the music video shoot later this month, which I almost did not do due to COVID. My next big goal is to get it placed in TV and Film.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
I'm inspired by art. Reading, music, and movies fuel my mind with ideas. Lately, I've been reading a super insightful book on Whitney Houston titled "A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston" by Robyn Crawford. I absolutely love learning about my favorite artists. I've also been studying music and watching documentaries on Billie Holiday, Phyllis Hyman, and more. Since wrapping most of the music for my upcoming EP, I started getting back into discovering music through my mixes on Tidal, listening to artists' full discographies, and checking out blogs. I've been really inspired by Emily King lately, and I can't get enough of Jhene Aiko's Chilombo album and John Legend's Bigger Love album.