I’ve been involved in the music world in some shape or form for the majority of my life. When given the opportunity to speak with a local singer/songwriter, I jumped at the chance! Kylie Sambirksy is a student at CU Boulder and is an active member of the CU Music Industry Club on campus, which performs locally several times a year. Kylie was excited to begin speaking about her experience and I watched as her eyes lit up when she spoke of her inspirations. We discussed her music in various lights which brought a full-picture idea of who she is as a musician. I felt enthusiasm for her art from the moment I met her and I am excited for everyone else to hear about her amazing musical experiences.
Kylie describes her music as indie as it consists of acoustic tones from her ukulele and guitar. Although she loves to listen to pop punk such as Panic at the Disco in her private life, she wants her music to feel personal and calming to her audience. She grew up playing the piano, guitar, and ukulele while also singing in her school’s choir. With an obvious background in music, Kylie has the astonishing ability to read sheet music and uses that knowledge in her songwriting.
As we dove deeper into her creative process, Kylie explained that she liked to write about friends’ situations, the hardships in her life, and puts a strong emphasis on the meaning of her lyrics. She wants to create music that inspires others and allows people to understand they are not alone. As someone who is always willing to extend a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on, Kylie loves to write about what the people in her life experience and how she feels in different situations.
“If I’ve written about it, you probably have experience with it or some of your friends have experience with it. I think that having a little piece of your life represented in music is really great to hear.”
Writing music is a tricky business in its attempt to create something new, unique, and special for each audience member who may listen: and Kylie claims to be a perfectionist when it comes to publishing her content. Therefore, she has had some trouble overcoming her struggles with perfection and having the opportunity to create new music. Her most current song is inspired by her cat but she is in the process of trying to figure out exactly how she wants the piece to come across. Additionally, she has a minor in French, so she has a passion for learning other languages in how they differ from English. She has let me in on a sneak peek that she hopes to release all her current music in French to combine her passions into something culturally unique. Personally, I am thrilled with this idea and very excited to see where she goes with this new album concept.
“It’s a way for me to make sense of what’s going on.”
On a more fun note, Kylie has a signature look of using turquoise instruments in her performances. She is slowly transitioning to only using turquoise instruments as she believes this will make her performances fun and exciting! For instance, the majority of her images for publicity are showing her with her turquoise guitar while singing her heart out. As she continues in her musical journey, Kylie hopes to continue learning and writing in an attempt to express herself through the art of music further! She intends to write and perform due to her passion for music, rather than the idea of ticket sales and revenue–- which comes from the deep-seated idea that she wants to emphasize the lyrics in how they can relate to listeners. I for one am beyond excited for any new music of hers!
In my brief conversation with Kylie, I got to know a creative, unique individual who loves to use her passion for music to influence others along the way. She has a beautiful background in music which has influenced her perspective profusely when it comes to how she writes her music. She would like to make everyone aware of her upcoming performance on October 19th, 2023 at Fox Theatre on the Hill! It’s a very cheap, low-commitment event that shows various student artists within the CU Music Industry Club. I highly recommend everyone to look into this event and check out her Spotify account for all new or old music. Be sure to be on the lookout for a woman with a turquoise guitar!