Mic-Rated: Saol On Coming Up, Music & More

The highly skilled Saol sits down with Stanisland to talk about her craft.

Having recently dropped her latest release ‘Blood Currency’, Saol is set for a dramatic increase in attention for the quality and habitual skill she dispatches. Her locality is steeped in talent. Famed for the Reading festival, its Hip-hop scene is rich in history through the cultivation of networks that help to build and nurture talent. A product of that environment, Saol is not only one to watch out for, but one to work with.

You’re born and raised in Reading, how would you describe the Hip-Hop scene there?

I’d say the music scene is thriving, there are so many talented artists in Reading, I love the fact that we have artists who have the ability to switch up their sound and still sound like their authentic self.

Where do you draw inspiration from and how does it affect the way you write now, compared to when you first started spitting?

I’ve always used writing music as an outlet for my emotions, the only thing I would say that has changed from the beginning to now, is that my writing abilities have grown while on my own personal journey of growth, I’ve delved into spirituality to be able to understand who I am and I believe that music is my purpose, so I tend to lean more towards conscious rap than commercial. But if it came down to it, I’m capable of doing both.

Your first single, ‘Blood Currency‘ is out now, what’s it about and who produced it?

I didn’t actually have a direction specifically that I was going for, I have this thing where I write random bars that come to mind. The beat was produced by Smiley Smuggler and the recording and engineering was done by Jajii from L2R. When Smiley sent it to me, I realized that a few lines I had pre-written would go well with the beat so I finished writing it and went to record it. I was going through something at the time and used the song as an outlet for my anger.

Why is it important to rep where your from and do you think there is a lack of representation for artists outside of London?

It’s important to represent where you’re from because it’s a huge part of the influence you have, the things you see, and the experiences you go through that make you who you are and I’d definitely say there’s a lack of representation, but it’s more to do with the fact we need to work together as a town to come up with more ways for artists to get the exposure they deserve. I’ve noticed most people aren’t signed with any labels and if they are then it’s usually London based, so a lot of the artists here are working hard to create and publish their work independently which is amazing, but we just don’t have as much opportunities and management teams available to us for us to thrive in comparison to London.

What’s your studio practice like? Do you come with a plan or do you let things happen organically?

I only started my music journey last year, so the times I’ve been to the studio I usually have my music written, the beat chosen and come prepared ready to record, I’d like to get to a stage where I’m able to get into a studio and create something organically, but it’s still early days so it’s a work in progress.

As an artist coming up in the game, what do you want people to know about you?

That’s a good question, I have many different sides to my personality and people will see that through my music over time as I put more music out there. I’m excited to see what their perception is of the music I create and what they take from that. I’m hoping that I can leave a lasting affect of being relatable to those who feel alone in what they’re going through and that I can create healing properties by sharing my story, trauma and struggles in my songs, just like the artists I listened to growing up have done for me. 

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