FROM “SOFIA” TO “SYNTHETIC FEEL”: A CONVERSATION WITH VIA CROWE
Via Crowe sees life as a snapshot of moments. While most people document their best and worst memories through a camera lens, Crowe uses a pen and paper to tell the world.
On July 7, at only 17, Crowe put out her first song, a 3 minute and 28 second ode to being lead on, called “Synthetic Feel”. Lyrics list all the things as fake as the protagonists’ relationship, “play money in a paper town,” looking for you to sing along whether you’re going through the same thing, or looking for “sad girl” bop.
Photo by Evie Seetoo
Inspired by artists like Clairo, Big Theif and Soccer Mommy she writes most of her songs acoustically with just a few chords, and lets them take on life from there. The thing she finds herself coming back to throughout her studio time is her jazz roots; these undertones are what sets her apart from other artists. Literally. Crowe has proclaimed herself a new genre: “jindie.” Jazz indie.
“I sang jazz growing up and then I fell in love with indie music and whatever, but I think I still like have those jazz tones when I sing,” Crowe said. “I touch upon a lot of different styles still in the indie genre, but I’d say I do jazz indy. It’s like if I took Amy Winehouse and let's say I took, Phoebe Bridgers.”
Photo by Evie Seetoo
The track starts with just her and a piano, but grows adding in drums and synth, both by Deal Casino member Mike Lombardi who she says is “a menace with the synth,” and a bop-able bass line by Rob Tanako. The rising third quarter of the song, reminiscent of her own emotion in the lyrics as well as “Sofia” by Clairo, was motivated by her producer, Evan Rudenjack. This project, Crowe’s first, was the first time they worked together, but now there’s no going back.
“Evan is the best producer ever. He really has tackled onto the genre that I created, I don't know what even the heck it is, but it's something,” Crowe said. “It's always just fun when I come into the studio, it's like a playground when you're here.”
What’s next for her is, like most other kids her age, college applications, but unlike most her age, her free time is filled with gigs around the Tri-State area and a full-length project (expected Fall 2023). With songs from freshman year to now, writing the album has felt like a commemoration of the end of her childhood, but doesn’t everything deserve a funeral anyway?
Photo by Evie Seetoo