SRSQ
Photo by Kristin Cofer
SRSQ (pronounced seer-skew) is the solo project of Kennedy Ashlyn. SRSQ explores nuance, nostalgia, reflection, and reconciliation, manifesting in the aural landscape of her 2018 debut album Unreality. In this interview, she talks about her recent single “Temporal Love,” the personal tolls of intensive touring, and some new songwriting approaches for her next album.
Interview by Tyler Nesler
You recently released a new single, "Temporal Love." In what ways do you think this song explores how nostalgia and memory can become distorted or disorienting? What were some lyrical and musical influences for it?
Temporal Love was inspired by a specific event that lingered in my head and heart for an unusually long time, to the point where it became an overwhelming and confusing feature of my life. I was in a state of perpetual dizziness, like when you first wake up from a dream and you’re confused about where you are, mixed with lust and anxiety all while trying to get back to reality. So that’s where the song came from and what the lyrics are about. I don’t premeditate how to convey emotion through tone or melody; it’s more of a sensory thing that comes to me like a phantom limb. But in retrospect, I think the vast washy chord changes in the choruses and the EBow guitar line in the verses contribute to the feeling of wooziness. And the outro to me is so like, end of a teen romance movie trailer, I was a little worried about it being corny, and maybe it is, but I’m so about it.
Isabel Moreno-Riaño from the band True Body contributes vocals to "Temporal Love." How did this collaboration come about? Did you originally write the song with an additional vocalist in mind?
I met Isabel on tour when I played in Richmond and we hit it off pretty immediately, and I soon fell in love with True Body and listened to them nonstop. When I wrote the track, I couldn’t think of lyrics for verse two, so I kind of passed the buck. She is definitely one of my favorite vocalists and songwriters at the moment. Her ability to convey emotion through vocals is truly beautiful to me. I highly recommend True Body’s new record, and they are wonderful people to support.
A video for "Temporal Love" was also just released. What were some inspirations for its "prom night in an alternate reality" setting? How was your experience directing it? Any pleasant surprises or unanticipated challenges?
I was listening to the rough mix on the plane ride home from the studio on repeat, trying to visualize a world for the song. That’s typically my approach for videos: imagine the world in which the song makes perfect sense, as if it were woven into the tapestry of the universe, then create a loose storyline for structure. I am not a visual thinker at all, it’s a challenge for me and something I have to actively practice, so even once I had the general prom idea and I had the vibe on the “tip of my brain” so to speak, it was a challenge to picture what it would actually look like. It kind of “became” through the making of.
I was also super lucky to have some extremely talented local Dallas artists work with me on the styling, specifically Dillon Camp, Jackie Dunn Smith, and Alex Currington, who helped articulate and create the vision. The biggest lesson I learned through directing and through unexpected challenges (there were a few…sourcing a disco ball last minute, it being a hundred degrees during some shoot days and thirty degrees on others, and an entire mask fiasco that I won’t get into) is that sometimes you have to let go of certain aspects of your original vision. Which is a hard thing to do when you’ve been imagining and working towards something for so long. In the thick of it, it can definitely seem like one wrong step, one deviation will sabotage the entire project. It was crucially fortuitous that I had other artists around to help me gain perspective, and to remind me to set my ego aside and do what works for the art. Sometimes you just have to let things be what they are, and in retrospect I am super grateful for some of the choices we were forced to make, and for the people who helped me make them.
You worked with DP and editor Leigh Violet on both the "Temporal Love" video and your video for the song "Permission" (from your 2018 album Unreality). How did this working relationship develop? What are some aspects of Leigh's photography and editing that you think work particularly well with your sound and aesthetics?
Leigh and I have been dating and living together since 2015 and started working on videos together in 2017 (apart from the ones you mentioned, we also worked together on [the video for] Them Are Us Too’s “Floor” and Drab Majesty’s “Oxytocin”). We took on different roles for each of those videos (always with her behind the camera), and there was definitely a learning curve, because there are different boundaries and different expectations when you’re engaging with someone in a work context rather than a romantic one.
She is meticulous in her commitment to beauty, and she strikes a profound balance between detailed perfection, and letting things be what they are. She is also present for the entire process of the song’s creation, often acts as a sounding board for lyrics and sound design ideas, listens to me rant and rave about every detail of what I’m doing, and understands the context behind the music. I think her intimate understanding of the song allowed us to portray emotional nuance in a very real way.
Both "Temporal Love" and its B-side "Unkept" were recorded with producer Jorge Elbrecht, who has worked with many other current musicians in your milieu such as No Joy, Tamaryn, and Ariel Pink. What did he bring to the recording process which was new for you or which added some unexpected attributes to the songs? Will you be working with him on your upcoming album for 2020?
Working with Jorge was such a delight, we really had a lot of fun and I learned a ton through the process. One of my favorite things about working with him is that he thinks about recording vocals in a similar way that I do, in terms of coming up with phrasing strategies and making slight adjustments to timbre and emphasis. He was down to get as specific as I always want to and we kind of spoke the same language about that stuff, which made the process really energizing and rewarding. We don’t have any current plans to work together, but I hope it happens again at some point.
Your live performances are very emotional and evocative. What is it like to sustain such an intense performance completely by yourself onstage? Is there a particular recent show which stands out for you in terms of positive reinforcement from the setting and the audience?
It is honestly really exhausting in the moment and hard to sustain over time, especially since most of the material I perform live is about deep grief that I don’t necessarily want to revisit over and over, let alone publicly. I had a really long and challenging tour last year where I was simply not anticipating the toll it would take, and I was not equipped to handle it. Luckily I had an extremely rad tour manager (shout out to Hard Look Talent and Touring), other close friends in the touring group, and long distance from my manager (shout out Idle Hands Management), my girlfriend, and my mom. Those people helped me get through it, get home, and get to work on figuring out how to do this extremely intense and emotional job in a healthy and sustainable way. When I played in Austin, Texas recently for Levitation fest, the energy was so right in the room, my energy was so right, and not only was it one of my best shows of 2019, but it was a huge indicator to me that my work is paying off, that I can fucking do this, and I was really proud. I’m still learning, and I’m definitely looking forward to performing new material that is still emotional but that doesn’t leave me gutted every night.
Are there any distinct elements to the forthcoming album that you think differ from your previous work? How do you believe your work has evolved overall since you began recording as SRSQ?
I’m using guitar as my main songwriting instrument lately, which is weird because I don’t play guitar, but it’s just what’s inspiring to me at the moment. I am trying to embrace sonic space, use more organic textures, and trying to cultivate a little more intimacy in some ways, and be a little more thoughtful about how I portray emotion, practice restraint, which is new for me. Not mitigation, just some intentional curation.
What is the anticipated release date for the album? And is there anything else coming up for you in the near future that would like people to know about?
Well, everything is so up in the air right now, I’m almost inclined to push it back a little further since it doesn’t look like touring is going to be an option for a while. But I’ve also been working on something new that I’d like to release sooner, so who knows. There are so many moving pieces involved in a release, so I can’t give any definites for now. I work pretty slowly, I like to let things marinate. But new stuff is coming.
Listen to and buy Temporal Love/Unkempt. Look for SRSQ updates on Dais Records.
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Tyler Nesler is a New York City-based freelance writer and the Founder and Managing Editor of INTERLOCUTOR Magazine.
