Sevana: Songbird by the River

We live in a time where subverting tradition has become more common and at times more productive than simply regurgitating. No audience feels this sentiment more keenly than the infamous millennials. With information constantly at their fingertips, it takes an informed approach to sell them on anything, music included. Music especially. In fact, it requires a special cadence. Some people spend years to study and be able to appreciate this cadence, but some people possess it innately. Sevana is one such person, and it shows in the reception she enjoys in general but also from her contemporaries. Since her ascent into the ranks of Jamaica’s prominent musical acts, her potential and her sounds have matured a great deal, But we never suspected to what extent, until we sat down with the songbird by the river.

Take me back to your favorite time in music, what are some of the features that stand out from that time?

My favorite time in music is before I was really old enough to understand what was going on. I find myself goin– like I looove the sound of Sade, y’understan? “[Sings] I won’t pretend…” That whole period, I think, was an insane time for music. I’d always been a fan of Sade but in terms of being an adult now and diving deep into her and just seeing what it is all about. That stuff. That was one of my favorite times. Also, Nina Simone’s time, which was before Sade’s time, but her just being woman and being bold and political. That was a dope time as well. She was just saying things and I was like, “Woman yuh neva have nuh fear?” I love it.

Back in the day, crooners tended to not be so boxed into love songs and were known for being a lot more political and diverse, as opposed to now. More than the deejay or the rapper, singers made music that lasted through the ages, why do you think that is?

I just think it was more real, it’s not a brand. It wasn’t a brand so much then. Yes it was, but not as money driven. I really relate to that and just for the fact of how they were doing the music at the time; the musicians were in the booth with the artistes- like that kind of energy. Just that live energy, that’s magic that you cannot fake. Can’t duplicate it. It left more of an impression on me, versus the music now, because of that. Because you captured the actual real magic of music coming together. Not even just the music and the voice but the different instruments together in one room. That’s crazy to me.

How significant do you think the change is now, being that we can identify more young soul artistes who are including more diverse content into their music?

I just think overall we’ve become more political as people, more activists, more about political correctness, which to a point can ruin self-expression a little bit. But just for the fact that people want to be educated now about what’s going on the world and wanting to have an opinion, I think is cool. Just the kinds of conversations we’re having now, I think we weren’t having before, or maybe I wasn’t aware of it. I just think the accessibility to these political conversations about like, climate change and racism and sexism. It’s more accessible and it’s cool that people that are like myself and younger care about it. I think the change is significant, just for the fact that we’re talking differently. Our level of conversation as a people, is more…

Evolved?

Yeeah.

Some people will say it’s more difficult now, but I think eventually we had to get to this point.

Of course yeah, and it has to be difficult. It’s going to be difficult, these topics that are coming up now aren’t easy. Can’t just skate over them. So it will be difficult and it’s going to take us a while to figure out the balance between like, even the political correctness. How far should we take it? ‘Cause some people take it to the extreme, I just feel like it’s gonna take us some time to figure it out.

Your single “Justice” plays into the theme of environmental concern, but with all the evidence of the harm we are causing to the environment, there are still people disclaiming things like global warming. What do you think could be causing this kind of dissonance?

I just think– it’s literally, they’re oblivious. They see what’s happening, but there’s no real thought to what’s happening. They don’t think it’s urgent, and also somehow they’ve removed themselves from it. They can see that it’s happening but they’re like “oh the fire that happening, ah really in LA. We nuh get no fire. So it’s all good.” I don’t know, I just don’t think we’ve been able to connect earth with ourselves, which is insane, because we rely directly on earth. We live on earth. Like the air quality–everything is what we will have to suffer through. It’s selfishness, that’s what I think.

At some point there is a renewal that has to happen. You know how there was the whole ice age and everything was frozen for a little bit and then it melted? That has to happen again. Just because of what we’re doing it has to kind of go into a cocoon at some point. But we are in total disharmony with earth and that’s why we can’t see how it will impact us. Right now we just focused on leading our little lives, making the money, and not thinking of anyone outside ourselves, including the neighbour and earth. It’s what causes all this segregation in the world, where we can call one country first world and call another a developing country. Unkind, selfish, thoughtlessness. Like, I don’t get how more people aren’t frightened. That’s crazy to me and it’s going to get drastic. It’s going to get urgent, but by the time it is, enough people will not have done enough. Even then, when it gets urgent, people won’t want to sacrifice the things that make them comfortable.

How do you feel about fusion music and the role it plays in how the music develops?

As humans we– especially if you do music, you can’t stay stuck listening to the same music. I think fusion is inevitable. It’s cool, the idea of being a purist, it’s interesting and maybe even radical but, I don’t know how practical it is. Just because of how we do music. From influences of sounds happening in the world. It’s born out of so many things.

We’re coming from a time when genre was a much bigger deal. However, younger audiences tend to not really think about it at all. As long as it sounds good, they will listen to it. To what extent do you think about it? Is it of any real concern to you and how you think about your music?

My music is heavily Reggae inspired right now. As for what it will sound like moving forward, I have no idea and I don’t really–my approach is that I’m going to create the music and however people want to classify it they are free to. But as far as me setting an intention to be like I’m doing only reggae inspired music, that’s not going to happen. However it comes out, it will come out. It’s going to be a cohesive body of work, like my first album, but I don’t really care about the genre or the idea of genres. If you want to call me ‘whatever’ you can call me ‘whatever’, that’s fine. But as far as me creating, I’m just doing music that feels really good, I like the sounds, it’s useful, it has a good message. That what I care about.

We know that music means a lot to you because we can see that you’ve chosen to pursue it, but how much does it mean to you in spaces where we can’t see?

I’m not in pursuit of music, music is in me. But as far as what you don’t see, it saves me a lot. I’m a writer as well so, from like early high school I started writing things down, feelings. I think that has taught me to be able to track my feelings and where they come from, and as far as me connecting that to music, like writing a song and letting my feelings out is therapeutic. So that saves me, literally from emotional turmoil. As far as me being able to dance to music even, because sometimes you just need to be able to move your body to exert some of the energy and let it out. Just listening to it has brought me peace, it’s renewed my energy, it’s healed me over and over. As far as what you don’t see, that’s it.