“What If” is about hitting it off with someone for the first time. It’s an ode to New York City, sautereau's first one, and its little wonders we often overlook. She wrotes it reliving those precious moments that were still crisp in her mind. It started with an acoustic guitar groove in an apartment in Manhattan, and a story that felt exciting, moments she felt alive. Today it's accompanied by a beat sautereau hope you get lost in, the same way you lose track of time when you're with someone special and wonder, what if?
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey sautereau, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
I’ve been singing since I can remember, from the car, to school musicals, putting on shows at home… And I loved telling stories and writing, always. I only put the two together around 13 when I started writing songs and after falling in love with the process of recording and arranging my first song at 15, I couldn’t put the guitar down.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
FINNEAS – everything from the words and melodies he writes to his production; I wish I could see how it works in his head, just because I resonate with it so deeply. I’m always curious what he’ll do next, so that’d be a total dream.
Your latest song is 'What If'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
I wrote What If about 2 years after my first time really spending a bit of time in New York. It’s a song that came about pretty fast, just me on my acoustic guitar letting out these memories and vivid images from what I’d been experiencing. I’ve played it live quite a bit over the past couple years and it’s always been a really fun one with a great energy that’s come to inhabit it over time.
Nothing too unusual apart from the fact that I produced it at a distance (Geneva-New York) with Toby May who I co-produced my former single Conversation Hearts (out last November) with as well. I was in New York and really wanted to get this recorded before the winter break. So I recorded a demo here in New York and then he constructed the arrangement in his studio in Geneva, Switzerland and we spent hours over the phone building things and tearing them apart and experimenting. Having worked together on Conversation Hearts, this was great because we’re just on the same page and he hears what I hear, and when we think differently it leads to the right questions being raised so it’s a really fun process. I then recorded vocals at Cove City Studios here in New York, with John Arbuckle who also mixed and mastered the track. There’s a video coming soon!
What are you focussing on right now?
I’m lucky to be studying music at the moment, everything from production, writing, engineering, marketing, and performance so I’m actually really enjoying learning, and learning so much every day, both from classes and those around me, the environment I’m grateful to be in. I think trying to better myself in the areas that matter the most to me, challenge myself in the music I’m making to further forage who I want to be as an artist.
What are you most proud of?
I don’t know that there is one specific thing… I look at everything I do as stepping stones and building blocks that are bringing me towards where I want to go and teaching me a lot along the way.
I’d include everything from getting songs on main Swiss radios to performing at TedX to organising my own concert in New York up on the list as highlights, but also just being able to create music I love with the people I love for the people I love; it’s so gratifying to bring something you hear to life and I’m extremely humbled by it.
What is the biggest challenge of being an artist?
I think our industry today wants us more and more to be able to do everything ourselves, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, it can be overwhelming and put pressure in places where there shouldn’t particularly be any. Especially when the truth is I think that it takes a village for most things to see the light in the entertainment industry. While it can serve as inspiration, the immediacy sought out by our fast paced society, which I’m definitely guilty of too, isn’t always encouraging. It’s a balancing act for sure, and it goes way beyond the music itself.
How do you structure your day?
I’m a little artsy when it comes to that and I don’t always have as much of a structure as I could have. I’m an early bird though so I’ll be up and have breakfast, make coffee, get some work done if I don’t have class. Go for a run or to the gym; pick up my guitar, do some writing, go to a coffee shop to work, go to class and other meetings. All those things will most likely occur, the order might probably change. I like having my habits but I actually enjoy not having every day play out the same, as long as I know what I have planned before each day starts.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
I’m a big foodie so I love looking into new cafes, coffee shops, local restaurants… that’s something my friends come to me for all the time… Working out is something I do rather religiously just because it’s an outlet and it makes me feel good, whether it’s going for a run by the river or taking a pilates class, it’s a moment for myself and those are really important (also value break days!). And going to shows is something I have little words to say how happy I am to be able to do again because there’s nothing like live music and going to those with friends is magical; I love just hanging out with those close to me too.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
I used to all the time… Maybe less today now that I think about it because I’m like trying to get in and out and my showers are quick haha, but if I’m in there enjoying it then I definitely will… Anything that’s stuck in my head that day. The shower’s actually a place I get a lot of ideas for new songs or lyrics because I’m usually talking to myself and I’m like oh that could be a line… So probably potential new songs that will most likely never see the light of day.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m currently working on the production of more songs… Releasing them one by one, I hope to wrap them up in an EP in the near future. But I’m also constantly writing new stuff, and just working at building my audience, inviting people into something they love, a conversation we can share, and hopefully more live shows in the future.
Thank you so much!