We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Saticöy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Saticöy below.
Saticöy, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I’ve always said that as long as I can sustain myself on music, I would consider myself successful. The question that we, and any creative in the music industry most likely asks, is what does that look like? For us, it was quite unexpected. A few months following the release of our first single, Faded from Color, we were contacted by someone at Universal Production Music, then known as firstcom. They really loved our sound and wanted to hire us to produce music on spec for film and tv.
It took some time to build out sync catalog, but after a couple years we were able to fully sustain ourselves from this work.
We love this work because it gives us a chance to explore other genres, writing, and production styles without muddying the water of our bands brand/genre identity. Essentially it’s paid practice! Making money in music is incredibly daunting, but sync is the best route to do so. It allows us to make money while being creative AND leaves us with time to continue pursuing our passion projects.
Saticöy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We embarked on this musical adventure back in 2017 with the release of our indie pop debut “Faded from Color.” This track was our introduction to the world of music and set the sonic palette for the releases to come. After playing some shows around LA and releasing a handful of singles that spanned the pandemic and ran the gamut of musical genres, we eventually landed on making Saticöy an alt-rock outfit. We released our first full-length album “Origami” in 2023 to capture this ethos, which marked a shift in our sound and style as we explored new musical territories. We are currently working on 6 new tracks set to be released in 2024 that continue in this vein: stay tuned!
All along the way, we’ve been active on social media as a way to stay connected to our fans and determine how to market ourselves more effectively. One way we began gaining traction there was by launching a unique series in which we challenged ourselves to learn songs by ear and subsequently perform them in 30 seconds or less. It’s been a fun and engaging way to showcase our musical abilities while also providing entertainment and a glimpse into our creative process at the same time, and we’ve met so many amazing people along the way.
What sets us apart from other groups, we believe, is our commitment to authenticity and creativity. Every song we write, every melody we craft, is a genuine expression of who we are as artists. We’re not afraid to experiment with different sounds and genres, always pushing ourselves to evolve and grow; every member of our 4-piece group has to sign off on every melody, harmony, and rhythm, so you know the quality is good! We also have an active community (we call it the Cöy Pond) that we love interacting with and see ourselves as succeeding (and failing) as one; we’re proud that we have been able to “remove the stage” and become part of our community, rather than seeing them as a counterpart to what we do.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
We started a discord this year, and the growth there has been astounding. People are so supportive of us, and really believe in what we’re doing. They get excited when we engage with them, and are always looking for updates and new releases from us. This community has become the most rewarding aspect of being an artist without a doubt. Come through and check it out! It’s a great community. https://discord.gg/saticoy
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
How to drop the ego. As an artist, we all have a healthy amount of ego….. you have to have some ego to believe your art is worth people spending money to see, haha. But the important thing that I think all artists go through as they begin to collaborate is learning how to let that go, or at least how to bypass it to get the best result. Artists should be out to serve the song or project, not their own egos. There have been a number of times where one of us had a strong idea of where a song should go; but we hold our tongue to see where the group takes it as a whole. Most of the time, it ends up in a better place than it would have if one member had taken the reigns and guided the direction on their own.
Contact Info:
- Website: saticoymusic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/saticoy_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saticoyy/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/satic%C3%B6y/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Saticoy
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@saticoy?lang=en
Image Credits
Carolyn Wang, Justin Ogden, Alex Sotak, Taylor Washington