We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Monica Sierra. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Monica below.
Hi Monica , thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
I have been creating my entire life, but it wasn’t until 2022 that I started to release music and seek professional opportunities as a musician. I was working a corporate tech job out of college that had no creative elements to it. I felt miserable, but that I was doing the “responsible” and “acceptable” thing. There is a misconception that you must be extremely technically skilled, the best of the best, have a huge following or all the right connections in front of you to really pursue the arts. Now I know that for any passion, you don’t need to wait for everything to be perfect and if you are, what you’re really doing is waiting for permission to be who you want to be. You can and should, just start. If I had known, I would have started sooner. Perfection is not the requirement, authentic expression is.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve been writing songs for as long as I can remember. It came as naturally to me as breathing, not just a passion, but a form of survival and alchemy. I taught myself piano at 13 with the help of YouTube, and soon after, picked up the guitar. As a kid, I’d imagine stories and characters, gazing at the sky while my headphones scored the ongoing movie in my mind. I was a big-time daydreamer, which got me into trouble as a child, but led me into the most incredible creative spaces as an adult.
My entry into the music industry began when I recorded vocals for a producer in New York City. Kena Anae, who had been producing for a major-label artist in the European DJ scene, heard me during a songwriting workshop and approached me about collaborating. He later helped produce my debut album.
Since then, I’ve been brought on for my vocals, songwriting, and production work, but I’ve also been quietly developing skills in photography, graphic design, and editing. I like to think I help the people I work with connect to their most honest expression. There’s nothing to prove, no one to impress, only yourself, the artistic vessel, and the subconscious magic floating in the ethers, waiting to be caught. That’s the energy I try to step into whenever I create.
What sets me apart is my love for the craft and my resourcefulness. These days, it feels like everyone is constantly trying to sell us something. But I make art because it’s who I am. If my work resonates with you, beautiful. If not, that’s okay too. I’m not a business; I’m a soul, radiating what it would, regardless of who’s watching or applauding. I hope that truth shines through in everything I share.
I’m most proud of my album, which took three years to finish. I built an elaborate set for the cover by hand — six-foot flowers, staged clouds, custom lighting — all completely outside of my comfort zone. Just me, my vision, and a hot glue gun against the world.
If your heart is crying out to create but you have no paint, make the paint. Use what’s around you and what’s within you. Everyone’s map looks different, and so will your tools. That’s not just okay, it’s the whole point.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Sharing your art with the world is rewarding when it makes people feel something. Whether its enjoyment because of the music or someone shares that they resonate with the lyrics, it reminds you that artists are the record keepers of the human experience. And that connectedness is a very fulfilling feeling.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
For a long time I worried too much about making music that was impressive and complex to other musicians. And sometimes you will make something musically intricate when inspiration arises, but if your primary focus is on sounding like a music god and not your genuine expression it actually kills the momentum. My little cousin was dancing around to a song I was working on in the other room and I thought it sucked. I thought it was too simple, while he was having the time of his life, allowing fun in. Truthfully, authenticity is magnetic. When you start trying too hard and its not coming from you anymore, you’ve lost the magic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.monicasierra.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicasierramusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@monicaflowers6277
- Soundcloud: https://www.youtube.com/@monicaflowers6277
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Lh5seDGcKJnPXMP2MlKeA
Image Credits
Last Image on stage taken by Marquita Cordero.