We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sonya Teclai. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sonya below.

Sonya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Loving to sing came naturally to me. I remember loving music since I could remember, and all different kinds of music from Eritrean, Ethio Jazz, Egyptian, Motown, blues, jazz, 90s r&b, hip hop and more would be playing in my house. Along with that my parents said they would play Annie for me on repeat so I wouldn’t cry as a baby, and that all I would do was sing along to it. I think all of those things played a huge part in how I took music in. It was like studying the craft through listening at an early age, but the technique behind making music was a learned craft. I was in choir growing up where we learned music theory, singing techniques, terminology, etc. I was also in a girl group through high school with my cousin and our friends where we wrote our own songs, so that’s where writing started for me. It really sprung through a love of writing poetry and always paying close attention to lyrics when listening to music. I learned more techniques around recording from high school on, and the rest is history.

Knowing what I know now, I think having a personal vocal coach as a child would’ve been a huge hack for strengthening my vocal cords and technique at an early age. I mean, hindsight is always 20/20 because there’s no way my parents would’ve known that at the time. The skills that were most essential to me were writing, crafting melodies and connecting with people. The main obstacle that stood in the way of learning more growing up was financial. My parents did the best they could, and I found loopholes to learn more through my choir directors, mentors, peers and putting myself out there so it ended up working out.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name’s Sonya Teclai and I’m a recording artist, songwriter, author and co-founder of Giant Minds Creative Firm (a creative media agency). I got into music at a young age from joining choir as a kid and sticking with it through high school, being in a girl group and then becoming a solo artist until now. A highlight of my career was my Heatwave EP – released in 2015 – and the Chopped Not Slopped version with Slim K thanks to my manager at the time who made it happen (DDot). I’ve also been honored to have been mentored by the late Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, share a record with him and shared a stage with him. Along with that, I’m honored to have worked with the late Traxamillion (a legendary Bay Area producer/artist). Definitely some of my proudest moments because I came into it as a fan first. I have such a childlike awe when it comes to music…I’ve had it since I was a kid. There are songs, albums, sounds, voices, tones and rhythms that have been such a staple and blueprint in my music journey that get me excited about the way they make me feel and move. I’d like to think that’s something a lot of people share or have in common with music. I just love how pure that feeling is.

I think what I bring to the table is a fresh perspective, a dash of nostalgia, some grit, wit and a unique mix of singing and rapping that reflects what I grew up on and who I am. I’m really excited to roll out my new music and share these sounds. It’s been awhile since I’ve put out some solo work so I’m gearing up to make it special. I’ve also been working hard with my SEND FLOWERS bandmates – Jay Podkulski and Greg Alexander – to give you an alternative sound to what we all do on our own. Together we form this indie meets mainstream music that just feels good. It’s a concoction of what we all naturally make and what’s in our music DNA. We just let the records do the leading when we create. It’s different, and it’s special. We’ve got two singles out now so be sure to check those out: Jay’s Daze and Sweet Talk featuring No New Lovers.

Off of the heels of music, my fiancé and I came together and formed Giant Minds Creative Firm. We specialize in bringing giant ideas to life using mixed media – including photography, music, social marketing and additional services. We started it as artists who found that many other artists are looking for these kinds of creative services to help push/promote their work. We’re working with some really amazing brands and creatives at the moment so it’s been really fulfilling seeing the fruits of that labor.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There are two parts to it for me. The process of making a song is really rewarding from beginning to end – the fact that you have a song playing in your head that are attached to these feelings and then once you lay it down it becomes one you can listen to never gets old. It’s pretty divine. The other part is letting it go and how people connect with it. When people tell me about how a record has played a part in their life it feels like a tethered experience, and in most cases when I’m creating it I’m not thinking of how far it can go or how much it’ll impact someone else. Music is really therapeutic for me and a way to release, so it’s always a surprise to me when people connect to it in the ways they do. Also divine.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Early on in songwriting, I would try to find the most clever ways and obscure words to convey feelings. I was hella young and green. It wasn’t until I went to Compound Studios in ATL and had a writing session that one of the main songwriters taught me that idioms go a long way. He said if you can find a clever way to apply idioms/phrases into your songs, keep the substance through the track, have a catchy melody/hook, great chords with some colorful backgrounds/harmonies then you win. I never forgot that and it’s helped me so much with making music so hopefully that helps an aspiring or current songwriter out there.

Also, set up that home studio if you haven’t already. There are so many ideas and songs you can get out from the comfort of your own home, and you don’t have to worry about the cost per hour at big studios to hash out your ideas. If you’re not signed to a label and curious about how to get your songs on DSPs check out Tunecore, UnitedMasters and/or Distrokid to distribute your record independently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sonyateclai.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonyateclai
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SonyaTeclaiMusic
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sonyateclai
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sonyateclai
• Other: https://www.giantmindscreativefirm.com

Image Credits

Greg Alexander
Ogata