Interview by Carol Wright : Photographer: Rafael Leyva
We got the chance to chat with singer Barbara Teresa about her latest single “saturday night” and what it was like working on the music video.
You recently graduated high school but are already diving into your career. Has the pandemic given you a lot of time to focus and create new music?
It definitely has. I’m a firm believer that there’s a silver lining to everything, so although this pandemic has been extremely hard on me (and the rest of the world), I don’t think I would’ve had the chance to be making music right now if it hadn’t happened in the first place. I’m on a gap year, and that decision was mainly influenced by COVID and all of its implications. Because I’m taking a break from academic work, I’ve been able to devote 100% of my time since August to music, whether it be through learning more about production, writing more songs than ever before, or actually releasing music.
Through a contest you got the chance to be featured in a collaboration with Caribbean pop band, Anakena. What did you learn from that experience?
Winning that contest was awesome! Firstly, it gave me a bit of a confidence boost, which I’ll never say no to, haha… but more importantly, I got the opportunity to record in a professional studio for the first time — instead of at home, which is where I record all of my songs — and I got to meet extremely talented musicians who are all devoted to their craft. I went to the studio for one day, and not only got to experience the part of the recording process that the artist goes through, but also the producer. I got to sit with the producer/engineer while other musicians were recording their parts, and that definitely made me more excited about the production aspect of music-making, which I’m devoting a lot of time to right now.
Tell us about your song “saturday night.” What story are you hoping to tell through the song?
I wrote “saturday night” last summer after a breakup, and while the song started off as an improvisation game with a friend, it ended up turning into something extremely honest. I wanted to convey the feeling of helplessness that overcomes you when you can’t get over a person, no matter how hard you try or with how many people you use to forget the situation. I had gotten to a point where my happiness was almost dependent on this guy. They were the one person I would call every day, the first person I’d go to tell everything, and when they were gone, I wanted to find something to replace the void they left but nothing worked. That’s the story I tried to tell in my song. I will say though, that it is part of a bigger body of work coming soon, and it’s only a small part of a bigger story.
How involved were you in the creative process for the music video for “saturday night?”
I was very involved! I love storytelling in all its forms, and visual media has always been a huge passion of mine, so naturally, I wanted to play a big role in the making of this music video. It was a very collaborative process between my cousin Maria Gabriela Cardenas (who directed the video) and me. We both came up with the concept, she created a detailed shot list, we found a director of photography whose work we both liked, we went shopping for props together, and when we filmed, she let me toss around and try my own ideas out. We also edited the whole video ourselves, all in one 11 hour sitting. I feel very lucky to be working with someone who has much more experience than me, has a creative vision very similar to mine, and is so flexible with all of my input. We’re going to be working on more projects together very soon, which I’m looking forward to more than anything.
Was it rewarding to see the song come to life through the music video?
Seeing “saturday night” come together through the music video was so rewarding. We filmed before the song was even out, and the whole experience made me look forward to the song being released even more than before. Because the production process of a song can be so long (especially when you are a raging perfectionist like me), I was getting a bit sick of the track, but as soon as we shot the music video and got to work on editing, I fell in love with it all over again, a big reason being because of the high quality of the final product we created.
What advice do you have for aspiring singers?
This might sound like silly or unsubstantial advice, but the number one most important thing I tell anyone who wants to make music is to just go for it and to let go of any fear of judgment you may have. We only have a limited time on this Earth, and I feel like the last thing anyone wants is to regret not doing something they desperately wanted to in their lifetime. So in order to live without regrets… make music, see how things go, and who knows? It might just change your life. And there’s also a chance it might not, but I think it’s worth a go.
