Channeling her coming-of-age angst into sarcastic girlhood anthems, Lily Sind is a singer-songwriter with stories to share. Her witty observations and self-deprecating honesty take listeners by surprise, as she blends her indie-pop sensibility with rock and folk undertones. Influenced by popstars like Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo, as well as up-and-coming indie artists like Audrey Hobert and Annie DiRusso, Lily Sind crafts a unique societal commentary and hopes her listeners feel “invited to the debrief” through her songs. Her main goal is and always has been catharsis and camaraderie.
With “break my pattern” out now, we took some time to hear from Lily Sind. Read below to learn more about Lily Sind, the story behind “break my pattern,” and what’s to come.
Hi Lily Sind! Let’s start with how did you choose your artist name?
It’s my real name. 🙂 I pondered a few different name combos, like using my first and middle name, but I liked the ring of the one-syllable last name. It feels strong to me.
What city are you from, and where are you based now?
I’m an LA girl, born and raised. Right now, I split my time between LA and Boston, where I attend Berklee College of Music. I have also had the privilege of traveling a lot – last year, I spent four months studying in Valencia, Spain, and this year, I’m grateful to be attending the Semester at Sea study abroad program.
At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in music? How did you get started?
I’ve always been a singer, and I started writing songs after the quarantine phase of COVID. Everyone was going back to their lives, and I was returning to high school, and I just felt like, suddenly, I had a ton to write about. I released two singles in high school, and my commitment to pursuing music as a career began when I decided to go to Berklee. I figured, with the opportunity in front of me, I had to go after it.
How would you describe your sound?
My music is playful indie-pop. It’s full of sarcastic lyrics, punchy vocals, and fun electric guitar riffs.
Do you have any hobbies outside of music? What do you do to stay creative?
Yes! I love to read, thrift for clothes, hang out at the beach, do Pilates, have dinner with friends and family… Still within music, but not related to my artistry, I am super interested in the music supervision field.
In terms of creativity, I find that I feel most inspired when I’m living my life to the fullest and putting myself out there – that’s where the stories come from. I also get inspired by the music I listen to, the books I read, and the shows I watch.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
Right now, my “Big 3” are Audrey Hobert, Annie DiRusso, and Alessi Rose. I really resonate with Audrey’s writing style and commitment to fun, chaotic pop. Annie is so good at capturing the emotions I love to capture – giddiness, frustration, yearning – and I love how big her instrumentation feels. With Alessi, her rawness and femininity really inspire me, and career-wise, it brings me such joy to watch Alessi’s dedication to her audience. I got to see her in Dublin last year and you could feel her connection with them and gratitude for the opportunities they’ve given her.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your music career so far?
The release of “break my pattern” might be my proudest moment because I got to watch it grow from a tiny idea to a fully realized song over the course of many months. I worked with great musicians on it and have learned so much about who I am as an artist. I spent a lot of time thinking about the rollout and I’m thrilled that it’s out for everyone to hear.
What would you say are the greatest lessons that you’ve learned so far?
I’ve learned how rewarding it is to practice consistently and put in the hours. For me, whether it’s an hour a day in the practice room going through vocal warmups and repertoire, or pushing myself to write a certain amount of songs in a certain timeframe, doing the work and having fun and believing in the progress is so motivating. Then, once you have a piece of art that you’re proud of, organization becomes even more necessary to see it through!
What are your musical goals for the next year?
I would love to co-write a bunch this year, for my artist project and for others. I also hope to record more music and perform more!
Now onto your release, “break my pattern.” What inspired this song? What is “break my pattern” about?
“break my pattern” started because I had yet another crush on the “wrong” guy. I realized that this was indeed a pattern, and that I was sick of it. So, BMP is a plea for the “right” guy to come along and “break” my pattern. It explores the frustration of not having found the right love interest and the beauty in believing that a great love is right around the corner.
What was the inspiration behind the cover artwork for “break my pattern?”
One of BMP’s quintessential lines is “somebody get a drummer in here” and that was the inspo for the cover artwork. In the song, the lyric is literally about wanting to bring instruments into the song, and it’s also about the idea of needing help regulating my thoughts. I liked the message that I could be the “drummer in here” in the cover, and actually can rely on myself to handle these emotions. I wanted the shot to feel fun, colorful, and mid-action, and my photographer Ryan Sassouni helped bring the vision to life.
What was the creative process like when making “break my pattern?”
So fun. I wrote the song for a songwriting assignment in one of my classes where we had to incorporate a rhythmic onomatopoeia – I chose the word “break.” I originally had a different chorus that really emphasized a musical break, for the assignment, and ended up changing it later, but there are still onomatopoeia vibes during the “help me break” part of my song. Next, I got to work on the song’s arrangement in a class called “Singer-songwriter and the Band,” where I brought in different versions and workshopped it with a live band. Then last summer, back home in LA, I recorded the song with my producer Esteban Obando. I knew from my workshopping what instrumentation I wanted and how I wanted it to feel, but Esteban and I created specific parts and had such a blast experimenting with sounds and vibes. Pepe Hidalgo Ramos recorded live drums for us asynchronously in the fall, Scott Thomas Robinson mixed the song in the spring, and Mat Leffler-Schulman mastered it shortly after. It was such a labor of love, and I couldn’t have done it without the help of such incredible collaborators.
How long did it take to complete “break my pattern?”
About a year! I didn’t want to rush it and enjoyed the process so much.
What is your favorite lyric in “break my pattern” and why?
I will always love the opening: “he changed the rhythm of my thoughts/now they’re irregular and hot/somebody get a drummer in here to help me handle…” I just love the idea that thoughts can come and go at different paces and that they can happen in different rhythms. Thought patterns themselves are super interesting to me.
I also have an affection for the lyric “you better show up sometime soon” because there is no doubt or fear in it, only faith and sincerity that love awaits. But, I want to be clear that the message of the song is not “you better show up sometime soon because we need love to be fulfilled and it’s bad to be alone,” but more like “you better show up sometime soon because love is great and sounds fun right now.”
What do you hope fans take away from “break my pattern” and your music in general?
Really I just hope people listen to “break my pattern” and feel seen. I want it to be an outlet for them to express their own struggles and hopes. When they hear my music, my dream is that they are entertained and galvanized into confidence. The goal of my artist project is catharsis and camaraderie.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects, or do you have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
Let’s just say…keep your eyes peeled for more music. This is a big summer for me!
Where can we follow you on social media?
Thank you for the great interview; wish you much continued success!
