Syd Silvair · The Moth
Syd Silvair is a New York-based tarot-reader by day and emerging singer/songwriter by night, who started her career behind the scenes as songwriter with Kobalt Music, penning songs and lending her vocals for songs for a variety of different artists and projects, including, Syn Cole‘s “Cool With That,” which landed on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist last year.
Now, as you may recall, last year, Silvair stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist with the release of her Dillon Pace-produced debut single “”Obsidian,” which quickly established her sound — a sound that seemed to draw from and mesh elements of Stevie Nicks‘ early 80s output with New Wave while prominently displaying Silvair’s gossamer vocals. Since the release of “Obsidian,” Silvair’s work has appeared in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, The Fosters, Bold Type, Honest Beauty and others.
Building upon a growing profile, the New York-based singer/songwriter and tarot reader’s debut EP The Reverie is slated for release this year. “My upcoming EP follows a narrative inspired by tarot cards, each song capturing the essence of a different card,” Silvair wrote to me in an email last year. The EP’s material explores the ways in which the divine messages of the tarot card deck manifest themselves within the physical world with each track capturing the essence of a specific card, weaving the card’s meaning into the lyrics and overall mood of the song.
“The Moth,” Reverie EP‘s latest single continues a run of hook-driven slinky pop centered around disco-inspired bass lines, atmospheric synths propulsive drumming, reverb drenched guitars paired with Silvair’s self-assured and sultry vocal delivery. The song is deeply influenced by The Magician card of the tarot deck. Thematically, the song reminds the listener that what’s perceived as a weakness can quickly be transformed into a strength while being a boldly feminist anthem.
“The nurturing aspects of femininity are often misunderstood; the ability to nurture should be treated as a strength, not an obligation,” Silvair says in press notes. “I find that my own feminine nature tends to attract people who are looking to take advantage of it. I’ve connected deeply with The Magician tarot card in an effort to take the power back, to nurture on my own terms. I wrote ‘The Moth’ as both a warning for anyone who believes a woman exists solely to mend their pain, and more importantly as an anthem of empowerment—a reminder that for every bit of our tenderness, there is an equally potent fierceness.”