In this conversation with Cybele, we dive into the creative world of an emerging artist whose music blends cinematic storytelling with raw emotional truth. From performing at iconic venues like The Apollo and Staples Center to crafting songs inspired by personal experience and vivid imagination, she reveals the artistry and intention behind her work. Through insights into her latest single, influences, and unique approach to songwriting, this interview offers a glimpse into the heart and soul driving her music.
You’ve performed at iconic venues like The Apollo and Staples Center. What has been your most memorable performance so far?
My most memorable performance thus far was probably performing “So Much Better” at the Green Room 42 in NY, just last night! It was such a cathartic experience to be able to express myself through a character who’s fed up with being fed up. The story of Elle Woods (who also coincidentally graduated from Harvard) is one that every woman can relate to. The song is about the moment when you finally stop accepting the bare minimum from people who don’t deserve you, and demand to live a life up to your standards. I truly felt free up on that stage and I felt I leveled up my own standards for what I could and couldn’t tolerate anymore by embodying that character. I’ve never felt more free before in my life on a stage.
How do you approach storytelling in your songs, especially when blending pop and cinematic elements?
I just tell the story. I truly don’t think about the how in my song and I don’t think about music in terms of genres – it is all feeling for me. Certain genres or styles may align better with my mood or the feeling I want to convey but it all stems from the core question: what story do I urgently have to tell and why is it so important to say right now? Music is a form of catharsis for me and I truly tell the story that weighs the most on my heart and soul at the moment. The instrumentation, the production, the arrangement, all of those things are dictated by the lyric and melody. Nonetheless, I will say I am innately drawn towards that very full orchestral sound that a lot of movie soundtracks have because in many ways, I want my music to feel like mini-movie, experiential moments for my listeners. I want my music to become the soundtrack to their life.
Can you describe a moment when you realized music could be more than a passion — that it could be your career?
The moment I realized music could be my career is the moment I began singing. I’ve been truly so lucky to have such supportive parents and I was always told that with consistency, a strategy and focus I could accomplish anything. That has been my experience thus far that whatever energy we put into believing in something (whether that be negative or positive), is what usually manifests. I choose to believe that this is my path and so it will be.
How did “In Another Life” come to life, and what inspired its story?
During my junior year at Harvard, I found myself spiraling into depression and burnout. I felt so estranged from my own sense of self that the only path forward seemed to be taking a semester away from school. In that pause, I searched for every possible source of inspiration, yet the words refused to come. Until one unexpected night. At 2 a.m., pacing restlessly around my kitchen, I suddenly envisioned Michael Jackson sitting calmly on my couch. The image was so vivid that I felt compelled to sing to him. The first words that poured out became the opening lines of “In Another Life.” The song was born from that moment, an exploration of how a connection with someone can be so profound and so unexplainable that it transcends reason. It captures the mystery of being drawn to a soul in ways that defy all logic, as if the bond exists beyond time and circumstance. It’s also about that feeling when someone serves as a muse, not only in love, but inexplicably, as a source of creativity and spirituality as well.
Who are your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your sound?
I have so many musical influences and am endlessly grateful to have access to an incredibly large canon of music available at my fingertips, but I will try to narrow it down, haha! I am incredibly enamored with the romanticism and dramatic, sweeping nature of both Tchaikovsky and Michel Legrand’s melodies. I am particularly inspired by the bittersweet, biting truthfulness of both Billy Joel’s and the Beatles lyricism. I am captivated by the soul and effervescence of Stevie Wonder and Nat King Cole, in both their music and performance. And last but definitely not least, I am spellbound by the effortless mastery of harmony, power and rhythm of Beyoncé and Michael Jackson. These artists are truly instrumental to the sound I currently have.
The song has a cinematic feel — do you imagine visuals or stories while writing your music?
I am a big fan of movies and I often watch cinema or TV as a way to channel the perspectives of other characters in songwriting. In terms of my typical songwriting process, I would basically say I subconsciously visualize an aggrandized, cinematic version of the reality I’m currently living to make the emotion I’m feeling salient enough to write about. I don’t know if it makes me a little delusional, but I naturally see my life as a movie because it is more fun that way and it gives a scope through which I can see my own suffering as character development rather than pointless. I don’t know if that’s just what I do to cope, but thus far it has resulted in a lot of work I’m very proud of.
What’s your favorite instrument to compose with, and why?
I naturally hum melodies and sing into silence. My favorite instrument to compose with is my voice. In terms of determining the harmonic structure of a song, I love the piano. I really enjoy chromatic chord structures and line clichés. I feel that small and subtle changes and transitions in the harmony can often be the most effective and meaningful.
What do you hope listeners feel or take away after hearing “In Another Life”?
I hope listeners feel permission to shamelessly embody their romanticism towards life and towards the world. There is this trend of faking nonchalance or acting like you don’t care. What is the point? Why not just embody the most actualized version of yourself and accept that the people who are meant to love you will accept you? That’s what the whole message of the song is. It’s an anthem of shamelessly embodying the essence and spirit of love, and believing in it even though we’ve been previously cynical or scared. It’s choosing faith in humanity over fear.
What advice would you give to other young musicians trying to balance education and a budding music career?
See your entire life and everything you do as an extension of your artistry. Your schoolwork? That’s material for your writing. Your tests and endless essays? Those are exercises to strengthen the muscle of your creative focus. The presentations? Those are to help you improve your stage presence. When you begin to see everything you do as a manifestation of creative living, that is when you can begin to live unabashedly.
How does your cultural heritage (French, Chinese, and American) play a role in your music and identity?
In a bittersweet way, my fragmented cultural identity has led me to feel that the most solid home I’ll ever have within my life is within myself and within my music. There are moments where I haven’t felt fully embraced into any of these communities and I find that in a way, that sense of displacement forces me to channel that frustration into homecoming through melody and lyrics. Because I am forced to create a home through music, it is even more important to me that my songs soothe the soul and help create peace, clarity and liberation for anyone who listens to them. I want my music to be the remedy and the antidote to any feeling of otherness people might feel in the world. It is a welcoming space for anyone who has ever felt unwelcomed.
