Satya, courtesy.

Satya has a gorgeous voice and an original sound that effortlessly crosses and synthesizes genres. The Oakland native’s lyrics come from authenticity, examining her feelings and experiences with honesty and grace.

“Writing has been a huge savior for me,” 21-year-old singer-songwriter Satya Hawley said recently in a video interview. “I see it as an outlet; it’s honestly so therapeutic.”

Now living in New Orleans, she’s been writing and recording a follow-up to her 2020 EP, Flourish Against Fracture. Satya writes both by herself and with producer collaborators, who build arrangements around her own song structures, which she’ll take home to record vocals for on the floor of her room.

“It makes me feel better to literally put all my equipment on the floor! I have a blanket, and I just get in my own little world,” she said. “I feel more comfortable when I’m by myself because I can control everything. I love doing crazy stacks of harmonies!”

She’s planning on releasing “Oakland,” the first track from her forthcoming EP, Deep Blue, in April. She’ll debut the song at The New Parish Oakland on May 26.

RIFF: How did you get into making music?

Satya: I grew up in a pretty artsy family. I have a lot of different siblings, and they’re all connected to art in different ways. My mom was a dancer, so there was always some form of music playing in the background. My sisters are very musical, so I can remember dancing with them in the living room and singing. We had a million instruments in the house. I have three sisters, and they’re all like half- or step-, so I grew up like an only child, but with siblings. I think it made me and my siblings become closer ’cause we weren’t around each other constantly, and then we were really happy to see each other when we did.

What’s your songwriting process like?

Satya: Free writing has always been a really big part of my life. I’ve always had a million journals laying around. I’ll set a timer for 10 minutes and just write without lifting up the pen. It’s also helped me trust myself more and get out of my own head. So that’s how I start; usually I’ll free write, and then I’ll go back into the free writing with a highlighter and highlight lines that stand out to me. A lot of times stuff will come out that I didn’t even know that I was feeling!

Sometimes, I’ll just be messing around on guitar or piano, and then words come out. Then I can kind of structure everything. It’s more of a free-flowing process. Playing and writing are kind of two separate things, and then I merge them. I have millions of little ideas—my voice memos are crazy!

Why did you move from Oakland to New Orleans?

Satya: I moved here in 2018 for school, and shortly after that, I decided to do music full time. I moved back to Oakland for a second, and then I came back here. I’ve been here through most of the pandemic. It’s definitely a different vibe from Oakland, but I also find a lot of similarities, too. I was really drawn to New Orleans because people are very genuine, just like in Oakland. Also, a lot of people in Oakland have Southern roots. And I really love Southern hospitality! New Orleans is so unique and has such a rich musical history, and there’s a great energy here; there are so many stories wrapped in everything. …

I hope to play here in New Orleans, too. In the spring or the summer would be nice because a lot of people in New Orleans like outdoor stuff. … There’s usually people performing on really pretty porches or cute little outdoor stages, so I’d love to do that. I’m just waiting on the weather to get warmer!

How did you cope during the pandemic in a new place?

It was definitely a ride! Luckily, I got to spend some time here before the pandemic hit. Once it did, though, I had a great circle of friends I lived with, so that was nice. One cool thing about New Orleans is it’s fairly affordable, so I was living with friends in a house, and then above us in the top units were more of our friends. So, the pandemic was definitely a hard time, but at least we were all together, in our little bubble of people. At that time, I was writing a lot.

Who are your musical inspirations?

Satya: I love India.Arie a lot! Also Corinne Bailey Rae, Prince, Sade and Mazzy Star. But growing up on India’s music in particular, that was a very powerful thing, especially being a Black girl and looking up to a Black woman who was just so in touch with herself, and always just writing about healing and self-love—that was huge for me. I’m always referring to her work. She’s like my north star. I feel like I have a lot of purpose in my music but one of those things is thinking about how heavily she impacted me growing up and how I really want to do the same for others.

Do you have trouble being fit into a box; a genre? Are there artistic decisions or business choices you find yourself have to make?

Satya: Yeah! I still have no idea what “genre” I am! It’s weird ’cause when I think about the different music I listen to, it’s not just one genre. All kinds of music are intertwined. I really used to love folk music when I was younger, and indie rock, but then I also really love soul and R&B. All of those connect to each other. Some of my upcoming stuff has more of a rock vibe. I’d like to say I’m a good mixture of it all. I don’t like the boxes!

Follow Rachel Alm at Twitter.com/thouzenfold and Instagram.com/thousandfold.