A Venezuelan-born vocalist, who made the Sunshine Coast her home during the pandemic, Friday released a new song and music video expressing the universal ache of mental health struggles.
Producer and performer Susana Williams began her musical career at the age of 13 in Caracas, Venezuela. In the years since her move to Canada in 1998, Williams has released three albums. Her latest collection of solo work — We’re a Memory — came out in 2021.
Williams’ newest commercial release — an emotion-laden rock track titled Cloudy — is scheduled for issue on June 23 via major streaming platforms, with an accompanying music video that Williams also self-produced.
The new track is brooding, introspective and drenched in symbolism. “In the shadows of my crowded mind / I surrender to the haunted whispers of my heavy heart,” Williams sings over a disconsolate guitar solo by German instrumentalist Robert Diesch, who provided musical textures for Williams’s melody and lyrics.
After performing with Diesch’s band in 2021, Williams began discussing the idea of a collaborative work. Last year Williams and her wife paid a visit to Diesch’s home in the south of Germany.
“I said to him, whatever you write, just send it to me,” recollected Williams. “When he first sent it, I really loved the tone of the tune but I didn’t know what to do with it. One day I woke up in the middle of the night. It was like two or three o’clock in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. I came into the studio and the lyrics and the melody came out within 15 minutes.”
Reflecting on the freshly-written words, Williams recognized she was composing a paean to the complexity of mental health challenges. Many performers she knows have struggled with depression and self-destructive behaviour, both before and during the isolation of COVID-19.
“But they don’t really talk about it,” said Williams. “So I was a little bit hesitant.”
The power of the music’s message drove the project forward. She contacted drummer Chris Moore, who played in the anniversary tour of the Tony Award-nominated jukebox musical Rock of Ages. Moore recorded and sent the drum track from his base in New York City. Williams recorded the bass and string arrangements. Vancouver-based sound engineer Braeden “Pockets” Rangno mixed the results.
“I have always been able to find refuge in music,” said Williams. “If you put me in front of a mic, or in front of an instrument on a stage, my anxiety disappears. Art and music, for me, is a safe space where I can express the darkest of thoughts and the darkest of feelings in a way that is not threatening or offensive to either myself or the listener.”
The complementary music video, a monochromatic meditation on the themes of imprisonment and escape, was edited by Williams herself with a combination of performance recordings and found footage. Hands tear at suffocating cloth. A bandage-bound figure strains for relief from torment. The result is unsettling yet cathartic.
“I’m hoping that people will feel compelled to say, ‘I see myself in that, and that’s scary’,” said Williams. “Or ‘I see myself in that, and thank goodness somebody’s talking about it.’ That’s what I would like to see.”
Cloudy is available on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. Williams, who is also a prolific live performer, lists upcoming local appearances on her website: susanawilliamsmusic.com.
