Creating music is a messy, but cathartic process for Savannah Conley. All of the emotions that are plaguing her can flow forth. It’s a way to calm her restless mind. “I’ve always equated it to vomiting,” she says. “When you vomit, you feel really sick, throw up, and feel better. Writing is kind of like that for me.” Her stormy perception of herself has proven much harder to release. Unfortunately, vocalizing her feelings has not softened her view of herself and her perceived flaws. “I would love to say it has, but it hasn’t. That’s definitely something I’m working on.” Her songs are a marker of personal evolution. “I like to think/hope that one doesn’t happen without the other. If you’re growing as a person, your music will too and the opposite would apply too. But then there are moments where I have felt massively bad and gotten good songs out of it so who knows. But I hope it’s true that I always come out better than how I started.”
Savannah’s new album, Playing the Part of You is Me, is largely a reflection of a solitary heart. During the process, Savannah made life-changing, professional connections. “It’s eleven songs long, most written alone and some written with friends of mine in Nashville, LA and London in 2021-2022. Jeremy Lutito is the producer on it. Working with him was truly the best musical experience of my life. We clicked in a way I hadn’t experienced prior to this before. It felt seamless and so natural.” The tracks are a bloodletting of her romantic wounds. Past partners have pressured her to perform or fit a certain role. “I seem to attract people who would prefer me to be different than I am,” she laments. Creating healthy boundaries in your life without running away and shutting everyone out is a difficult balance to strike. “I didn’t know what a boundary was really growing up, so I think when I discovered them my pendulum swung pretty hard to place really intense, immovable walls. But now, I think I have softened and am learning to assert boundaries in a loving way even when that’s hard. Valuing yourself is a bitch.” So how do you prevent someone from crushing the integrity of your soul between their grimy little hands? You can’t deny who you are, no matter how much you contort yourself. “I think there is always this core value within yourself that you know to be true. You can feel it all the time and choose to ignore it. Ignoring it sometimes gives you experiences that teach you things, but if you ignore it for too long it causes you to call your identity into question. There’s a fine line to walk between knowing yourself and growth, comfortability and exploration. When you’re walking that line it can be easy to let someone in who tells you what you are. It takes the pressure off. You just can’t give into that shit.” Sadly, this album did not compel her to fall in love with herself, “but let me know if you have any tricks for that.” Self-loathing is a dragon that many spend their entire lives trying to slay. Playing the Part of You is Me drops May 12th.
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Savannah Conley Autopsies Her Failed Relationships in New Album, “Playing the Part of You is Me.” Photo Credit: Sophia Matinazad.
