For Finnish artist Sätilä, songwriting always came naturally. Following a period of existential uncertainty, a year abroad of studying in Australia not only reawakened has musical ambitions, but provided him with a toolbox of technical skills to pursue his craft. His new song “Like You Do” is emblematic of his next chapter in music. Sätilä details his struggle to receive love, stemming from his conviction that he’s not worthy of his partner. Though he’s single and working on himself at the moment, he’s a firm believer in the power of self-confidence in order to achieve your goals and build true human connection.
Cliché: What originally motivated you to start studying piano? How did this spark your love of songwriting?
Sätilä: I was seven years old when my parents put me to piano lessons. I guess I was drawn to the piano and other instruments everywhere I could find one. We had a piano in our house, too. I wasn’t very interested in learning songs on the piano so pretty early on I just started to create my own songs as self expression. I never really thought about songwriting was something special, it was just what I did. It wasn’t until I studied songwriting in Sydney where I realised it’s a whole world with tools and techniques.
Why did you decide to move to Sydney to study? What did you learn about yourself and your craft during your time there?
I had had a dream of moving to Australia for a little while and I was feeling very lost with music. I didn’t know what kind of part it had in my life. The year I lived in Sydney definitely revived my dream to make music and I came back to Finland full of purpose and vision for what I wanted to do.
How has indie rock inspired you as an artist?
If I think about specifically indie rock as a genre, I think it has inspired me sound-wise mostly. For me, I’ve heard so many interesting drum, guitar and synth sounds within indie rock.
Talk about your new single, “Like You Do.”
For me this song is a start of a new era. I wrote this song at the start of 2017 already and we started to work on the production at the end of that year with Mikko Pennanen. Pretty much everything musically on the track is by him. Based on our conversations on the sonic vision I had and the aesthetics, he went into his studio to work on the track and managed to nail it extremely well. This song is a cornerstone on a bigger body of work I’ve been working on in the past two years. I am so happy that it’s out and people can get an idea of what Sätilä is now.
Do you ever feel unworthy of love?
Sometimes. I’m not in a relationship at the moment so I don’t feel it that much. Having a partner not only brings out the best of me but also the worst and the things I still need to work on my character and thinking.
Would you say it’s a feeling of inferiority? How has that impacted your previous relationships?
I think so. I think it comes from self doubt and issues with loving oneself but everyone is worthy of love.
What advice would you have for someone who feels like they’re not good enough for their partner?
Talk about it with a friend or a therapist but also with your partner.
Why do you think believing in yourself is so important?
It gives you confidence to go for what you want to do in life and to connect with others. You can’t expect anyone else to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself first.
If your fans could take away one message from your music, what would you want it to be?
I think the actual message is probably different for everyone but I hope they find something that is real but uplifts, builds hope and speaks life.
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Sätilä Confronts Feeling Unworthy of Receiving Love in New Single, “Like You Do.” Photo Credit: Simelius Simelius.
