cool people know: Stella Santana (Q & A)
ALTERNATIVE POP AND NEO-SOUL ARTIST STELLA SANTANA — invites the spring season’s carefree and flirty energy with her latest single, “Shark Bite”. The unique blend of genres in her music highlights her dedication to creating music that transcends trends and instead reflects her authenticity. With a grassroots approach to building her audience, this LA-based creative is pushing past the norms of today’s music industry with a passionate desire for true community at the forefront.
Read below to dive into Stella’s journey as an artist, the process behind creating “Shark Bite”, and more ⋆｡°✩
SIICK: If you could describe the ideal setting to listen to “Shark Bite” for the first time, what would that be?
STELLA: It honestly makes me think of the movie Chef where they’re driving around and creating community with their food truck. I imagine the song playing in an outdoor space — maybe some string lights, wine and beer, and you’re just sitting and enjoying the environment. It feels very earthy to me.
SIICK: What sparked the creation of the track? What did the process look like?
STELLA: I made this song back in the summer of 2023 with Ben Cina. He’s such a fast writer, it’s crazy – he’s like a machine. When we first met (thanks to mutual friends), I wasn’t thinking of writing for myself. I just wanted to make music. We’d work with a producer to create a soundscape, then I would look through the lyrics in Ben’s phone to find the song that matched what we’d created — something we could authentically deliver and tell a cohesive story with. “Shark Bite” was one of the many songs we made once we started getting a rhythm of working intentionally on my own music, rather than just creating for fun. The production in the track was inspired by Big Thief’s song “Shark Smile”.
SIICK: Do you remember when you decided music was something you wanted to start creating?
STELLA: I grew up around music and always loved it, but I didn’t want to be an artist myself because, in my mind, I associated it with the way being an artist was for my dad. Being famous, getting so much attention, and having people around you for the wrong reasons was something I didn’t want. I felt lucky to have the opportunity to try other things. But then I was reading a book called “The War of Art,” which explores this concept of the resistance in your mind. It’s the idea that there is a thing that you need to do, but instead of pursuing it, you will find ways to keep yourself from it. For me, music was that thing. When I’d consider trying it, I’d hear the voice in my head saying it’s too late or it was unoriginal because my dad is a musician. I started pushing past that resistance and would set small, achievable goals for myself, like recording a cover or practice in GarageBand — things I hadn’t explored because I had fully rejected the idea of making music in the first place. I finally allowed myself to try. It was scary, but I kept doing it until I was an artist.
SIICK: What is a goal or aspiration that motivates you?
STELLA: I’d love to share my music with more people in an authentic way. I’m not looking for listeners on a mass scale — I don’t think I’m that kind of artist — but I do want people who aren’t familiar with me yet, but would be fans, to hear it. I like a grassroots approach to finding my audience, rather than paying platforms for exposure. Organic music blogs that tap into smaller, more engaged people used to be huge in the early 2000s, and I feel like they’re coming back. We’re also talking about planning a small, intimate tour rooted in building community that pushes the experience beyond just the music.
stella’s sonic picks —
What’s a track on your spring playlist?
Something by Black Coffee. The afro-house and jazz elements remind me of being on a rooftop in New York. But I’m also thinking about being in the park with my son, playing his favorite song, “Buffalo Soldier”.
What’s one of your most listened to albums that has impacted you?
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and Nelly Furtado’s Woah, Nelly! I really loved listening to those in high school and college.
Who’s an underrated artist more people should be listening to?
Subculture. He’s super talented and cool. I did a song with him called “Eternal Sunshine” and it was such a good experience.
