Sierra Lauren
Sierra Lauren, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a classically trained pianist. She was raised in a musically inclined family and was exposed to a wide variety of music. She says that there is not a time that she can remember when music did not play a big part in her life. She recalls singing tunes by Nirvana and Bon Jovi late at night while playing Rock Band with friends and family. She is an avid concert goer and her exposure to prominent music artists ranging from Taylor Swift to Twenty-One Pilots has been a major influence on her songwriting style.
Her music career started at the age of four, performing piano concerts, after being initiated in the Suzuki style of piano instruction. By the time she was seven years old, she was performing concerts in such distinguished venues as Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. With rigorous training and disciplined practice, she was afforded the opportunity at age 14 to perform with the Suzuki masters in Matsumoto, Japan. Speaking about the experience, she said, “Between the hours of practice, the sightseeing and experiencing new things like trying Wasabi ice cream, it was just a great opportunity and an experience I’ll never forget.”
The following year Sierra’s mother encouraged her to attend a songwriting conference, enabling her life focus and creative energies to shift to becoming a songwriter. She said, “It’s the creative process that I love. The act of taking a blank page and creating something new that can connect with people emotionally is a real driving force for me.”
Having received positive reactions and encouragement from her peers in high school after hearing her perform her music, at age 16, she started recording music out of her family’s basement studio. She sent recordings of two of her original songs, “Nightmares” and “There’s Still Love” to several studios in the Seattle area. Her talent and potential were immediately recognized by producer Eric Lilavois of London Bridge Studio. He encouraged her to write three more songs and release an EP. The result of her efforts is her debut EP titled True North which was released on 24 November 2016. The EP consists of five songs: “Nightmares,” “Chapter Two,” “What Do You Do,” “True North,” and “There’s Still Love.” She told The News Tribune.com, “It’s mostly alternative. I really wanted it to be diverse, so I could connect to as many people as possible because people have different tastes.”
Speaking about the songs on the EP, Sierra said, “These songs were written during a tough time for me. I had just gone through a breakup and I turned to songwriting to sort through the emotions I was feeling. A lot of that journey for me ended up being evident in these songs. I didn’t really set out to write a ‘how to sort through a break-up’ CD, but the music ended up telling a story. Now that it’s out there, I hope it’s helpful for other people who might be going through similar situations.”
Sierra Lauren’s beautiful vocals are featured on the new inspirational CD titled Worth of Souls from Stone Angel Music and produced by Paul Cardall. The song that she sings on the album is called “How Can It Be?” Her music is available on Apple iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon.com, Spotify, and SierraLaurenMusic.com.
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