Melodies of Feelings
Tala Silva
Music are emotions, memories, and feelings woven into melodies. For Tala Silva, a Filipina indie artist carving her space in Chicago’s music scene, it’s also a diary of her soul. Blurring the lines between indie, alternative R&B, and house, her music feels like a late-night confession whispered over warm synths and hypnotic beats. Each track with intimacy, pulling listeners into a world where love, longing, and self-discovery dance together.
A Journey of Self-Discovery
Like many first-generation Asian Americans, she initially followed a more traditional route, studying nursing with aspirations of pursuing neuroscience. But a single college course—ironically titled Memes Through Antiquity—unraveled into an existential deep dive. A class discussion on purpose and the fleeting nature of life prompted her to reevaluate her choices.
“Am I doing this for myself, or am I doing this for my parents?” she asked herself. The answer led her to switch gears entirely, embracing the creative life she had always been drawn to. “I realized I didn’t want to work in a cubicle, I didn’t want to be a nurse. What makes me happy is music.”
Her old apartment, Room D812, holds special significance—it was where she made the difficult decision to pursue music and where she recorded her first songs. “So much happened in that space,” she says, “I might even write a song about it one day.”
Her guitar, too, is more than just an instrument—it’s an extension of her expression, the tool that brings her emotions to life.
The Creative Process
Tala bottles emotions into song, distilling fleeting moments into melodies that feel both deeply personal and universally relatable. Her songwriting isn’t formulaic; it’s instinctual, like catching lightning in a bottle. Some tracks take shape in spontaneous jam sessions, where a casual guitar riff with friends morphs into something magical. Others arrive unannounced, fueled by a surge of emotion—love, heartbreak, nostalgia—etched into lyrics before the feeling fades.
Her song Kiss Kiss, for instance, was created on a sleepless flight from New York to Chicago. Inspired by the layered drum patterns of PinkPantheress, she challenged herself to produce something new, resulting in a track that blends electronic textures with her signature warmth. Another song, In Love With You Boy, a song that started as nothing more than the afterglow of a perfect date, proof that joy is just as worthy of being immortalized in music as heartbreak. “Kind of like Taylor Swift, but a happier version.” I joked.
Her influences in this creative process ranges from the R&B stylings of TLC and Beyoncé to the dreamy soundscapes of Norah Jones and Mazzy Star. Rock elements from her father’s record collection seep into her compositions, while modern indie and alternative artists shape her evolving sound.
Romanticizing Life Through Music
Even when Tala isn’t writing from personal experience, she finds inspiration in the stories around her. Sometimes, she turns a friend’s heartbreak into a song, capturing their emotions in a way they might not be able to. “I like to romanticize life a little,” she admits. “It makes things more interesting.”
Her track Late Night encapsulates this storytelling approach. Though not based on her own experience, it paints the picture of a modern day love story, a situationship—dancing in the moment, avoiding the inevitable conversation of ‘what are we?’. The upbeat instrumental contrasts the underlying uncertainty, mimicking the way people mask deeper emotions with temporary joy.
With new music on the horizon, Tala Silva continues to carve her own path, embracing the beauty of uncertainty and the power of self-expression. Whether she’s crafting soft, dreamy love songs or introspective tracks about growth, her music is a reflection of who she is, and who she’s becoming.
