5 Questions with Sia Ahmad

With a rich and extensive background in Australian music, Sia Ahmad has been creating idiosyncratic sounds over the last decade and more. Using guitar, keyboard, voice and electronics, she works both as singer/composer and improviser, when performing as Shoeb Ahmad, as well as collaborative projects.⁠

Once of acclaimed electronic jazz outfit Tangents and an APRA AMCOS Art Music Award winner, Sia has performed and released a diverse range of original music throughout Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Europe and South Eastern Asia while also working on sound design for dance/theatre, installation pieces and contemporary chamber composition.

double checks against the corner (2023), released on No Gold, is her latest record, bringing together Sia's experimental sound art practice with the purity of honest pop songwriting and deep beat heavy production.

No.1

Since our interview in 2018, lots of things have changed. In that time, you have solidified your practice, with appearances at SXSW and MONA FOMA, as well as collaborations with the Australian Art Orchestra, amongst many more. You also won the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for the sound art component of Work of the Year in 2022. In light of this new album, double checks against the corner, how do you think your practice has evolved since then?

So much has happened in life—let alone creatively! “quiver” was released in 2018 and was so intentional in all its elements that, after that process, there was an element of loss and uncertainty as to what was next. As I worked through that, I wanted to find a way to re-embrace the naïve/innocent instincts of my earliest music-making years, to move away from finesse and go into places that are more raw, more up against each other, while still retaining an intention: to see what would happen and how something would sound if I tried very different approaches in the same song or project.

I feel that double checks against the corner is symbolic of my confidence as a particular kind of singer-songwriter, but also as someone who speaks from experience first. My musical approach is just as personal, coming from a place of my favourite listens, with a desire to smudge sounds together towards new outcomes.

No.2

Although the music you make as Shoeb Ahmad is often described as a solo project, it’s very collaborative. Can you talk about the role of collaborators in your creativity?

I do love meeting people on a musical level and seeing what we draw out of each other. I feel that the notion of a solo project is to conceptualise and create frameworks for external exploration and contribution. Some of my dearest friends are intrinsic to the music I make and I trust them with their creative choices and decision making, knowing they will land their parts in the right place without compromising their strengths. I know I’m lucky to have these great eggs around me, supporting me to keep making [music], and playing their part in my body of work too.

No.3

In the press release, it’s stated that double checks against the corner encapsulates ‘what is seen as a hyper-domestic experience’ and ‘digs deep into the nuances that are left behind closed doors or in text threads’. This act of reveal and conceal seems to be a theme in your work so far, following your albums “quiver” (2018), A Body Full of Tears (2020), and Facade (2021). Can you speak more to this? What draws you to interrogate these themes and undercurrents?

For a long time, I wrote characters [that sought to] explore human nature and tensions in humanity. But there was no first-hand experience; this came from a place of curiosity and fiction. The outcomes ended up becoming more aligned with negative provocation rather than true exploration. Behind this was another layer, where I put up walls that allowed my personal experiences to stay hidden, not playing out as purposefully as they could. [When I arrived at the] point in time where the words behind the album “quiver” came to light, that was the moment when I realised personal reflection and understanding is important to how I convey myself.

If nothing else, these songs and records are diaries to different moments in time. [It doesn’t seek to distinguish itself] from others’ experiences; instead it comes from a place that is honest and pure, no matter how uplifting or bleak. Vulnerability definitely has become an important part of my work more and more. In the early days, this [was achieved] through improvisation and repetition and now that’s [expanded to include] the words that I write and sing.

No.4

Many have gestured to the notion that live music has suffered in a ‘post’-pandemic world, especially as musicians scramble to work again in what can be said to be an oversaturated landscape with few paid opportunities. What new challenges and (perhaps, pleasant) surprises have you observed in this setting?

It has been interesting to see the fervour in which people have taken to live performance again immediately after pandemic lockdowns were lifted. The combination of reconnecting with people in a distinct space while experiencing things in real life and in real time was super potent, but I guess there’s also an element of experience fatigue that kicks in after diving right back in.

The live performance space is one to cherish and I think it’s where craft can be at its most vulnerable and singular. I would like to think there will be a way to find viability within the landscape again but it does feel tough right now and does require a strong sense of resilience to keep at it.

No.5

One thing I’ve noticed about your practice, unlike many Australian artists, is that you tend to have a transnational, multifaceted outlook. Instead of confining yourself to the continent or to a certain genre, your work transcends labels and territories. What do you think resulted in this state of mind?

First and foremost, I was lucky to grow up with a worldly outlook, thinking about movement beyond borders—this is the privilege of the immigrant child I feel, always maintaining a connection with extended family and ancestral locations. There is always a curiosity to discover what’s out there beyond the home, and as the internet strengthens its presence to connect people all over the world, this has become much stronger.

Meeting like-minded people was always of interest to me and art has always been a great way to do this, especially in the digital age. From my formative years to now, being able to travel and connect with others has been a great motivator for me to keep practicing my craft and find new inspiration so if nothing else, this approach helps me to stay grounded and on my toes.