Today we’d like to introduce you to Soraya Sebghati.
Soraya, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in LA, so I always thought trying to work in entertainment and to shoot for the stars was perfectly normal. Ever since I was little, I wanted to be on stage. I was always doing theater productions, both in and out of school. I had a really deep voice, so I usually got cast as one of the lead male roles in plays and musicals. When I hit 13, music grabbed my attention. I think the song “Great Gig in the Sky” is what made me decide that I wanted to sing in a band. So as I met the guys I played music with, I had to pull out of theater because I didn’t have time for all of it.
I’ve been playing with the same four guys for years, and we eventually became Night Talks in 2013. We’ve been rehearsing 2-3 times weekly for ten years together, and we have countless shows and songs under our belts. We really got a boost in the Echo Park scene thanks to Play Like A Girl. They’re a collective of women in music in LA who put on monthly shows comprised solely of female-fronted acts. We played their first show ever at The Echo and were greeted by a sold-out crowd and our first single being on KROQ’s Local’s Only for about a month. It’s been a wild ride ever since.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I always think about how thankful I am for how smooth the road has been so far. I’m so lucky to have been born here in LA, where you’re exposed to so many great places, people, and resources for pursuing music. There’s been a slow-and-steady trajectory for us, and I really just hope it keeps going.
That being said, it is really tough to remember that important things take a lot of time, and that massive success doesn’t happen overnight. It’s so much easier to pay attention to the anomalous pop-stars who explode, seemingly fully-realized, at the age of 17, while there twice as many artists who really don’t become successful until they hit 30, or even later. Whenever I feel nervous about my place in all of this, I just have to remind myself of the good things that have happened that didn’t happen before. I get recognized as “the singer of Night Talks” in public every once in a while, which is probably my favorite thing ever.
Additionally, I hope to provide some representation for women of color (especially us SWANA ladies) in the alt-rock scene. There aren’t a lot of us right now, but I’m really hoping to change that!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Night Talks – what else should we know about the band?
I front an alt-rock band in LA called Night Talks. Something that’s always been a little difficult about us is that it’s tough to compare us to any other band or musician. But that’s also always been a good thing because I think it makes us unique in our own way.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Honestly, all the credit should go to my bandmates and our manager! Jacob Butler is our guitarist/bandleader, Josh Arteaga is on bass, and his brother Cristian is on drums. Our manager is Alexis Sones and she wears almost every hat for us business-wise. We also created our own record label/LLC with her, and I don’t think we’d manage the business well without her.
Contact Info:
- Website: nighttalks.com
- Instagram: @night_talks
Image Credit:
Justin Higuchi
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