Today we’d like to introduce you to Sehilano.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a child, I loved music more than anything. Headphones were my best friend and I often preferred listening to music over playing games. What started as an interest in music quickly became a desire to transform my own ideas into songs or rhythms. I would use an old-school recorder gifted to me by my aunt to record myself singing or playing the piano. Eventually, I joined the San Diego Children’s Choir and even played guitar in a mariachi class, but these things never stuck. I fantasized about becoming a solo artist that shared my creations with the world.
Once I realized I had this unwavering desire to be a singer, I decided to start learning how to produce music at the age of 13. When the pandemic hit shortly after, I started building instrumental tracks inspired by my favorite artists and focused on this for a few years as I navigated high school. Although I found leisure in creating instrumentals, this skill was built out of necessity – producing my own music meant not having to pay someone else or rely entirely on industry connections.
During my last two years of high school, I began exploring modern R&B artists such as SZA and Summer Walker. I grew up listening to a lot of classic R&B because of my family and this more alternative take on R&B reignited my love for the genre. It inspired me to start writing and recording from a more serious place and with the help of some crazy life events, I made an EP titled “Moments of Clarity.” The soundscape of this EP is quite simple compared to a lot of my productions, but it was the first time I was truly honest in my writing, addressing themes of heartbreak, family troubles, and childhood trauma.
This period in my life was filled with a lot of emotions and so recording songs by myself became a form of catharsis. I wasn’t focused much on my dream of becoming a full-time artist and was mainly creating to survive. Subsequently, I took quite a lengthy break from writing my own music and began forming connections with other artists in my community. Although I was struggling with imposter syndrome and writer’s block, going out to studios and local shows healed me in many ways. I met some of my best friends and long-term collaborators during this time.
Nowadays, I am still creating from a deeply personal place, but also working towards my goal by playing shows, creating promotional content on social media, and working on an album. It has become so important to me that I provide representation for those whose identities are often considered outside the norm. I sometimes fear being too “different” for the mainstream, but if I have always felt that this is my calling, then there must be a reason someone like me is pursuing a dream this big.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s definitely been a rough ride at times and I am quite open about this in my artistry. There was a 2 year period in which I wrote almost no music. At this time, I was dealing with the aftermath of many traumatic events that led me to develop severe anxiety and a vascular disease. This stifled my ability to use my creative mind which ultimately made things harder. My outlet no longer worked and it wasn’t until I sought help that I was able to tap back into being an artist.
This hiatus changed the way I approached music – writing specifically. In my first few years as an artist, I often approached writing from a very carefree place and this was important because it taught me how to put my feelings on paper. However, following this hiatus, writing became a lot more intentional for me and I started leaning into more imagery and storytelling. A great example of this is a song on my upcoming album called “Save the Date.” The song starts in a place of using sarcasm to cope with a messy breakup, but each verse progressively becomes more honest and we end in this existential bridge that asks “is this all my fault?” It’s humorous, but also tells a vivid story of the many emotions that come with the cessation of a long-term relationship.
Because my songs have become such clear reflections of the stages of my life, sometimes it can be challenging to share this with others. Being an open book I think is a crucial part of being an artist, but art can also be a career and that’s where things get complicated. At any level of fame, there will be songs that “underperform” and this is difficult when there’s so much of yourself attached to the art. It can sometimes feel like such a personal failure, but I am actively learning to let myself get distracted by the work, rather than fixating on numbers or how an audience may be receiving it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a singer, songwriter, and producer that is known for my intricate vocal production, honest lyricism, and genre-bending production. I specialize in creating immersive vocal arrangements and emotionally driven songs that blend storytelling with dreamy production. Much of my work draws from raw life experiences, including romance, heartbreak, and personal traumas. As a producer, I build my songs from the ground up, often combining influences from artists like Faith Evans and Lauryn Hill with modern production styles.
One of my proudest moments in recent years actually came from a collaboration: helping bring together the album “Return to Sender” by Monét. Monét and I met each other through a show that we both played in September 2024 which was hosted by our close friend, Pura Coco. We immediately connected when we realized that we both grew up in the South Bay. Shortly after the show, I sent her a few beats and she facetimed back with a song called “Outta State,” asking if I’d like to add any vocals to it. I said “sure!” and sent back a new version with my backings on it. She loved how it sounded so we ended up facetiming the next few days and finished an entire album together. While she was re-recording and filling in missing lyrics, I was stacking background vocals, chopping beats, and mastering the tracks. Since then, we’ve made many songs together including “Over & Over,” which drops on August 7th.
Something that sets me apart as an artist is my ability to hone in on the details. Art has always been what’s driven me and this shows up in my attention to cover art, color scheme, audio production, and precise backing vocals. Even when I am not the original producer of a song, I have to add my own textures, sounds, and cuts to mold it into something that I can resonate with emotionally. That’s where I fall in love with music. Not just the creative process, but the ability to create books of music, sounds of colors, and imagery of sound. At times, it can be overwhelming and I have to force myself to let go of the details, but I think it’s natural to want to keep basking in the feeling of creating something meaningful.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My biggest general piece of advice for those who are starting is to let yourself be very free creatively. Create and LEARN as much as possible! It’s a superpower to be able to independently navigate digital workspaces and use equipment, even if it’s not your forte. For those who are in the audio production space, recreating the instrumentals of your favorite songs is a great way to learn how to make beats.
Something I wish I had known when I was starting out is that community is imperative. From a mental health standpoint, it is important to have those people who understand what it’s like to be an artist. So go to local events, even if it seems scary or out of the ordinary. You will find your people at the most unexpected times.
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@sehilano.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehilano/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sehilano
- Other: https://linktr.ee/sehilano
