Sonny Siminski: Finding the Balance Between Escape and Expression

For Sonny Siminski, songwriting has never been a hobby — it’s a lifeline. “A first aid kit to life’s trials,” as he puts it. The self-taught musician has spent over half his life “noodling and doodling,” weaving emotion into melody as a way to escape the mundane and process the chaos of everyday life. After releasing two EPs in 2025 — *Giveth*, a lo-fi collection recorded at home, and *Expert Introvert*, a heavier, more collaborative effort — he’s now entering a new creative chapter with producer and engineer Simon Willey (Prince, Bryan Ferry, Damon Albarn). Their sessions mark a point of synthesis: a blending of intimacy and scale, solitude and collaboration. We caught up with him to talk about how his songwriting has evolved, the long emotional arc behind certain tracks, and how it feels to finally stop hiding behind a band name and just be himself.

You describe songwriting as both an escape from the mundane and a “first aid kit to life’s trials.” Can you tell me about a specific moment or song where that process really helped you through something personal?

The initial creation of a song usually comes from an emotional response — though at the time, I don’t always know what’s behind it. It’s often much later, after the song has been written, played, and lived with, that I realise what it’s really about. One song in particular relates to an old friend who sadly took his own life in 2020. It’s still unfinished, and I plan to release it among my next set of recordings. That’s the thing — sometimes the process takes years. It’s as much about healing as it is about finishing a song.

You’ve said the discovery aspect of music-making inspires you most — that transformation from “nonsensical” emotion into something listenable. What does that moment of transformation usually look like for you?

It often starts with a raw emotion and my beaten-up old classical guitar from a charity shop. That combination is a special place to be — a bit chaotic, really. I record everything; I’ve got about 1,300 snippets on my phone right now. The transformation starts when something just *sticks* — when I keep coming back to it. That’s when I know it’s time to shape those subconscious meanderings into a consciously structured song.

Your two EPs, Giveth and Expert Introvert, seem to sit at opposite ends — one lo-fi and intimate, the other heavier and more collaborative. How do you see those two sides of yourself coming together in the new project with Simon Willey?

I do most of my writing at home on that same classical guitar, which I love, but I also enjoy turning the amp on and playing loud with a band. I’m trying to create a balance — not to separate those worlds but to make something whole from them. I want to retain the innocence of a song’s first spark while bringing in deep bass lines or heavy guitar riffs to give it power and movement. I’ve always had a clear vision; I just haven’t been in a position to fully realise it until now.

You mentioned 2025 has been a year to “reflect and just be me.” What have you learned about yourself as an artist in that space between collaboration and solitude?

This year has been about realising that it’s okay to just be *me*. It’s taken a long time to understand that. For years, I thought I needed a band to sound bigger or to hide behind, or that I needed a certain name or identity to make things work. But it suddenly hit me — the thing I’d been avoiding was the very thing that created it all in the first place. The years of experimenting have taught me so much, but it’s a relief to finally stop hiding and just embrace what I do naturally.

Working with someone like Simon Willey, who’s collaborated with major names like Prince and Damon Albarn, must open up new creative possibilities. What have you discovered or experimented with so far that’s surprised you?

Si and I had been trying to get a session booked for ages, and we finally managed it recently — it was wonderful. There wasn’t really a plan; we just turned up and saw what happened. I picked a song I’d been sitting on, and he set up a mic on my nylon-string guitar. Before long, we were experimenting with synths and talking about how to bring all these ideas in my head to life. It’s incredibly refreshing to work with someone who just *gets* what you’re trying to say musically and has the technical skill to make it happen quickly. It feels like the beginning of something really special.