A Chat with Suki Summer (08.05.25)
Emerging singer-songwriter Suki Summer is known for her ethereal voice, genre-blending sound, and deeply personal lyrics. We speak with the songstress about her new single ‘Summer Crush’, forthcoming EP, and more below.
OSR: ‘Summer Crush’ feels incredibly personal. How did the idea for the song first come to you, and was it hard to be that emotionally open?
Summer: I met a girl last summer and we spent a few days together. She was effortlessly captivating, and I knew I wanted to write something about her. It’s always hard to share your most intimate feelings in your music, but I always try to be authentic and open as I want people who listen to be able to connect on more than just a surface level.
OSR: You’ve described the song as being inspired by your first crush on a girl. How important is queer representation in your music, and what do you hope it offers to listeners?
Summer: This is the first time I’ve written music about a queer experience. I found it very freeing. I’ve always felt comfortable about my sexuality and I think queer representation is so important. I hope for listeners, it offers a wider group of people the ability to relate to my music and have the space to be themselves.
OSR: The production of ‘Summer Crush’ is dreamy and intimate. What was your vision for the soundscape, and how did you bring that to life in the studio?
Summer: The music was created by the wonderful Basil Jet, and as soon as I heard it, I felt inspired to right something for it. In the studio, my engineer Neil and I spent the whole day bouncing ideas around and recording countless layers of harmonies and ad-libs.
OSR: That audio snippet at the end of the song, how did that come about, and did you hesitate before including something so raw and real?
Summer: The sample at the end of the song is from a wine-fuelled conversation my friends were having the night before the recording session. We were all talking about how much better dating women is because women are just so incredible! It was a funny moment, and I joked about including the recording in the song. When we added it it was just so fun and silly, so it ended up staying.
OSR: Do you find that songs like this one tend to come together quickly, or was ‘Summer Crush’ an exception in how naturally it flowed?
Summer: All my songwriting tends to happen quickly when I’m feeling inspired and in the mood to write. For me, it’s also a way of processing emotions, so it tends to flow naturally like I’m journaling.
OSR: How has your songwriting evolved over the past year, especially as your audience has grown and your voice has matured?
Summer: I feel I have definitely grown as an artist as well as a person in my private life. I feel I have really found my individual sound and writing style over the last year. I’ve become a lot more confident in my own sound, allowing far more spontaneity in the recording process.
OSR: What artists, past or present, influence the way you write about love, vulnerability, and identity?
Summer: So many artists have inspired me to write. Billie Eilish, Arctic Monkeys, Lana Del Rey and Cigarettes After Sex, in particular, have inspired me with their incredibly poetic lyricism and way of storytelling in their music. Clairo is another artist I adore for her beautiful lyrics, but also her use of harmony and layering in her music. There are definitely so many more artists I am influenced by, I listen to such a wide range of different artists, so it’s hard to narrow it down!
OSR: Has being open about your sexuality changed the way you write or interact with your fans?
Summer: Not at all! I am super open about my sexuality and always have been. With my music, I always want to create a space for any fan to feel safe, accepted and loved.
OSR: Are there any themes or sounds you’re hoping to explore in your next body of work?
Summer: My EP, which I will be releasing on the 28th of May, explores falling in and out of love and the process of healing through various relationships I’ve had, so writing that was a really interesting journey. In terms of other themes I want to explore in the future, who knows. It really depends on what and who inspires me next!
OSR: If someone were hearing your music for the first time through ‘Summer Crush’, what do you hope they take away from it?
Summer: I’d hope, firstly, that it got stuck in their head! I think, really, I would just hope it resonates with them in whatever way they feel it does. ‘Summer Crush’ is light-hearted, flirty and fun, so I hope that vibe would come across to the listener and they would enjoy the summery feel of it and perhaps check out some of my other music.
Many thanks to Suki Summer for speaking with us. Find out more about Suki Summer on her Instagram and Spotify.
