Some artists have a “brand.” Others rely on brilliance. Skylet Gunner has both, in abundance.
Her new video “Real Wild Child” is a cover of a 1986 Iggy Pop song, but it would have fit nicely in mid-Sixties’ biker movies where soon-to-be-superstars like Al Kooper and Stephen Stills cut loose on the soundtrack. Skylet’s vocal on the song is one of the best things I’ve heard all year – and her latest single “Leave You Lonely” has an ultra-hooky chorus that you can’t get out of your head.
Skylet is a native New Yorker, but once she discovered the California desert there’s been no turning back. The video for her song “Confessions Of A Murdered Heart” was shot in Joshua Tree – a trippy desert locale that mesmerized Gram Parsons, U2 and countless other musical greats. If you play Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” and Skylet’s “Confessions” back to back, you’d swear they were Joshua Tree twins separated at birth.
Over the years, there have been plenty of artists who have shown both musical and visual greatness: Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Lady Gaga. The newest addition to the pantheon is Skylet Gunner. You’ll be dazzled by the musical/visual world she creates.
Your song “Real Wild Child” is a cover of a 1986 Iggy Pop song, but it feels like a tribute to Nancy Sinatra’s mid-Sixties songs. The song could have been a track from Roger Corman’s 1966 film “The Wild Angels” starring Nancy and Peter Fonda. Were you always a fan of Nancy’s music, or did that grow stronger when you moved to California?
Nancy Sinatra is such an icon and I’ve always listened to her music. I’d say that inspiration from the late 60s/early 70s, in general, is consistent throughout my overall sound. It’s honestly when some of the best music was created, in my opinion. For my cover of “Real Wild Child” by Iggy Pop I worked with Grammy-winning producer Sam Barsh. He’s such an incredible musical force and plays almost every instrument. We literally flipped and recorded the track within a couple of hours and out came this gem. It’s so different from Iggy’s version that people often think it’s a Skylet Gunner original, which I love haha. But yeah, Sam really grasped my vibe and direction and ran with it, especially with his organ solo that just kills. It’s like watching magic unfold when Sam lets loose on the keys.
Can you tell us a little bit about your growing up years in New York? Is Skylet Gunner your real name or artist persona?
Growing up in NYC was like living in a movie and reading about your night on the New York Post’s Page 6 the next day on the train to school. I was kind of like a hippie-goth-poet-fashionista who took creative writing classes at Columbia University and fashion design classes at FIT on the weekends, and sipped cocktails with drag queens on school nights. I was the girl who snuck out late to go clubbing, and asked the teacher for extra credit homework to assure my A+ average. I did gymnastics and dance, and was even a peer tutor in math, but would also sometimes sell weed as a side hustle. I mean, who didn’t, right? I was always entrepreneurial and the city streets were my playground. But the most unique part about growing up in NYC is the access to culture and diversity. Everything is so accessible and so alive all of the time, and it was an amazing place to grow up.
Your birth name is what your parents call your flesh and bones, but the name you give yourself is for your soul. I merged the words “violet” and “sky” and arrived at Skylet. To me, it sounds beautiful and mysterious, kind of like how we interpret the sky to be—vast, moody, and free. In contrast to the dreamy qualities of a violet sky, “Gunnar” is a strong and fierce Nordic name that means “warrior.” I feel that the juxtaposition of the two names embodies my essence.
If you’re trying to be the female Chris Isaak of the 2020s, you’ve succeeded brilliantly with your song “Confessions Of A Murdered Heart.” The video for that song is like a mini-movie, full of mystery and moodiness. What drew you to the California desert as the locale for the video?
Haha well thank you, I love Chris Isaak. I wrote “COAMH” with producer Fred Sargolini (FS) in NY. We’ve worked together over the years, and this is my favorite song we’ve done so far. He really helped me set the tone for the entire project and I’m so grateful for his overall guidance and friendship. Fred is so goddamn talented and just gets it. “COAMH” was my debut single release so it’s very special to me, and I’m really happy with how the video turned out as well. My brilliant friend and creative guru, Bethany Gould, directed and edited it. We conceptualized everything together, but her eye for design and sense of storytelling really took it to the next level. We wanted to create a Quentin Tarantino-inspired visual that was powerful yet subtle, and that would leave the viewer questioning the plot (and themselves): “What’s in the trunk? “Did I just see blood on her foot?” “Whose blood was it?” Or maybe the events that occurred were all a dream, and everything is just symbolic. Kind of like a Salvador Dali painting where there are layers that infiltrate your subconscious. We decided to shoot in Joshua Tree because it’s such a vibe and really pairs well with my music. The landscape and the art direction capture modern, western witchy vibes, like how the twilight sky is framed by Joshua trees and the moon. In general, I’m just obsessed with how bizarre and amazing the desert is. I always get super inspired when I’m out there, and I try to go as often as I can. It’s so surreal and full of mystery; I feel high just being there.
