Shana Sarett, San Francisco opera singer turned Los Angeles vinyl DJ and musician, knows all about the change of seasons. Her new single "Cold" in LA drops today, and it could not be better timed. Over warm drinks we talk about how startling the cold can feel when you’re dressed for sunny days, as LA’s recent rainy season has made apparent. We sit in her Echo Park apartment, which has seen her flourish from transplant to hometown hero in just a few short years, as she reminisces on inspiration for latest single. 

The song begins with, “Remember when it was cold in LA / Remember when it was warm in New York.” LA summers are marked by their monotony–hot days stringing together into one long, feverish season. In these blurry times, our summer loves can be mistaken for mirages and vice versa. It’s only when the area is cut with a cold breeze that we start to leave this dreamlike state. The first gust of fall tends to sober us to our experiences, and haunts us with the fact that we have already lived through them, good or bad. Shana observes, “But baby we forgot to fall in love.” A stark contrast to the phantasmagoria that is an LA summer, crudely interrupted by heartbreak, and most sinister of all, reality. 

While this song definitely has some qualities that make it a contender for an emotionally driven, bicoastal-freelancer anthem, there are distinct moments of warmth and clarity sprinkled throughout her music. Shana expands on this observation as I ask her who she makes her art for:

“For people with a distinct sense for whimsy and nostalgia. When I was a teen the only thing that grounded me was loving the music that I loved, and I hope my music can be an anchor for some people someday. But also I don’t need it to be that serious, it’s for anyone who likes it. For people who love high glamor and absurdity. Life is absolutely ridiculous and all we have are these moments and connections that we try to grasp; I aim to capture the moments through my music.”

Alongside her single, Shana is dropping her first ever music video. Choreographed by Camryn Eakes, the movement and song rides a line between emotional ballad and club mix. The painfully relatable feeling of only understanding something, or someone, once it’s gone is emoted through ethereal imagery throughout the video. Casted, produced and shot by friends of Shana, the video also effortlessly highlights the power of friendship. Similar to time, friendship has the ability to heal and to carry you through. Imagined through the eyes of Seannie Bryan, this theme is represented throughout, including a stand-out scene of sand passed from hand to hand through a line of Shana’s closest friends until there is nothing left, much how memories and pain fade over time. 

On the theme, I will admit, Shana is a longstanding friend of mine.. She mentions it did not dawn on her what the song meant until we held this interview. We expand on how difficult it seems to be to create something truly meaningless, even when that’s the goal, and how beautiful that is. Our interview bleeds into the evening as she starts to get ready for her DJ set. She makes me chickpea pasta and meatballs and I watch her do her makeup, like so many other times before. And as I watch her touch up her mascara in the vanity, I can’t help but to think about how much we are holding for each other when LA feels especially cold.

You can catch Shana and her friends this Friday at Tenants of the Trees celebrating Cold in LA.