Q&A: Siiickbrain on Breaking Patterns, Reclaiming Her Power in “MURKY WATER”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
“MURKY WATER” DOESN’T EASE YOU IN — it pulls you under. In one of her most arresting releases to date, Siiickbrain confronts a pattern she and countless women know all too well: no matter how she presented herself, whether as a child, a teenager, or the artist she is today, abusive behavior followed the same trajectory.
“It’s really about an unfortunate pattern that a lot of women find themselves in,” she says to Luna. “We shouldn’t feel like because of the way we dress, we’re at a heightened risk.” The track is raw, unflinching, and deeply personal, yet it resonates universally as a mirror held up to systemic patterns that repeat across generations.
“MURKY WATER” further expands the sonic identity of what is shaping up to be the creative maverick’s most refined body of work to date. The track begins with a hypnotic synth arpeggio and distorted kick drum, laying the foundation for a restrained vocal delivery from SIIICKBRAIN before the energy builds into a trap-influenced breakdown. There, she delivers a verse reflecting on the balance between fragility and ego as she confronts a self-aware god complex — a form of resistance in a world where her downfall can inspire others just as much as her success.
Caroline Miner, the woman behind Siiickbrain, has built a world where music, fashion, and visual identity are inseparable, each piece reinforcing the other. Her strikingly serpentine presence is sharp, hypnotic and impossible to ignore. She doesn’t just exist within genres; she fractures them completely, blending experimental pop, alternative, hip-hop, industrial and electronic influences into something entirely her own.
“MURKY WATER” and its counterpart “PALO SANTO” offer a glimpse into her forthcoming sophomore album HOUNDSTOOTH, a project rooted in the idea of repetition and cycles that persist across personal histories and societal structures. Whether it’s political systems or the shared experiences of women, the album interrogates what it means to be caught in patterns that feel impossible to escape.
“I feel like everyone can relate to these patterns repeating themselves and getting stuck in certain loops,” she says to Luna. If anything, HOUNDSTOOTH is about recognition and naming the cycle in order to break it. “This project is not meant to be something where we're coming together and sulking in our experiences, we are taking back our power on this one… It is literally about regaining our power back, especially serving provocative and owning our bodies and our skin.”
Photo Credit: Bianca Gerasia
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what kind of atmosphere or space do you aim to create for your listeners?
SIIICKBRAIN: I love all my fans, but I love all my girls, gays and theys. Yes ma'am. I always want to provide a space for everyone to feel a little bit less alone.
LUNA: Your newest single “MURKY WATER” just released and I love how it continues to push boundaries within your sound. What inspired the song or the feelings that came to the surface?
SIIICKBRAIN: “MURKY WATER” has a very powerful view. However, the lyrics do have some interesting topics. I feel like a lot of people, upon listening for the first couple of times, they might not realize what I'm talking about, but if you pay attention, it's really about an unfortunate pattern that a lot of women find themselves in. I specifically was thinking when I was a kid and a teen and a young adult, and the artist that I am today, I've had the exact same experiences no matter how I presented myself — whether it's provocative or literally as a child — I've experienced the same behavior from abusive men. It's a crazy realization. It speaks volumes on just the way that women present themselves. We shouldn't feel like because of the way we dress, we're at a heightened risk. We should always be ourselves and be in an environment where we feel comfortable being ourselves. We are in an unfortunate place where, no matter what we do, it's literally this disgusting pattern of behavior of men, and they're going to be everywhere all the time.
LUNA: “PALO SANTO” and “MURKY WATER” are glimpses into your upcoming album. I would love to hear anything that you would like to share on the project and what you wanted to explore this time around?
SIIICKBRAIN: The project ties into the topic of “MURKY WATER.” The album is called Houndstooth, which is a pattern, and it's just literally about patterns repeating themselves, whether it's politically, whether it's in the space of being a female. Honestly, I feel like everyone can relate to these patterns repeating themselves and getting stuck in certain loops. It's about breaking out. “PALO SANTO” specifically is more about bringing in the positive, and less about talking about what the unfortunate realities are that a lot of us have to face. It's more about looking forward to the future and manifesting a better one for ourselves. I think that overall, this project is not meant to be something where we're coming together and sulking in our experiences, we are taking back our power on this one. With my visuals, there's a lot of women and there's a lot of owning our own autonomy. It is literally about regaining our power back, especially serving provocative and owning our bodies and our skin. That is really important to me because I think that we should all have power over autonomy.
LUNA: Looking back from your previous album MY MASOCHISTIC MIND to now, what’s one thing you’ve held onto and one thing you’ve let go of creatively?
SIIICKBRAIN: The honesty of the lyrics and just the reality is something that I always continue to hold on to, but I just wanted it to feel higher vibrational, to be honest. I wanted to have fun. I don't want to lean into the dark with this project, like I want to move forward and I just want to have fun, especially in these dark times. We need it now more than ever.
LUNA: How do you hope listeners — especially your femme audience — can connect with or find power in this new era of music from you? What emotions or messages do you want to leave with them?
SIIICKBRAIN: I don't want it to feel like a trauma bond experience. I would rather have the project resonate with the people it’s meant to resonate with and how they perceive each song for themselves. Letting it be unique to each listener. My hope is just for people to feel a little bit less alone, and hopefully bring some uplifting, positive vibes. There is a world where we go through these things and we come out and we can still be fun and happy and own our autonomy no matter what has gone on and what has happened to us.
LUNA: Your work is very multidisciplinary. Do you approach music visually first — imagining the world, the character, the aesthetic — or does the sound come before everything else?
SIIICKBRAIN: It really depends. I feel like it's unique to each song, to be honest. I definitely, as I'm recording visuals, literally in the moment when I hear a sound, I know exactly where I want it to be and what I want it to look like with the matching visuals.
LUNA: In this current era of your music, how are you expressing yourself visually? Are there specific makeup styles, textures, or aesthetics you’ve been drawn to experimenting with lately?
SIIICKBRAIN: Something that I am experimenting with throughout the album is doing half a wig. The reason behind that is there have been some comments saying it was Skrillex hair, which shout out to Skrillex. It's actually an ode to my past self and dealing with these same patterns. No matter what I looked like, no matter how I presented myself, I've been presented with the same patterns, but in that same sense, it also shows the duality between my past self and my present self, and that also ties into houndstooth, the pattern, which is so black and white.
LUNA: Are there any visual artists, designers, or subcultures that continue to inspire your aesthetic direction?
SIIICKBRAIN: I love Rick Owens. I also have a friend named Catherine and she has a brand called Asylum, and she's a really good friend of mine. Her designs really inspired the world as well. I think that there's a lot of designers that I think are incredible, and I love fashion. I love Kim Shui. I am obsessed with the new Demna for Gucci. I think it's really cool.
LUNA: What is fueling your fire right now that’s pushing you into this new chapter in your career?
SIIICKBRAIN: I have been really paying attention to the things that I genuinely like to get in the car and put on, because I want to literally get to a place where I just want to get in my car and blast my stuff. I feel like in the past, I've really loved my music, but when I want to vibe and jam and have something positive to listen to, it's hard to put on that stuff. I want to have fun with it. I want to get in the car and listen to my own music. I want to be able to play it back-to-back with JT or something. I want it to live in that space.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
SIIICKBRAIN: I'm feeling really excited about my music, but also at the same time, it's really hard to ignore what's going on in the world. I'm trying to just find the positives, to be honest, and I think that it's really difficult, because we're faced with all these challenges that we can only control so much and we can do our part to try and keep the world moving in a better direction. But unfortunately, we're up against something really challenging and dark, and so I'm really just trying to provide more of a positive vibe to lean into. Me, myself, and my personal life, I'm really just trying to stay positive and play that happy music.
Photo Credit: Bianca Gerasia
