Wirth performing at The Pink Castle. Photo by Luciano Ratto.
[Interview has been edited for length and clarity]
Cyra Wirth is undoubtedly a product of her Seattle lineage. Having spent time with many staples of the ‘90s Seattle grunge scene since she was young, her musical education came not from formal study but from being immersed in the music native to her hometown. With this background, it’s easy to imagine Wirth would join the countless musicians who have leaned hard into the sound of the classic Seattle bands from the era. But a listen through her newest EP One Cold Autumn Evening will immerse you into the internet-fueled genre of hyperpop rather than remind you of the grunge bands she grew up listening to.
Still, Wirth’s music is perfectly tailored to “the damp green, greys, and blues of Seattle” (as her Spotify bio reads). Any listener is sure to be drawn in by the lush soundscape created by her production and melodies; even those who may be skeptical about hyperpop as a whole. Approaching music from the standpoint of emotion rather than technical structure or genre confinement, Wirth seeks to create songs that are honest while still being relatable to whoever might be listening. As she tells me, “I just really wanna make music that people can relate to because that gives me purpose in my life right now.”
The On Ramp: What was your musical upbringing like?
Cyra Wirth: I grew up in a really musical household. My dad has been playing music for forever…and been in various projects. I grew up around a lot of people that were in the grunge era. I had two uncles that were signed to Sub Pop back in the day. I was around some of the guys from Malfunkshun, one of the guys from Pearl Jam was kind of around. My dad really wanted a drummer because he was a bassist, so I got put on drums, for better or for worse…and then I started playing bass and I started playing guitar. My dad had Logic on his computer, so I grew up working on Logic and Garageband. I just started making music, and then came 2020-ish and I was like “maybe I should do this so other people hear it.” And now I’m here.
TOR: From what I know, your music used to be guitar-based and songwriter-y before going in the more production-centered direction. How did you decide to make that transition?
CW: Honestly, I’m so lazy. It just takes a lot more work to record guitars, drums, and bass and stuff. It takes a lot more execution to play guitar parts and to sing. I just really didn’t want to do that, so I just got back into what I’m more used to, which is programming music in DAWs. It’s just easier. You can be so much more lazy. It’s just wonderful.
In September 2022, Wirth released One Cold Autumn Evening, a 4-track EP with songs ranging from the somber “There It Is” to the sugary sweet “Lovelust.” Despite the different feels of each track, the sonic cohesion through the EP is clear, making the whole project an 11 minute journey into Wirth’s musical mindspace.
TOR: What was your overall intent for One Cold Autumn Evening? Did you have any goals or visions for the EP?
CW: It was honestly kinda sporadic. I just had a couple tracks, and then I was like “oh, I can make this into an EP”…I didn’t really have an intent at first, so it’s not very cohesive. That’s something I wanna change in the future…there’s a little bit of cohesion, maybe, sonically. I focused it around this idea of recycling old stuff that I wasn’t using. “One Cold Autumn Evening” and “Lovelust” are both demos from, like, 2016. On the “Lovelust” one, all the synths are on one track that I just sped up from an old track, and I just put drums and vocals and guitar over. And then “One Cold Autumn Evening,” the whole sample that’s chopped is from an old thing I did in probably the same time, 2015 or 2016. I was just messing around with guitars and bass and I just built some other sounds around it. “Down Low” also is that, because I had this track that I couldn’t figure out, and so I just decided to fuck with it.
Wirth’s tendency to use existing material to create something new is ever-present in her musical output, which now includes making remixes. Her newest release is a remix of her track “One Cold Autumn Evening,” which dropped on March 13 (Listen to the track here). Additionally, she hopes to make more remixes in the future, including some for fellow Seattle artists lonelygirl15 and Zookraught.
TOR: How do you approach remixes?
CW: Something that’s really cool about remixes is you already have the context of what the original song sounds like, so I feel like it’s a lot easier to just be weird ‘cause people are more accepting of it…It’s like, “Oh, this is from the original track, so I have a framework to understand this from.” So I kinda just go ham, I just go buck wild. I don’t feel like I need to adhere to a certain structure when I’m doing remixes. I feel like with the regular tracks, there’s a bit more of a need to fit into a structure or make it more “palatable,” you know? That kind of thing.
Wirth performing at High Dive. Photo by Thomas Zapata.
Outside of her solo work, Wirth also plays guitar in the experimental punk group Beautiful Freaks (who performed at Lose Yourself in January). A fairly new member of the band, Wirth’s first show with Freaks was in July 2022 under the First Ave Bridge. I was lucky enough to see this performance firsthand, and Wirth’s presence complemented the group so well that I assumed she was a founding member. Since this first performance, her wild stage presence has become fundamental to the Freaks’ shows, as has her trademark pink Stratocaster complete with a Hello Kitty sticker.
TOR: What’s it like to be in a band that has so much traction in the Seattle punk scene right now?
CW: It’s cool! I mean, it’s the most I’ve ever been committed to a project that I wasn’t really in control of and that’s been kinda crazy. It gets really intense at times ‘cause there’s just a lot of moving parts and it’s a DIY project. There’s not really any management, you know, we’re doing it all ourselves. Recently, people have started coming up and being like…all this stuff about “the music’s really cool,” “I like your guitar playing,” “you’re doing a lot of stuff on stage!” I’m like, “I don’t know, I’m doing my thing.” I don’t really look at the audience much, I don’t really interact with people that much. I just do what I’m doing…I try not to think about it too much ‘cause I feel like that can only lead to toxicity.
TOR: Are you inspired by the punk scene as a whole?
CW: Oh, yeah. My live set, it’s kinda just like as if the rest of Freaks aren’t there and I’m still just doing my thing and I’m singing a little bit, which is really cool. I’ve met, like, all of my best friends now through joining Freaks and being a part of the scene now…there’s just so many cool people. All my favorite people on the planet and it just makes me so happy that I’m here and I’m just hanging out with everybody. ‘Cause everyone’s really nice and really driven…and it’s just been really inspiring to see everybody do what they do. And it keeps me on my toes ‘cause I gotta make cool stuff. There’s a little bit of competition…But at the same time, we all are just doing our things.
Until a few years ago, Wirth tells me she didn’t show her music to anyone. But when she started releasing songs, she was struck by the extent to which her music could have a positive impact on others. The idea that her music could contribute to something greater than herself, she says, is one of the main reasons she keeps going with it.
TOR: What are your overall goals or intents for your music?
CW: I just really wanna make music that people can relate to because that gives me purpose in my life right now. I’ve gotten a couple messages where people have been like, “This really helped me out.” Some dude was literally like, “This song gives me hope to live,” and that just shakes your world, hearing shit like that. ‘Cause it’s like, I have an impact on other people. I honestly often feel a lot of doubt in what I’m making and it can be hard to finish projects, and that made me realize if I’m not just doing this for me, I need to do this to help people. If somebody’s listening and connecting on that level, then that gives me an actual purpose in life beyond just working a stupid fucking job and just having a life that goes absolutely nowhere. That actually means something.
With almost three years of releases under her belt and a few solo shows in the bag, Wirth is just getting started. Though she says she doesn’t like to set big goals for herself, her aspiration and vision are clear, as is what she hopes to accomplish as she keeps making music. Utilizing her grunge roots along with her 21st century immersion in the internet, Wirth is carving out a sound for herself that moves within the new age. At the end of the day, she reminds me, it’s all about creating a genuine expression of herself.
“Don’t be afraid to get weird, don’t be afraid to get freaky,” she says. “That’s the fun of it. That’s the fun of expressing yourself in general. Music is about expressing yourself, so if you’re not expressing yourself, why the fuck are you doing it?”
Stay updated on Wirth’s shows and releases on her website, where you can also find visuals for her songs and a chatroom.
The On Ramp 
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