A conversation with Sunset Salore
From the creative heart of Melbourne (Naarm/Boonwurung) comes Sunset Salore, a singer-songwriter whose music reflects a journey of growth, resilience, and transformation. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, she draws deeply from her own life experiences, embracing the challenges and changes that have shaped her. This introspection takes center stage in her debut EP, Love Kills the Monsters, a bold first step into solo artistry. The record weaves together funky bass lines, sultry grooves, and an alternative pop sensibility, offering a collection of stories told with striking emotional depth.
For Sunset Salore, this project represents more than music—it’s a reflection of her personal evolution. “The songs are about acknowledging moments that have passed, recognizing how they defined me, and learning to grow from them,” she explains. Writing and recording the EP became a cathartic process, a way to process the struggles of the past few years and find a brighter, more hopeful outlook. The title itself speaks to her mindset. “It’s the idea that love—whether for yourself or others—can quiet your inner demons. Maybe, just maybe, love can kill the monsters.”
Her path to this moment has been shaped by a lifetime immersed in music. Sunset Salore discovered her love for it early, influenced by her eclectic taste and the vibrant music culture of Belfast. “I’ve always been drawn to so many different styles, and I think that naturally informs the way I approach my own sound,” she says. In her twenties, she became a familiar face in local music circles, performing in bands and honing her craft on keys and vocals. When she moved to Melbourne, she found new inspiration in its live music scene, making the city’s stages her own.
Where can we find you right now and what are you up to?
Online you’ll find me mostly on Instagram, Facebook and my website where you’ll find all the new things happening. In person though, I’m getting ready for the launch gig for ‘Love Kills the Monsters’ which is happening 1st February in the Bergy Bandroom, Melbourne. That, and the launch of the music video for ‘Call It’ which launches today (15th Nov), is keeping me busy!
Can you pinpoint a moment or artist that truly inspired you to pursue music seriously?
I was really enchanted by Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine. Fabulous voice control, lots of emotion, and a real musicality that shone through her songwriting. I started doing a lot of Florence covers, working on runs, pitch expansion, and songwriting more seriously after that. She has had an amazing career and discography, but it was probably after ‘Lungs’ that I really started taking my own music more seriously.
What was the first song on the EP that felt like a defining moment for you?
The first song I wrote was ‘Love Kills the Monsters’, and that really set the tone, but it wasn’t until ‘Call It’ that I felt it was taking shape. It was a really natural process after that, everything kind of flowed. If anything it was hard to narrow down what to take forward. It was originally going to be a 4-5 track EP maximum, and well, it’s 7 tracks, so definitely a hard choice!
You describe "Call It" as being about recognizing when a relationship no longer works. How do you approach writing about such raw, personal topics?
I’d been writing regularly before ‘Call It’ happened, mostly running with a discipline of practice of a certain number of songs a week. I was working on themes, topics, runs, concepts, musical riffs, genres, etc and seeing what stuck. I’d written my self-imposed ‘quota’ for the week and struggled to produce anything that I loved (though the process for me is to keep writing and throw away what I’m not enjoying, just trying really not to over think things). I slept on it, and the next day was a bit stressful for entirely unrelated reasons. I came home, and ‘Call It’ just flowed when I channeled that frustration. While the stoking of that fire was unrelated to the topic, I wanted to revisit the moments I’d felt frustrated, and this was top of mind, a visceral feeling really. From there I’d written the melody and most of the lyrics in 15 minutes, and it got stuck in my head so I knew I was probably on to something. When you have something that works, it’s easy to be vulnerable.
How do you start a new song? Do you typically begin with a lyric or a melody?
I do both! It depends on the song or topic I’m working on really. For ‘Call It’ I had the riff first, and built everything else around that. For ‘Don’t Owe You Pretty’ I had the concept and ‘feel’ and went from there. Sometimes I really like a vibe or a bassline and can start from there. It’s pretty flexible.
What's a typical day in your life as an artist?
Normally, it’s writing. Lately because I’m in a releasing phase on new material, I’m juggling both. The writing doesn’t really stop and I do a weekly session with my coach to stay on track with this. I have a day job, because let’s be honest, unless you’re a top tier musician, it’s really tough to make enough money to survive and have the luxury of self funding music recording and releasing, so I work an office job Monday - Friday to keep me afloat. Around that I am currently promoting the EP, so that might be interviews on radio, some press articles, or planning set lists for gigs, maybe a band rehearsal. I do all the promotion myself too, so I might be contacting venues, spending time in emails, maybe working up a flyer in Canva or something. It means I wear many hats! The hardest thing is to do all that, while creating new music in the background so you have a pipeline. I also have family and personal relationships to maintain, and animals to look after (several cats and a horse), so I fit a lot in my day!
What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve learned about yourself through creating music?
I really hate self promotion, but I have managed to make it work under the Sunset Salore brand name, because it makes me feel like I’m wearing my music hat, not my everyday hat. The music is more important for me to get out there than any feelings of ‘weirdness’ when I’m promoting it. At least that’s what I’m telling myself! This is the first time (this EP) where I have been proud to listen to the material and share it with the world as I feel like the timing is right, the quality is right, the team I’m working with is right, and I finally have a story to tell. I think I was just not ready before now to take this leap and back myself.
Is there a particular message you hope listeners take away from Love Kills the Monsters?
That you’re in control of your own narrative, and that you can choose love for yourself regardless of what’s happening. I think I worked on self-care, kindness and acceptance in writing this EP in a really cathartically reflective space. I hope that transcends to the listener in some way too.
What do you think of AI in music?
I’m not a fan. I believe there’s a personality that comes across in created works that doesn’t translate in AI. The pain, the joy, the love, the experiences that we channel to get to the place of creating the art of music is skipped in AI creations. I think that functionally they’ll be hard to distinguish, but it’ll be a shame if the human core is removed and this takes over, particularly as it’s learning craft from musicians in the first place. Creatives are overlooked and underpaid enough without AI taking over and squeezing them out entirely, or pushing music into a bedroom art which never sees the light of day because AI is making gains people should be. I think the technology is impressive, but ethically I have a problem with it.
What worked for you promotion-wise? Is there any advice for upcoming artists out there?
I’m still finding out! I couldn’t find a particularly helpful ‘manual’ out there or a playbook for what works. I just experimented with different things. I think Streaming numbers opened the doors for me on other platforms like Radio, but I think streaming is so crowded and returns so low, that radio or other mediums are probably overlooked. I have had the most enthusiastic support from radio and engaging with people which streaming doesn’t let me do quite the same. I think don’t get too swept up in what you ‘should’ do and think about what success looks like for you. That might be local community exposure, festivals, radio, or streaming, or something else entirely. Those strategies would be totally different without significant financial backing to do them all. The more of this I’m doing the more I’m realigning what success looks like for me. Billboard charts aren’t realistic for me, but I’m stoked to be charting on other avenues, and celebrating the wins as you grow your audience is so powerful for your motivation too!
What’s next for Sunset Salore? Can we expect a full album, or are you planning more singles?
After the launch gig on 1st February, I’d like to take a small break. I’ll be doing some travel to Japan and South Korea, and spending time with family to recharge, and of course make more memories to take forward into new material. I’ve a lot of material ready to move to the next stage already, so I suspect that timing and funding will play a large part in my next step after that. Either way, there will be new music, so watch this space!
