Who is Violet Paniko?
An update on where I'm at with my music project
2023 was in many ways a giant success for my music project Violet Paniko. In my first year making music, my songs received around 20k streams. I wanted to share what went well, what didn’t, and what lessons I’m taking into the future.
What went well
Production. I feel incredibly lucky to have met Cardec and NoLa last year. They each produced three tracks for me, and they really elevated my sound. Summer’s Day and Thicc Boi are two of my most popular songs at the moment, and that’s in no small part to the production of both. Both of these songs are ones I’m looking at pitching for sync placement this year.
Relationships. This really should be first. Nothing I accomplished last year would’ve been possible without the wonderful people I met. First, I met Sabrina Vaz-Holder who introduced me to 24/7 Artists, Cardec, among others. Yudu and Vee have been an amazing support to me not only with the community they’ve created but the 1:1 support they’ve so generously given me. Through 24/7 I met Aleyzza, Brooklyn, NoLa, and Kymori. All of these people have become so special to me, and we’ve done some incredible work together.
Graphic Design. I had amazing design collaborators last year too. Nawt Creative, Noisy, mcawsumart, and Remain 3k all created fantastic covers for my singles. The merch that’s resulted from those designs has been great too. It feels special to see people wearing the merch, but it just feels good to have merch for myself. 🤣 I’ve been stopped several times while out and about with nice comments.
What didn’t go so well
Identity. You’ll notice that these will have a pattern. But they all really start here. The imposter syndrome was quite bad last year. There were many times that I felt ridiculous for thinking I could make music. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I felt like I wasn’t “cool enough” or maybe my time had passed. I got stuck in thinking about “how I wanted to present myself as an artist” rather than just being authentic.
Sound. I tried being something I’m not last year. My first few songs were almost completely in Spanish. That just didn’t feel authentic to who I am. The sound from song to song wasn’t as consistent as I’d like. There was a lot of experimentation going on as I tried to find what sounds and beats felt right for me.
Flow and Lyrics. The struggle to create memorable and catchy hooks was real. My first two songs I think are especially bad. Kymori and I co-wrote the Thicc Boi hook which I think is probably the best one. I think there were moments where I prioritized “rapping fast” over what would better stick with the listener.
What I learned
Double down on collaborations. Really relationships in everything, are everything. These collaborations have sharpened my skills, opened my eyes to new opportunities, helped train my eye and ear for things I should be paying attention to, and also provided me with a sense of community and family.
Releases need great plans. Did you know that just because you release a song doesn’t mean people will listen to it? I say this in jest somewhat, but it’s definitely true. Releasing the song is really the easiest part of the release process. There needs to be a plan for previewing the song, teasing the song, promoting the song, and pitching the song to relevant outlets and connections.
Slow and steady wins the race. What’s the rush? I constantly felt like I wasn’t doing enough, or making enough progress. But what’s the rush? Life is about living. I’m making more music that feels like me this year, and that will attract people at whatever pace ends up being right. What does “making it” even mean?
2024 is going to be a great year for Violet Paniko. Not because I feel like I’ll hit a certain amount of streams, but because I’m figuring out who and what Violet Paniko is. It’s not about what can get done in a year. It’s about what can be done with five or ten. It’s about enjoying the journey, and worrying less about the destination.
If you made it all the way here, I wanted to share a demo of a song I’ll be releasing later this year: