Salina Sias

You would think one of the most important tools for a singer-songwriter would be her voice. But, gifted as she is, Salina Sias only recently found hers. In fact, she completely lost it for a while. Literally.

Of course, on her self-titled debut album, out in September (2011), there is no evidence of that. The songs -- comprising genres ranging from folk to goth-rock and jazz to blues -- sound robust and self-assured, sung by someone in control of her sound.

I would wake up sometimes and there would be full orchestras in my head. Thats the way some of these songs came out, she says, which helps explain the ethereal, almost dreamlike quality of her music. Thats the way I wrote them. I would hear something in my head and I would sing it. The words and melody would come out at the same time. Going to the piano or guitar would be an after-thought.

This was not always the case.

Born in the Rio Grande Valley at the southern tip of Texas, Salina fell in love with the stage as a young girl. She sang in the school choir, memorized songs like, Somewhere upon hearing them once, and took top honors at Rio Fest, the regional fairs talent competition, three years in a row starting at the age of 8.

When she was 12, a rigorous classical music memorization competition instilled in her an abiding love of the genre, and an understanding of the way music fits together. It inspired me right away, she says. I learned the music in one night and tied for first place the next dayA majority of people dont listen. They want to feel the beat and feel the vibe -- a lot of pizzazz, quick takes and flash.

Not Salina. My music is something you have to listen to, theres a story to it. she says.

But first she had to be derailed before getting to where she was going: At 17, Salina advanced to the finals of a state-qualifying, classical singing event where she inexplicably lost her voice. Gone.

So, naturally, six months later she moved to New York to study acting. I figured singing is not going to work. Going into acting feels less vulnerable. Right.

Salina would spend the next decade working full time in marketing while attending school, paying down debt and toying with the idea of becoming a journalist. She was, she will be the first to admit, denying her true nature. This was not a gratifying experience.

At the end of the day, it really does matter to try and accept who you are, go with it and then figure out how to make money with it, or while youre doing it, she says. So Im doing it.

By doing it, she means that a year ago she met with a vocal coach, picked up a borrowed guitar, and in no time rediscovered her voice. I had been singing all along, she says, I just decided not to tell anyone. Salina is bolstered by an aggressively eclectic catalog of influences: Leonard Cohen, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits she ticks off. I totally love listening to Sissel, a Norwegian soprano. And I love Eminem. Hes coming from a truthful place, he has depth and a way of making you feel like you know him, like you can speak to him.

And this is precisely what Salina does on her debut. Like anyone else, she is a three-dimensional person, shaped by experience and disinclined to make any more concessions. Her songs soar, sweep, weep and stab.

In part Salina is doing this for herself, because she needs to. Because its her. But she also is doing it for her two kids (a girl and a boy, ages 5 and 3). Authenticity by example.

There is no right or wrong, she says by way of explaining her shape-shifting, hard-to-catalog sound. I just started songwriting last year. Im definitely still in that search. I have to be who I am so my kids dont have to take 15 years to be themselves.