Skyler Cocco is not on the "Passenger Side"
Photos By McCall Olsen
Songwriter and producer Skyler Cocco is no stranger to the LA indie music scene, with a staggering 10 years of experience in writing and production alongside her incredible magnetism and raw talent, she is a force to be reckoned with.
Skyler started learning how to write and produce at the young age of 11 on her father’s digital track. She was a shy girl at first, in her own words “I was too scared to sing in front of him”. Skyler taught herself to play bass, piano, and guitar and began uploading her music to MySpace and Bandcamp. After that, she began producing and writing for several artists until the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt.
An amazing opportunity presented itself in the middle of the quarantine, the indie rock band MUNA announced a Splice competition, Skyler saw this and submitted her song “The Drive”. She won. With the support of MUNA’s guitarist and producer Naomi McPherson, she released her single to wide acclaim, receiving support from UPROXX, Splice, Spotify, and VEVO gaining over 400.000 streams across all platforms. “It took my favorite band to be like ‘you should be doing this, you’re on the right path, keep going for me to feel ready to put my full effort behind my artist project.” - Skyler
Determined to push her music career forward, Skyler started working on her next project, fine-tuning her exquisite cinematic sound and ethereal image, she focused all her efforts on her upcoming EP “Crossroads”, this is when her personal life experienced a complete 180. Coming out of the closet as a bisexual woman she found acceptance in the queer community. Skyler’s courage has uncovered her most authentic path. “It took so many people telling me it was my calling to transition my point of view around it,” says Skyler, “Instead of beating myself up for being sad, I can fulfill something that my dad didn’t get to do. I can do this as a way to honor his life.”
Skyler went deep with her more intimate experiences with “Crossroads”, dealing with loss and love, it captured moments of self-discovery and transition for her.
In “Passenger Side”, Skyler explores the intense feelings attached in meeting someone new, guest starring Libby Larkin, she completely embraces her queerness.
Easy to listen to but deeply emotive, “Passenger Side” is undoubtedly full of passion, and raw sexuality, definitely a must-watch/listen for indie pop lovers out there. Using Skyler's own words: “Passenger Side has a steamy, tension-filled air that chronicles the exciting yet fleeting moments of a short fling. It acknowledges the romantic feelings that inevitably occur, but surrenders to the moment, letting the desire - that "lightning in a bottle" - loose.”
Story By: Armando Vera