Photography by DonJuan Staples
Sudie split from Oak Cliff in September and is now staying in a short-term rental in the Coyoacán neighborhood of Mexico City.
She and her “best friend/life partner/music collaborator” Teddy Georgia Waggy are finishing Sudie’s first full-length album there. They plan to be there for at least two months, but there’s a chance they could stay much longer.
The pop R&B singer/songwriter says she has moved around a lot — “I’m a creative nomad now” — but she considers Oak Cliff home.
If it’s surprising that this will be Sudie’s first album, that’s because she’s prolific, having released several EPs and many videos in recent years. She’s released seven singles since 2019. Her most recent EP, Better Off Alone, has eight tracks and has already received more than 50,000 plays on Spotify.
She says she has written most of the album, which she expects will have 12-15 songs, and recorded a few demos.
“I’ve got a strategy and a plan for finishing it and when I’d like to release singles next year,” she says.
Sudie had planned to go to Mexico before the pandemic hit. Instead she went to stay with her parents in Georgia for a while to work, save money and plan out her album. She has a day-by-day plan for working on the album in Mexico.
“I want it to be more of a concept album,” she says. “I’m getting artwork together and getting on a good timeline for finishing it.”
Born Sudie Abernathy into a musical family, she started playing music as a child and composed her “first silly song” at age 4. Voice lessons started at age 12, and she’s studied jazz, musicals and opera.
As a teenager, her family lived in Dubai, which introduced her to cultures and styles of music she hadn’t known before.
“I feel very lucky that I was able to experience that,” she says.
Musicians now can’t just play music. They also have to be entertaining on social media, which is something Sudie is very good at.
“I love making little videos,” she says. “I’m obsessed with infomercials and that kind of vibe, so I love putting together silly things like that.”
She completed an online course in music production recently, and she wants to do it all — singing, songwriting, production, mixing.
But that’s where her relationship with Waggy comes in.
“She and I cover each other’s blind spots very well,” she says. “It’s nice because we fit together like puzzle pieces.”
On recording at Elmwood Studios
I love (producer) Alex Bhore so much. He is so magnificent. He’s one of the few men in music that I would seriously trust my life with him. He’s so supportive, and he knows what he’s talking about.
A song that reminds her of Oak Cliff
I mean, as blatant as this is, it has to be “Oak Cliff” by Quint Black and Nino. Anytime I go to a party in Dallas, even outside of Oak Cliff, and that song plays, it pops OFF.
An unforgettable moment in her music career
When I came to Atlanta, and I was out at a party here, someone I didn’t know came up to me and recognized me and told me they loved my music. It was the last place I expected to be recognized for what I do. It was a really cool feeling.
How you can support her work
Stream my new EP on any and all streaming platforms! Follow me on the socials, and keep an eye out for new music and merch.
