Démira “Salai”
Between 2018 and 2020, while living in New York City, Démira grappled with supporting herself financially while still making music and pursuing her creative endeavors. During this period of her life, she worked various roles in the food industry, yet it was as a bike messenger she found the most happiness. Démira loved the independence riding around the city on her bike allowed, mentioning that, “my favorite memory of being a delivery person on a bike in NYC is the biking itself. I enjoy riding a bicycle, it makes me feel free in a way, and that’s why I took the job.” The video to her new song Salai, in many ways, is an homage to this time in her life.
While the freedom was what drew her to the role of bike messenger, ultimately, as an artist first, Démira made sure to mention that, “I took the job because I had to earn money to pay the rent.” The concept for the Salai music video came about organically while shooting in New York City. While there was originally a completely different concept for the video, Démira pivoted when she saw a group of boys riding their bicycles. Demira said, “I bumped into the BMX boys the day before Nick and I wanted to shoot together. I just wanted the boys to do what they like doing. Just doing tricks on their bicycle. Nothing more.” Démira is an artist who has a knack for recognizing the poetic nature of life and finding beauty in the little things.
While working as a bike messenger, Démira remembered that, “it was rough to see the gap between the people ordering the food and people delivering the food in New York. In other countries and cities as well. Though NYC is a conglomeration with a lot of people…forming an enormous banlieue that keeps the city going. These people do jobs that are considered inferior. At the same time, the city cannot function without these people. The rich rely on them.” This disparity between haves and have-nots is a theme Démira draws upon in her song Cheap Date, which she describes as an introduction to Salai.
Démira details Cheap Date as a song that “tells a story of not feeling in sync with ‘traditional ideas’ of gender. It paints a picture of a girl who dates a rich man who is eager to take her on expensive dinners, who is so used to consuming, buying luxury items (we manifest with pockets full of chaff), also quite demanding sexually (Shun the working, shut the curtains, you make my motor run)”. She continued by describing the experience of dipping her toe into a circle of social elites of New York City: “I experienced this sweet cocktail of being invited to parties from a person I didn't know who has a great deal of money and invites a few creatives in their circle who bring friends on their turn. It is a fantastic experience but it is also odd to be the “shaker”. I think it stems from this kind of outdated, baroque idea of being entertained by people with extraordinary abilities in the arts or intellectually.” Cheap Date serves as a natural preface to Salai; a song about finding true romantic passion and the acknowledgement that nothing about love is ever guaranteed.
Démira felt inspired by the lesser known historical figure of Salai; a longtime friend and muse of Leonardo Di Vinci. Démira first noticed that his name, Salai, “sings in itself.” Her intrigue only grew from learning more about the complicated figure behind Leondado Di Vinci’s revered legacy. Démira noted that Salai was described by Di Vinci himself, in uncharitable terms: “Leonardo described him as ‘a liar, a thief, stubborn, and a glutton’ and” someone who “stole from Leonardo on several occasions.” While Di Vinci may have felt this way about Salai, Démira noted that others described him as "a graceful and beautiful youth with curly hair, in which Leonardo greatly delighted.” In spite of the ambiguity behind Salai’s reputation, the fact that “Leonardo kept Salaì in his household for more than 25 years,” suggests a complicated, and given the works of art inspired by the muse, beautiful relationship.
Démira's own interpretation of Salai is that of a trickster, and “an intriguing person who is audacious, gorgeous and not fearful of taking risks. A sublime friend we all would like to have, one that makes your blood rush for a moment, who breaks the humdrum and heals it with excitement and adventure. A person who helps you find ways to flirt with life and win it over.” Démira holds the belief that perhaps we all have a Salai in our lives; someone who’s personality overflows and at times challenges our perspective; all the while enriching our day to day and pushing us towards our lofty goals.
Démira acknowledged that there is always going to be a fluidity to relationships and love; like that of Di Vinci and Salai. While this uncertainty may be what holds others back from being vulnerable, Démira is someone who chooses to embrace the unpredictability of the future: “when you are in love you want the other person to love you back and we are scared of the idea of letting go. I am head over heels with my boyfriend and I would like to stay with him forever. Yet it is negligent not to keep in mind that in five or thirty years, it is possible that…one of us falls out of love. It is inherent in people’s lives that people change. And I see that as positive.” The forces at play when we are in love are the same one’s Salai represents in the historical context of Leondardo Di Vinci’s life. The ebbs and flow of genuine human connection that perhaps are better nurtured by the growth between turbulence.
As for the song itself and her new album Iggy, Démira holds similar undefined expectations. She said that, “I don't have any expectations or hopes for listeners, really. For me it is most important that people enjoy the music. The form or feeling is irrelevant and above all, not up to me. It'd be great if the energy elevates theirs. I imagine the song to be a great fit for driving in a car through a vast landscape to and/or with people you love. The sun sets, you're excited for the journey, excited for the place ahead.” A theme echoed by her philosophy towards life and the lyrics of Salai: “give me the keys and just say drive.”