Indie-pop rock band Echosmith has had a busy couple of months of collaboration and creativity.

The trio collaborated with DJ and producer Audien for “Favorite Sound” and on the Timbaland remix of “God Only Knows” with two-time Grammy-winning duo For King & Country. The uplifting lyrics in both songs highlight a reassuring message that Echosmith ties into all of their music. The resulting tracks are sure to make fans excited for their new album. Popdust was able to catch up with lead singer, Sydney Sierota, to talk about the creative processes behind the tunesand what to expect next.

What was the creative process like when creating “Favorite Sound,” and how did the band end up collaborating with Audien?

“Favorite Sound” was already written by us a long time ago, like at least a year ago. We originally wrote it for ourselves, but when you’re writing a record, you end up writing way more than you need. With “Favorite Sound,” in particular, we had a whole music track for it and everything, but we didn’t feel like it was right yet, musically. Then we heard from our manager that Audien wanted to collab, and we got so excited because he had done great work with Lady Antebellum, so it was a cool crossover. We sent him over a bunch of songs, and he ended up liking “Favorite Sound” the most. We didn’t end up meeting until the song was out and we were promoting it in New York! We just gave him all the files, and he just went at it. The first draft of the song didn’t need much more work on it. I think there was only one tiny, nit-picky thing that we wanted to change. It was so perfect, and it was done within a couple of weeks!

I can’t believe that everything went so well, and you all didn’t even meet until promotion!

Overall, it was a fun collab, because it was so easy. We were just already on the same creative page, even though we had never met in person.

Was the creative process behind “God Only Knows” with For King & Country just as easy? Tell me about that journey.

For the For King & Country collab, that song already existed. I loved the message and the lyrics, especially because they just hit home for me, and I think it hits home for so many different people. I’ve truly been in love with their music for a long time. The funny thing is we didn’t get to meet them either until we were shooting the song’s music video! So again, this all happened over Facetime and text. Joel [Smalbone] from the band and his wife Mariah had known my dad, and they were hanging out and talking about music stuff, and they brought up this Timberland remix to my dad and said they were looking for a female to sing on it. My dad texted me and said, “Hey, would you maybe be interested in this?” All I could say was, “Oh my gosh, yes! I already love the song, and I’ll sing on it tomorrow if they let me.” We did all the vocals over two days over Facetime, and it was only a couple days after the idea was even brought up. It just all happened super fast! I don’t think I’ve ever done a collab that was that fast.

These songs both have very powerful messages regarding mental health. What do you hope listeners take away or learn from each of the tracks or the music videos?

I think two different messages reside within these songs that kind of play off of each other. “Favorite Sound” was the most vulnerable I had ever been, in regards to songwriting and lyrics, which was scary. The song has only been out for a few months, but so many people relate to it. I think, at least for me, it’s so crowded in your head, and sometimes it feels tough to control. It feels very overwhelming when negative thoughts just love to come in. I think it’s very important for us to realize that we can be in control of those thoughts and turn them into something [else.] I want to help people realize that it’s okay to deal with mental health issues, and it’s okay to feel [bad.] With “God Only Knows,” that message is also super powerful, and I think it’s important that whoever listens to it and sees the video realizes that everybody goes through stuff. It’s really important to have sympathy for other people, as well as yourself.

You mentioned earlier that “Favorite Sound” was one of the most vulnerable songs you’ve ever written. Which lyric from that song speaks to you the most?

I could probably pick out a lot of different ones, but the first one that came to my mind was, “And, I tend to be my own worst enemy.” I think we should be our own cheerleader and support ourselves, but it’s really hard to do that. That was a hard line to put out there in the world, because it’s very vulnerable. That’s not every day, but there are days [when] I do feel like my own worst enemy. I think that’s my favorite line, because even saying it out loud makes it easier to deal with and turn my perspective upside down in whatever ways I can.

How did you all come up with the music video concepts for “Favorite Sound” and “God Only Knows,” and what made you want to express the messages and stories of these songs in that way?

We were pretty lucky and were able to work with some pretty great directors for this. For “Favorite Sound,” we worked with this director named Drew Kirsch, and he had a bunch of ideas for the visuals. There’s a lot of elements in the video that can be translated in a lot of different ways, but we thought it would be fun to do a more [lighthearted] video to touch on the heavy themes of the song. It’s like you have to clean your life out and clean your dirty laundry and deal with that, but also to let go and have fun and realize that “your dirty laundry” isn’t forever. If you’re dealing with something, it’s important to let it go and enjoy life. We loved the idea of performing in a laundromat and having me walk through it, feeling everything, being down, and then showing the opposite of that.

Was the experience with “God Only Knows” different?

“God Only Knows” was a very collaborative effort. Joel was super involved with directing the video. We bounced ideas back and forth as to how we should portray the life of this artist before going on stage. [it’s about] putting on your best face no matter what you’re doing or what your job is, while trying to balance [negative] feelings. It was cool to have Joel yelling behind the camera and saying things like, “Yeah! Now throw things off the table! Really show us that you’re angry!” I’d never done this with another artist before where they were that involved with the video. Joel and Luke were so helpful in helping portray the emotions I needed to portray. It was a fun process.

What kind of goals does Echosmith have in the near and far future? Do you have more collabs planned for this year? Is the album going to be the main focus? What’s in the cards for you guys?

Our main, number one goal is to make sure this album that we’re working on is as perfect as it can be and that we’re as proud of it as we can be and to finish it as soon as possible. It’s gonna be done very soon. We want to make sure that it’s fully finished before getting into the creative side of things and visually get it to where it’s supposed to be. We want to link the music to the visual art of it all. So that’s our immediate goal. I definitely want to collaborate more with people in the future, but for now, we’re really focusing on Echosmith’s music and getting that out there. I’m so excited about all of it!