Sioux Robbins

Local Philadelphians might recognize Sioux as a model and commercial actor. But there has always been much more to her. Born in Michigan and raised in NY, NJ and PA, Sioux Robbins is a singer songwriter. She started playing piano by ear as a young child, the fourth of five children in her family. Technically it started with her older brother showing her a simple boogie-woogie on the piano at four years old. But for her it really began when she discovered the intro to My Girl ran straight across the black keys.

She’s always loved the music of the '70s. From Carole King, Paul Simon and Crosby Stills Nash and Young, to Santana, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, the Isely Brothers, Earth Wind and Fire to the Jazz Fusion of Return to Forever. She listened and taught herself along with jazz standards and classical music. 

She spent her earlier days performing in jazz clubs and cocktail lounges in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, singing jazz standards, sometimes accompanying herself on piano.   

Her dark contralto to silky soprano runs the gamut of Nina Simone, and Sade, to Roberta Flack and Anita Baker. Her music is born out of the classic writing styles of Carole King and Paul Simon while it pushes forward into the now of Solange and Janelle Monae.   

“This record is from a grown-ass woman’s perspective, not a teenager’s, with all the complexities and entanglements that brings. I wanted it to have those '70s influences that I love and to also bring new, fresh energy to the writing and the arrangements. The messages are all from the heart. 

She believes it’s important to write from the perspective of a woman who’s been around the block a few times and isn’t trying to hide it. “I hope people who hear this music can relate to it. Most of us have complicated relationships and complicated emotions. I wanted it to feel familiar and I wanted this album to be a comfortable place to chill. It took a while to get here, but it’s the statement I wanted to make in the way I wanted to make it.”

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