Episode Details

Creative talent does not follow straight lines. The zigs and zags of a creative career can be exhilarating and frustrating, joyous and crushing. What happens when opportunity knocks and we ignore it? Or when opportunity arrives in a totally unexpected form?

In this conversation, French-American singer-songwriter Erika Horsey and host Scott Catey explore a life shaped by music, movement, emotional sensitivity, and a succession of moments when recognition seemed tantalizingly close. Beginning with her first song—written at six years old—the story moves through self-taught piano and guitar, early performances, industry interest, independent recording, and the creation of a personal record label.

But this episode is not simply a catalogue of accomplishments or near misses. At its heart is the distance between possessing a gift and building a life around it. Looking back with unusual candor, Erika considers the opportunities she did not fully recognize, the times she waited to be chosen, and the hard-earned realization that creative work also requires us to act on our own behalf.

Beneath that story runs a deeper thread: sensitivity as a way of making art. For Erika, songs begin with attention, with observation, with noticing—a stranger’s suffering, an overlooked life, an unexpected act of kindness, the ache of longing, or an emotion that cannot be contained in ordinary speech. Music becomes a way of absorbing experience, processing it, and giving it another form.

We also hear a live performance of an original song and discuss the mysterious moment when words and music seem to arrive together, almost fully formed.

This is a conversation about talent and recognition, instinct and discipline, regret and persistence. Above all, it asks whether a creative life must be validated by conventional success—or whether continuing to make the work is itself a way of claiming that life, regardless of what other may think or say. Erika is an inspirational and endearing voice, one that deserves to be heard and cared about. This is your opportunity to take that step. 

Episode Highlights

·       Writing a first song at six years old

·       Learning piano and guitar by instinct

·       Turning observation and emotional sensitivity into music

·       Recognizing—and sometimes missing—creative opportunities

·       The difference between waiting to be chosen and choosing the work

·       Founding an independent label and releasing music on one’s own terms

·       How songs can emerge almost fully formed

·       A live performance of an original composition

·       Why regret can become wisdom

·       Continuing to create without an expiration date

Music Featured in this Episode:

• “Ashes to Dust,” performed live, originally from the album A Slice of Dust

Used with permission.

Artist Bio

Erika Horsey is a French-American singer-songwriter whose music grows from emotional sensitivity, close observation, and a lifelong instinct for turning experience into song. Writing in both English and French, she combines intimate vocals with piano and 12-string guitar to create music that is reflective, atmospheric, and deeply personal.

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised across Belgium, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, Erika developed an early connection to both music and language. She wrote her first song at six, began composing on piano as a teenager, and later taught herself guitar. While studying French at Johns Hopkins University, she continued writing and performing, developing the intuitive creative process that remains central to her work.

Erika’s songs often begin with a moment of human connection: a stranger’s story, an unexpected kindness, a loss, a longing, or an emotion requiring another form of expression. For her, songwriting is b