SASCHA – Moon St.

By starrymag | June 21, 2024

By: Karen Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) My sound is very R&B, dreamy and lullaby-ish in nature. It’s what I gravitate towards and how my brain sounds, I think. For this album, Moon St., I just let it all play out as I kind of “heard these experiences” in my mind when I wrote the songs.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I’m a big pop girl, so of course Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande are at the top of my list. I also absolutely adore Frank Sinatra’s music; I find a lot of inspiration for my strings and lyrics in his music.

 

Q) Your single “Self Care Song” is out now. Talk about the story behind creating it.

 

A) I wrote the song after ending long-term friendships around me while simultaneously being in quarantine. It was a very lonely time, but one I used for a lot of introspection. While dancing around in a face mask and a robe, sipping a glass of Prosecco, “Self Care Song” wrote itself. I hummed the bridge part for a good two hours before I realized I had something on my hands.

 

Q) What kind of fan response have you been receiving to the song so far?

 

A) I think people identify with the feeling of loneliness and the need to self-soothe. With music being so therapeutic, I have gotten a lot of messages from people saying the song has stopped them from going down destructive paths and shifted their mindset to instead celebrating being their own best friends in times of solitude.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) It always happens in a different way. The concepts demand to be born in its own peculiar ways, sometimes with melody first, sometimes lyrics and sometimes just a concept. I think that’s why it never gets old for me.

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I wouldn’t say I am as hands-on as I want to be! My next goal is to be able to produce and cut my own vocals, so I can be more of a one-woman show if you will.

 

Q) Your debut album Moon St. is out now! What are some themes you’ll be exploring on it?

 

A) This album is all about loneliness and losing friends. It is eleven life lessons I have learned in my twenty-four years of life. All of 2020 I navigate the world with a new-found perspective on life, not just because of the pandemic, but for the first time without the crutches of sisterhood and friendship. The reality of this situation brought me to my knees and forced me to take a hard look in the mirror and ask myself “Why can I treat friends with such kindness and love, and not myself?”.

 

Q) What are some of your personal favorite songs off the album and what makes them so significant to you?

 

A) “No Friends are Better,” “I’m Out” and “I Think I’ll Miss You Forever” are my favorites. They were the ones I listened to religiously to make myself feel better. They were created from mantras I kept telling myself when I was going through the entire experience, so it’s no surprise that they remained my mantras in music form!

 

Q) How do you plan to celebrate the album’s release?

 

A) With my friends and family! Something very strange about me is with every song I have released in the past I have always cried the day of! Not out of sadness, but out of relief and joy! It’s an overwhelming feeling releasing something into the world, and kind of being done with that specific emotion that is connected to the songs.

 

Q) What songs off Moon St. are you looking forward to performing live?

 

A) I am looking forward to singing “I Think I’ll Miss You Forever” live. It is such an emotional and raw song, and every time I listen to it, I tear up a little. I can’t wait to put that emotion into the song live and in front of an audience. Another song I am very excited to perform live is “I’m Out!” The phone call in the middle of the song is a part I will change every time I perform it, and I love that kind of thing.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole?

 

A) I hope they take away exactly what they need from it, whether it’s reassurance, confidence or whatever else may apply. I want it to be interpreted in a way that will be the most healing for everyone. For me, it healed a lonely part of myself and made me sure of myself and my solitude. I’d hate to tell anyone how to interpret the album, I just want everyone to go into the project blind and let what applies apply.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I would love to write with Max Martin. He is an absolute mastermind and has such a musical ear. I could go on and on about his genius, but in short, working with Max Martin would be a dream come true.

 

Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

 

A) I am listening to Frank Sinatra, as usual, but have gotten into a lot of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recently. My dad is a fan, and he inspires a lot of my music taste. I love the raw way they made music, and how good music doesn’t have to be made in an insanely fancy music studio.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I would like to thank anyone who supports me in any way because without anyone listening, I would just be a girl screaming into the void. You’re making my dreams come true, and I couldn’t possibly thank you enough!