interview: SASAMI — The Grey Estates

Months after the release of SASAMI’s self-titled record, and we chatted with Sasami Ashworth, the creator behind this magical music. SASAMI is currently on a nationwide tour.

TGE: This record included a collection of letters you never sent to someone. What made you decide to present that in a public, but still secretive way? How did it feel to get those emotions out there, even though you weren't necessarily directing them to the person they were intended?

SASAMI: I think my songs are vague enough that the people they are addressed to/about wouldn’t even know. It’s empowering to put your emotions out there so frankly, but still feel safe.

As a fellow French Horn player, in middle school, how did your elementary musical endeavors inspire your current career as a musician, if at all? Growing up, did you want to pursue a career in music?

Horn is a very difficult instrument that requires you to have a highly developed ear so I think it helped with my general pitch, musicality and work ethic for sure. I knew I’d always do music, but I wouldn’t have guessed front person of a rock band..

This music is really different from the stuff you did in CG. How did you feel stepping out as a solo artist and in taking that direction?

I didn’t think about it much- just did it. It was never intended as a “stepping out” album. Just a “feeling around” album.

What would you say to someone who might be going through a similar period of transition like you? How did you manage to get through it and what do you think you learned about yourself along the way?

Just work hard and don’t expect shit! You have to work for everything you want in this world. It feels good to work.

I wanted to ask about the track Callous. That, like so much of the album feels really intimate, and you speak of making yourself small for someone else. How did you manage to find your voice and to take back that space you had given to someone else? Is it difficult to explore these periods again when performing live?

I don’t feel like when I perform the songs I go back to the emotional headspace I was in when I wrote them. They make me feel emotional, but more of an amplification of the feelings I’m having in that moment. For me the music is the emotional catalyst, not the emotions themselves.

Is there a particular track that you really connect with or you find really stands for what you wanted this album to symbolize?

They all rule and they all suck. Ha! I love them all in their own way and each is also a reminder of places I want to grow and improve. Making it was the best experience ever so I can’t detach my own experience in that way.

You've already toured and worked with so many notable names. Who do you want to collaborate with in the future?

Berlin Phil, call me