WHY SASHA SLOAN IS THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’S FAVORITE SAD GIRL

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photos /Ā  LOWFIELD Ā  @ Seven Artist Management

styling /Ā  Christina Cisneros Ā  Ā  Ā 

hair + MakeUp / Ā  Tomoko @ JK Artists Ā  Ā  Ā 

story /Mikhael Agafonov

producer/ Koko Ntuen

 

Halfway through her first-ever non-USA gig, inside an intimate London venue Digwalls Camden, 24-year-old singer-songwriter Sasha Sloan strips it down for ā€œHereā€, a song off her debut EP ā€œSad Girlā€:

Sometimes love just disappears / No one knows where it goes / But it ainā€™t here

By the time the songā€™s over, the club is filled with applause while Sashaā€™s eyes are filled with tears. The relationship sheā€™s talking about in the song may be over, but her rise as the popā€™s go-to sad girl is only beginning. Although in her own words, sheā€™s ā€œa pretty normal person with anxiety who likes to do musicā€.

Sloan still recalls the times she was working at a Coffee Bean and Toby from The Office would come in every day. ā€œThat was a cool moment in my life. Also sadā€, Sloan reflects while sitting in a dressing room before her London show, ā€œWorking at Coffee Bean was rough. Why are people so mean?!ā€

She eventually found her feet in the music industry through writing for big-league showstoppers such as Pink, Camilla Cabello, and John Legend, but her own material is raw, brutally honest and surprisingly relatable. From singing about having to go to the parties only to feel ā€œNormalā€ to wistfully stating that all of her friends are ā€œonly kids but theyā€™re married nowā€ (a feature on Kygoā€™s ā€œThis Townā€), Boston native of Russian descent is here to provide a chilly yet necessary puff of cathartic gloom.

Apparently the key to writing a perfectly dramatic song is working when the storm has already passed. ā€œIā€™m having a hard time writing when Iā€™m sad when Iā€™m actually feeling the emotion itself. I donā€™t have the perspective on it yet, because Iā€™m in the moment. You need to take a step back and take a good look at it.ā€

Itā€™s not just her name thatā€™s Russian (ā€œSomeone did tell me that it sounds like a porn star nameā€). Her natural knack for self-deprecation and walling in melancholy may also have to do with her Russian roots, since the country is famous for its rather depressing and multi-layered literature offerings. ā€œWhen I write for other artists, itā€™s whatever they want to say. And for my own project I was never like ā€œI only have to write sad songsā€. Yet every song that I was writing that felt like me was naturally sad. I guess sad girl is just an overarching theme.ā€

Should we ever expect her to lighten up at some point? ā€œRebrand to a glad girl?,ā€ she offers with a smile, ā€œSure. We change a million times in a lifetime. Iā€™m okay with that and Iā€™m not trying to make everything super sad.ā€ Sheā€™s also very into standup (ā€œTom Segura and Bill Burr are the bestā€), and wants to try it herself, but says sheā€™d probably do it privately.


Two-piece top , Hardeman. Shorts, Alexander Wang. Socks , Nike, Sneakers. Comme Des Garcons.

 

So while there are hardly full-blown laughs to be found in her songs, thereā€™s definitely a healthy dose of irony. Case in point: her second EP is called ā€œLoserā€. ā€œI always call myself a loser and a nerd. I read all of the Game of Thrones books and I love video games (The Last of Us is the best!). People tell me that I need to be more comfortable and I am, but I also just think that Iā€™m a loser. And Iā€™m comfortable being thatā€. She physically owns the word, too: Sloan has the word ā€œloserā€ tattooed on her body (ā€œthatā€™s the only tattoo my mom is very sad aboutā€).

Thereā€™s definitely room for love in her lyrics ā€œI have a song called ā€œChasing Partiesā€ which is about being in love and staying at home with that person and not get fucked up at a random house party anymore.ā€

In case you didnā€™t get that yet, letā€™s try again: Sasha Sloan is really, really not a party girl. ā€œThe only parties that I enjoy are hosted at my house with a hookah on my coffee table and max 6 people. I like to talk, I like to hang out. I donā€™t like to be at a loud party and not be able to hear anyone and run into people that you donā€™t really wanna talk to. I either get so drunk while Iā€™m there that Iā€™m enjoying it then but I hate it the next day, ā€˜cause Iā€™m so hungover, or Iā€™m way too sober to be there. Itā€™s a lose-lose situation.ā€

So while her songs wonā€™t probably be a fitting soundtrack for your pre-gaming routine, Sasha Sloanā€™s music can certainly inspire you to do big dramatic things. A singer recalls one time a girl approached her after a show: ā€œShe told me that once she heard ā€œFaking Itā€, she realized that her 8-year relationships had to end, and I was like ā€œOh, shit! My bad.ā€ But she said sheā€™s way happier now and wouldnā€™t be able to do that without that song. Which was crazy.ā€

Surprisingly, people still ask her to sing at their weddings. Sometimes she even says yes. ā€œI played ā€œMarry Meā€ by Train at my gym teacherā€™s wedding while she walked down the aisle. I was 16 and probably terrible. Weā€™re gonna need to make sure that never sees the light of day.ā€

She knows a few things about embarrassing online history, thanks to her very own politically-minded grandmother. ā€œI was 12 and wrote a song called ā€œI Miss Youā€. Made a terrible recording of it on Garage Band. My grandma is a huge George Bush fan and Iā€™m not. She somehow figures out how to use the internet, makes a montage of George Bushā€™s images from Google and puts it together with my song on YouTube. With my name on it! So it looks like I made that montage. Itā€™s still out there. I honestly donā€™t know how to take it down.ā€

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top, Kerry Parker. Denim ,GRLFRND. Socks, Hue. Shoes,Nike. Sunglasses, Rad + Refined. Necklaces, Sashaā€™s Own.

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SASHA’S EP SELF PORTRAIT IS OUT TODAY ON ALL MUSIC PLATFORMS.

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MORE SASHA IN LADYGUNN NO.18