INTERVIEW: Asya Satti launches her career with empowering single 'Look At You Now': "It’s important that someone's sound reflects what made them into the individual they are."
London-based, Swedish-Sudanese singer-songwriter-producer Asya Satti launched her music career in January with the release of her debut single ‘Look At You Now’.
Written and producer by Satti with Yaz Fentazi, the track is a vibrant, empowering track that brings Afro-fusion together with traditional pop, blues and soul, and features Satti switching between English and Arabic. It is a mesmerising track that brilliantly treads the line between a stripped back, live feel and a complex, absolutely intriguing soundscape. The lyrics speak of self-forgiveness for all the times you may have hurt someone in the past.
“‘Look At You Now’ is about being human with all the emotional complexities that comes with,” she says. “It’s about seeking forgiveness for the times you were cruel to someone you love, and moments when you could have stood up for someone you cared for - but didn't. The song is a mea culpa, saying you’re sorry for acting like that, and wishing you could go back in time and undo the pain caused.”
Satti has also released a music video for ‘Look At You Now’. Directed and animated by Laura Geyer, the video sees Satti move between real life and animation.
“I wanted the video to seem as though it could have been shot somewhere in the Sudanese savannah,” she says. “When the opportunity to work with Laura Geyer presented itself, I loved the idea of her animation giving an African Anansi folklore spin to the video. Simeon Geyer’s cinematography was stunning and gave such a sense of freedom to the video”
‘Look At You Know’ is a confident and assured debut from an artist that radiates talent and that special something that hits you as soon as the first notes begin. With more music and an EP on the way, Satti has the potential to make a major impact in 2023, and we recently caught up with her to find out more about her career and music.
Hi Asya! So good to chat with you today. How is life with you right now?
Life is really busy but a lot of fun at the moment! I had no idea the level of daily content that would be required for me to create in order to engage with a growing audience! I’m more of a lurker than a poster on social media, so this is definitely a mind shift ha!
Your debut single ‘Look at You Now’ was released at the end of January and is amazing, congratulations! How does it feel to have your first release out in the world?
So good and there’s still more to come! It’s great seeing people’s reactions to the video particularly my dads reaction which I managed to record.
Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind the song?
I get inspired a lot by traditional Sudanese music sonically, especially when I visit my grandmother. She’s always playing it in the background. The actual meaning of the song was taken from a childhood memory I had when I wish I’d stood up for someone but didn’t. A sort of mea culpa.
It is such an eclectic sounding track, with sounds from your African roots as well as your Western upbringing. How important is it to you to represent both sides of your background in your music?
I’d say it’s important that someone's sound reflects what made them into the individual they are. That makes it a lot more personal for me. The countries I have lived in have definitely shaped me as well as what I like listening to in my downtime.
You have also released a fantastic video for ‘Look at You Now’ which mixes live action with animation. What was the experience like creating the video?
The talented Laura Geyer directed and animated the video and her equally talented husband Simeon Geyer was director of photography. They are consummate professionals so left no stone unturned when it came to production. It was so inspiring creating a moodboard and seeing Laura’s beautiful treatment come together from that. Watching the stages of her animation flourish was fascinating, so I created a making of the video on my TikTok that goes through the stages. I love the summery free movements that Simeon captured. They just nailed the brief.
If we take it all the way back to the beginning, what role did music play in your childhood?
I just took music subconsciously growing up. I got a love for the different flavours of music as I travelled between Sweden, Egypt & the UK growing up. I used to sing catchy Egyptian pop songs and loved the percussion, which was sometimes just as catchy as the melody! Sweden gave me that appreciation for pop music. The UK opened me up to a host of new genres when I arrived, I couldn’t believe all the new sounds I was hearing! However my innate love for blues, drums and African music must come from my Sudanese roots, it’s the sound that moved me the most as I became a teenager
How did your career in music start?
I really got into Sudanese Sufi music and loved the simplicity of the arrangements. So I reached out to Yaz Fentazi, a talented multi instrumentalist originally from Algeria. He really helped shape the sound I was trying to achieve because he understood all the different scales blues, Arabian and Western. I wanted that type of Sudanese sufi production in my music but I couldn’t find a producer that could create the exact sounds I heard in my head for some of my songs. An old friend of mine suggested I produce the songs myself. So with a combination of mine and Yaz’s production the sound of the EP was created.
As mentioned previously, your music has such an eclectic, different sound and there is a strong message of empowerment through forgiveness in the lyrics. Are you making the kind of music that maybe wasn’t around when you were growing up, and would have been really inspirational to you if it was?
I think I’m making the type of music that moves me in the hopes that it will move others
Recently you have been covering Sudanese pop songs online that were originally sung by male artists. This has provoked some men to demand you stop performing them. It is an unfortunate fact that the music industry has never been a particularly welcoming or safe space for female artists - mainly because it has been run by older, straight, white men for decades. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in music?
I think the industry is changing for the better but there is a lot more room for improvement. I’d love to see more support from the industry for women to create and tour at different stages in their life, like after they’ve had children. Seems like only the huge stars' careers flourish through that. It makes me think of how many incredible songs we’re missing out on because of it.
I also think that globally women should just be given a lot more freedom to express themselves without the unnecessary judgment that can come from men and some women alike. A lot of the time though, it is men that actively comment on posts etc negatively. For the most part I take it with a pinch of salt.
‘Look at You Now’ is out now, what else do you have planned for 2023?
I have my second single called ‘Drunk Drive' coming out on the 15th of March. I think it may be my fave song on the EP so I’m excited!
‘Look At You Now’ is out now via Leopard Print Records. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Asya Satti, you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
