Inspired #162 - saya
London based singer-songwriter saya provides us with a modern take on a Greek myth with new track ‘achilles heel’. She took a moment to tell us about the inspirations behind the track.
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
My musical inspirations are constantly evolving, but I’d say Joni Mitchell, Phoebe Bridgers and Billie Eilish.
I respect everything about Joni as an artist, she just owns her own voice and personality through her music, and is the definition of an artist who is 100% devoted to every single aspect of their craft. Looks and branding has become such an essential part of succeeding in the current music industry because of social media, so sometimes it’s honestly refreshing to take a step back and listen to Joni, because everyone knows she wasn’t in it for stardom.
I discovered Phoebe Bridgers’ album “Stranger In The Alps” a few years ago and became obsessed. I love how she almost doesn’t have a filter in her lyrics, she says these really morbid or depressing things but with a sense of humor and a lightness to it. I’m kind of similar, so it’s weirdly comforting to listen to.
I actually started listening to Billie before she became huge and it’s been super inspiring to see her growth as an artist. She writes about really interesting concepts, I mean “bury a friend” is from the perspective of a monster under her bed and her album is inspired by sleep paralysis. You don’t hear that often in mainstream pop. Her producer Finneas is so incredibly talented, and both of them inspired me to explore music production more.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
The French film Amélie is my favorite hands down. The way its narrated and shot is beautiful—it has kind of a whimsical storybook vibe which is really satisfying to watch. The characters are also very interesting and memorable—they all have these little quirks and we get a glimpse into each of their life stories at some point, which lets you get to know them pretty well. I want to achieve the same thing through my songwriting, to reveal the character(s) through little details and for the listener to really know them. When I begin working on music videos in the future, I know I’ll be taking lots of inspiration from the Amélie visuals.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
Probably New York. I grew up in a town 30 minutes outside New York, so I’m not really from there, but it feels like another home just because I’ve made so many memories there and have grown alongside it. Although people generally think of New York as a fast-paced city, I feel like you can’t categorize it as one thing because it really depends where in the city you are and what you’re doing. The fact that you could live there your whole life and never finish exploring it always gives me an exciting feeling.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
Dodie Clark is an inspiring figure to me, she is a musician but also was a YouTube creator for years before she put out her music. She openly talks about mental health in some of her videos, as well as her book, which I appreciate a lot and especially did during my teen years. Mental health is a difficult topic to talk about but in my opinion she discusses it in a way that’s very genuine and uplifting. Also the way she’s used her YouTube channel to create a music career is clever, a lot of musicians do it but I think she really knows how to attract an audience with her video content which is awesome.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
I wanted to write “achilles heel” about how hopeless it feels when someone is your weakness. I came up with the acoustic guitar picking first, the chromatic sound was definitely inspired by Billie Eilish's song “xanny" which I had been listening to on repeat at the time. I took some inspiration from the production too, like the layers of harmonies and sound effects. Soccer Mommy, Jade Bird and Phoebe Bridgers were also big inspirations for the overall folky/soft rock feel of the song.
How would you like to inspire people?
I hope I can inspire people to pursue what they really want to do if they have the resources. When I started writing songs and playing guitar in my early teens, I pretty much learned everything on my own through YouTube videos and articles I found. I didn’t expect to get far by learning from the internet, but I spent so much time on music that I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else. Hopefully I can encourage the people I know to make more time for their passions.