Stylizing 'Squeeze' with Sasami

Sasami by Andrew Thomas Huang

Los Angeles based singer-songwriter and musician SASAMI (Sasami Ashworth) showcases her versatile musical knowledge and stylization on her second studio album “Squeeze,” to be released February 25. With a background in classical music composition, a shoegaze album, and a history of touring with rock band Cherry Glazerr under her belt, this comes as no surprise. 

Hurling through thrashing nu-metal, tender folk-pop, and romantic classical numbers on “Squeeze,” SASAMI dives into dichotomies and complexities of her own personality. She aims to dredge out deep-seated anger, unrest, and frustration from a broader audience so they can find their own healing. In her own words, “this is an album for bottoms to fantasize about being tops or anyone else who needs to release some pent-up emotions.” 

“Squeeze” has a lengthy list of collaborators; among them are Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren, Ty Segall, and comedian Patti Harrison.

The album’s cover, designed by Andrew Thomas Huang (Björk, FKA Twigs) and Rin Kim, bears an alluring water-born creature, the Nure-onna, with SASAMI’s face atop it’s serpent-like figure. The legend of the Nure-onna is one of beauty and of violence, one which mirrors the album’s ebbs and flows of writhe and release. 

I was lucky enough to sit down with SASAMI to discuss the creative processes and multi-faceted ideas behind “Squeeze.” Enjoy!

I've been listening to your upcoming album, “Squeeze,” for the past few days, and each time feels like a different experience. You pick up on different things each time. I also especially liked reading some of the Youtube comments on some snippet videos you’ve released. I’ve saved a few in case you haven’t seen them.

• Oh gosh! No I haven’t, what are the best ones?

There’s one from “ALMOND2”, on the Skin a Rat video saying “I got called a freak for saying i’ll protect my boyfriend by punting a coyote for him but i’ll do it to this song.” And a comment from a user named Yoink replied “I believe that’s what Sasami’s music is all about.” And I thought to myself, yeah, I totally get that feeling.

• Exactly! I’m so glad that that person got that feeling, if no one else gets it there’s you and those people. It’s all for you “ALMOND2!”

Can you tell me more about why this folk spirit in your cover art, the Nure-onna, resonated so much with you?

• I think I just was kind of moved by the fact that she's this… Well, first of all, I'm a cancer sign. So I just automatically connect with all water bitches. So the fact that she's this water-based creature I already was like, ‘yes, I get you.’ But also the fact that she's kind of an aesthetically beautiful character that actually is a perpetrator of violence as opposed to a victim of violence. I just thought that was kind of like a cool visual. This kind of seemingly gentle character, floating in the water and washing her hair actually has this blood sucking tongue and a snake body that can  wrap around you and squeeze you to death. So I was just kind of moved by that. That character, the dichotomy. I feel like there's a lot of that kind of energy on the album too where it’s musically very heavy, but the sentiment behind the song is like pretty “bottom” energy, or the melody is sweet. So I kind of like the mash-up of  two contrasting things.

So is the title, ‘Squeeze,’ an extension of this character then?

• Yeah, I feel like the word squeeze is kind of like a Rorschach test or something where it can be this endearing thing, like a hug, or it can be like an act of desperation like squeezing out the last drop or like violently squeezing. To me, it's a word that carries all this different emotional baggage depending on how you want to project against it. So, again, to me, it's like one syllable that has all this heavy, heavy, emotional weight to it.

What was it like working with designers Andrew Thomas Huang and Rin Kim on the artwork for the album?

• Well actually it’s so cool because I started collaborating with them before I was even done with the album. So it really felt like I connected with them, and especially with Andy [Huang], when we met up in person. I asked him to kind of help, and somewhat creative direct, and just be a vessel to help me materialize this visual element of the album. Working with him before I was done was really inspiring because it helped me get my thesis statement in focus about the album, and about the era of my art-making that I'm in right now. And I think, especially being a solo artist, anytime I have an ability to collaborate, it's so special, because I'm just doing so much on my own. So yeah, it was really inspiring. And also it just like totally affected, sonically, the album too, because I was still working on it when we did the visual.

With the stay at home orders and the chaos of the last few years, how did that affect the creation of the album?

• I mean, it's interesting, because it was a lot about me because I was quarantined, alone with my thoughts for a long time and all that. But at the same time, it was like a real period of connecting with other people and learning, listening, and thinking about how my actions affect other people. And so in some ways, it was a really isolating year. But also in some ways, it was like a really connective year, if that makes any sense. 

  Because, you know, we're going through  an international health crisis that requires you to consider everyone else around you. Our nation was also going through an extremely politically tumultuous time, and racially tumultuous time where there's uprising, and we have this time to actually protest and pay attention to things that might usually just be kind of brushed under the rug. And so yeah, again, it was somewhat isolating and connected at the same time. I think it makes sense that a lot of my songs, some of them are personal, but for the most part, it was kind of more about conveying a certain feeling and creating an emotional experience that other people can tap into. And, hopefully, have some catharsis in doing so. So I think, yeah, my album kind of reflects that too. It's not all personal or all the theatrical or thematic, but it's kind of a mix.

Sasami by Angela Ricciardi

I read that you constructed the LP in the form of an opera, or an orchestral work, that has different movements, taking the listener through an emotional journey. Can you explain how you organize these “movements” in the album, and what emotions you were hoping to evoke?

• Yeah, I think that I was very intentional about bringing a lot of different styles and sounds to the album, and trying to keep it balanced and not go down one path for too long. Like with an opera, or a multi-course meal or something, I wanted to make it feel like there were a lot of twists and turns to the album as opposed to, like, my last album [SASAMI], that kind of feels like a meditation, and it's kind of all on the same color palette. 

  This album, to me, it's like every song is a totally different color palette, with maybe some like small connectivity between them. That connectivity is like black bass or metal like double kick drums. So yeah, it's kind of more like a movie with many scenes as opposed to one meditative long essay.

What genre do you think came the most natural to you when it came to creating “Squeeze”?

• I mean, instrumentally, the metal songs were so easy and came out so naturally because it was like when you discover something new or you get a new toy and it's just so fun. You just get obsessed with it. I was really, really into Drop D or drop C tuning guitar, double kick pedal drums, and flat bass. I was just really enjoying being in that kind of dark world. It was really hard to make melodies, like vocal parts, because I don't really scream, and usually metal doesn't have singing over it. So that was kind of difficult. But yeah, the instrumental parts of the metal song, to me, just flew out. It was so easy and so fun.

Sasami by Angela Ricciardi

How do you feel your creative process is different as a solo artist, as opposed to working with a band like Cherry Glazerr?

• I think that it has positives and negatives. The positive side is that if I have an idea, it's not like a democracy where everyone has to vote and agree to it or something, I can have an idea and just totally bring it into fruition with very little resistance. Except for my own indecision. But I will say that I definitely crave collaboration. And I miss the element of playing off of other people's energy. I try to recreate something like that with people that I have in the studio, or that I play on tour with and stuff like that. But yeah, I mean, being in a band feels like being on a team. So I kind of miss that for sure.

I saw that you worked with Ty Segall on production on some of the tracks. What was that like?

• Yeah, Ty during the pandemic built this amazing analog studio in Topanga Canyon, and we were both talking about Judas Priest and older, more classic metal. I just love how weird and theatrical Ty is in his performance and his music making. So it helped me to feel comfortable to come out of my shell and make these kinds of more bizarre, heavy nu-metal songs. He's just like a master of getting powerful rock. So it was cool to have him record some of the songs.

“The Greatest” music video felt like an 80s like music battle; there's the rocker with the electric guitar and the conductor with her baton waving furiously. Was that representing that same dichotomy of yourself and your musical experience?

• Yeah! And to me the ghost characters are kind of like the energy of the amp. So the conductor is battling the energy of the amp. Then, those two ghosts are the spirits that are living in the amp, or something like that. But yeah, there definitely is this kind of feeling of battling and warring energies, and a contrasting vibe on the album, within myself, and within all of us. Which is kind of the whole point of making an album that pushes genre, and pushes vibe. It’s to help people have an experience where they may have a more aggressive side of themselves that they have been squashing or pushing down for some reason. Or they just haven't had the music to relate to in that emotional way. So, yeah, I think that is definitely part of the visuals of that video. It’s also referencing some Japanese horror elements and the martial arts kind of horror films that I like to watch.

How did you come up with the hilarious music video for “Sorry Entertainer” with Patti Harrison?

• Yeah, that was like a very true collaboration. Patti, and Alan Resnick, who is the other director, and I are all just kind of fans of each other's work. It was, probably for all of us, one of the first things that we did post-quarantining. It was still kind of at the end of quarantining. It was one of those COVID situations where everyone was tested and it was a really small crew. So we knew that it was gonna be kind of a small crew operation. We wanted to do something that was just really wild and weird and fun. And it was fun, and really fun to make the video, definitely.

Why did you choose to add a cover of “Sorry Entertainer” to the album?

• Honestly, I just love Graham [Brooks], the guitar player. Graham is in a band called Barishi. Graham and Dylan [Blake] and John [Kelley] are in Barishi and they are my backing band for the tour. I just love Graham's guitar solo so much. I was like ‘this has to be on my album.’ It's very of the vibe of this era of my musical output.

I know you're a classically trained composer with experience in making orchestral arrangements for films. I kind of got a cinematic feel in “Feminine Water Turmoil” and the transition into the next track “Not A Love Song.” What were you envisioning, while creating those songs?

• I was creating what my version of a Bach Cello Suite would be. There's like a whole series of Bach Cello Suites. Johann Sebastian Bach, an old school composer. There’s the Cello Suite that I played on French horn when I was growing up. So it's kind of like a homage to those for that collection of pieces. And also, yeah, it has this kind of siren mermaid energy that I want, but with these heavy guitars behind it. So again, it's kind of like the marrying [of the two]. I feel like music, regardless of genre, has certain parts and certain sounds within each genre that connect to the same emotional synapse for me. So for example, “Feminine Water Turmoil” is kind of like taking the drama of these super growling nu-metal guitars, and then also the emotional drama of these dramatic minor strings and putting them together. Even though they seem like they're from different worlds, I think emotionally they're cut from the same cloth.

Thanks for the conversation Sasami.