South London’s Sasha & The Shades are rounding off the year with a new single, out on December 4th titled ‘Falling’, and we’re delighted to premiere it right here on Backseat Mafia today. As with many artists, 2020 has been a debilitating year, and with shows and festivals cancelled, front man Sasha Adamczewski, who has openly spoken on of the ups and downs of depression in interviews, it could have been tough. Instead, along with co-vocalist, and close collaborator Eli-Rose Sanford, they’ve worked on creative things and honing their own sound.
The result is ‘Falling’, about which Sasha says
“Falling’ and all of the rest of the tracks that will be on our EP, with the exception of our second single ‘Smiles’ that was written a little before, were all written in the first lockdown. As a result, the tracks all deal with feelings and themes which as both an individual but also collectively as a society – particularly those within the creative sector – had confront during this period. These themes generally speak of persistence and finding resolution in what felt like at times a dark tunnel with very little light within it. All of the songs deal with these themes from slightly different angles, but fundamentally start by trying to set the voices inside my head to music. For this is what music is to me, a version of therapy a compulsion if you like.
‘Falling’ in particular talks about the importance that we have come to place on social media and the feelings that come with this. We are at a stage whereby as an artist your online profile and the level of attraction it has is very much at the centre of your success. Now regardless of whether that’s right or wrong, or has even always been the case in some form, there is something very shallow and empty about it. Whilst you persist and none of this equals a reason to quit trying, ‘Falling’ was my way of rationalizing that emptiness I feel at times towards the whole equation.”
With this beautiful bowed bassline, rumbling underneath these picked and strummed guitars, there’s something of the twisted folk about ‘Falling’, with Sasha doing his best Nick Cave, his emotive baritone sweetened by Eli-Rose’s harmonies as they aim for the heartstrings, The murder ballad feel of the track casting a shadow over the sweetness in the melodies, whilst leaving it Darkly beautiful.
Check it out, here
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