In many ways, Sasami Ashworth’s life has been leading up to this moment. Studying classical music through middle school and high school, the Los Angeles-based artist has been refining her ear since she was a kid. After furthering her studies in college, she became a music teacher while touring with bands part-time. It was when she was assisting Bright Eyes member Nate Walcott with arranging for other artists that she realized what she wanted to do.
“I started understanding that my fluency in classical music and rock music could be tapped into,” she says over the phone in late January. “I could tap into that fluency, and have a role as a translator between the two worlds. I started doing that work for other artists, like Curtis Harding, and I did vocals for Wild Nothing and I played horn on Hand Habits.”
She switched to touring full-time in the well-known indie-rock group Cherry Glazerr. In 2019, she released her eponymous debut solo album, which boasts an ethereal image of her posing unsteadily on a melting glacier. The picture encapsulates the unforgettable, emotionally intense landscape of the music; the synthy songs evoke a bittersweet feeling, powerful in their ability to balance sadness and beauty.
