Belfast indie-pop artist Sasha Samara releases new single from debut EP after launch at Oh Yeah Centre

Belfast indie-popstress Sasha Samara, 24, is an exciting new voice on the ever-thriving, vibrant NI music scene.

Coating her music in an endearing honesty, she threads together observations and exclamations that are underlined by a thrilling specificity.

All of this is achieved through open and soaring vocals and poetic lyrics.

With support from PRSF funded ‘Scratch My Progress’ program overseen by the Oh Yeah Centre on the city’s Hill Street, and recognition from the Northern Irish Music Prize as an emergent new talent on the local scene in 2020, Sasha has been carefully cultivating her debut EP, ‘Why Am I Still Here, I Never Learn’, which is available now.

Talking about the collection of four tracks, Sasha said: “Why Am I Still Here, I Never Learn’ explores the complexities of untangling yourself from something unhealthy.

"Written in the wake of a slow heartbreak, these songs were a therapeutic way to unpack a co-dependent relationship.

"Spanning desire, frustration, and the joy of choosing your own happiness in the end, this EP helped me to get unstuck from that place where I was asking the titular [existential] question “Why am I still here?”

"The creation process helped me discover the warm, indie-pop sound that I’ve fallen in love with, and after two years of hard work, I am so excited to finally share it with the world.”

Sasha’s debut EP includes four self-penned tracks, each of them displaying unique lyrical and melodic ability: Problems, Sobering Up, Under My Skin and Broken Vessel.

Discussing her musical origins, Sasha previously told the News Letter: “I’ve always enjoyed music.

"My parents aren’t particularly musical, but they’d make up songs to sing to me when I was growing up.

"I’ve always been surrounded by that inclination to tell stories with music and song.

“I started playing the ukelele when I was 16 and then in 2018 I started to give songwriting a go.

“I was coming to the end of my illustration degree at Ulster University (School of Art) [and] I made the really solid career decision that I didn’t want to be an artist any more, I wanted to be a pop star instead.”

The singer/songwriter added: “I’ve fallen in love with being a musician.”

NI music critic, journalist and an all-out stalwart champion of the local music scene, Stuart Bailie, has previously said of the emerging artist: “Sasha Samara is an artist full of hope and empathy.

"She wears party dresses and big boots, and she plays her uplifting songs on strange instruments.”

To listen to Sobering Up from Samara’s debut EP click here.