London artist Sasha Joy talks live instrumentation, emotional honesty and learning when to stop overworking a song in the wake of her soul-stirring single, “Got You Something.”

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Stream: “Got You Something” – Sasha Joy

Sasha Joy didn’t sit down intending to write a song about grief, resilience or finding clarity after loss.

At first, “Got You Something” was mostly a feeling – a melody that came together naturally and a title that popped into her head before she fully understood what the song was trying to say.

Only later did the deeper meaning start catching up to the song.

As the London artist kept working on it, she began connecting those words to moments in her own life where something painful had ended, but something important still remained. That tension of grief mixed with hope slowly became the emotional core of the track.

“I think ‘Got You Something’ lives in a space where grief and clarity, and perhaps even a certain defiance, begin to exist at the same time,” Joy says. “Sometimes difficult experiences strip things back enough that you suddenly see what actually matters.”

Got You Something - Sasha Joy — Got You Something – Sasha Joy

That layered emotional pull is what makes “Got You Something” feel different from some of Joy’s earlier releases. The song still blends the soul, R&B, jazz, funk and pop influences that have shaped her sound from the beginning, but there’s a stronger sense of confidence running through it now – less overthinking, more instinct.

Joy says she knew almost immediately that the song had a certain energy to it.

“When I find the interpretative angle of a song easily and my voice becomes closely woven together with the meaning and melody, I know I have something interesting on my hands,” she says.

Instead of polishing every rough edge away, Joy leaned into the unpredictability of live instrumentation, allowing the song’s imperfections to become part of its emotional weight. The result feels intimate and immersive in a way that couldn’t really exist if it were overproduced.

Before “Got You Something,” Joy had already been building toward this kind of sound on tracks like “I Feel The Sunshine,” “Old Ways” and “New Land.” But this latest single feels more settled – like an artist no longer trying to force herself neatly into one genre.

Part of that comes from the way she writes. Most songs begin stripped all the way down to voice, chords and a metronome, making sure the emotional core can stand on its own before production ever enters the picture. From there, the arrangement forms around whatever feeling the song seems to want.

With “Got You Something,” that process quickly pointed her toward a fully live recording style.

“We wanted to maintain the raw beauty of a warm live recording while also finding the right place for my voice to sit,” she says. “We knew we had arrived at the right place the moment any further change would have weakened, rather than strengthened, the sound of the song.”

That balance – knowing when to keep refining and when to finally leave something alone – became part of the lesson behind the record itself.

And emotionally, the song kept revealing more of itself as it evolved.

“The instrumental made it clear to me that this was not a typical ‘sad’ song,” she explains. “It carried hope, intensity and a certain desperate but very alive playfulness.”

That openness is exactly what Joy hopes listeners connect with. Not necessarily one fixed emotion, but those small moments of recognition where a song suddenly feels like it understands something you haven’t fully been able to explain yourself.

“I think a lot of people are emotionally overwhelmed and emotionally disconnected at the same time,” she says. “I find it more interesting to create a moment of recognition.”

With the release of her latest single, Atwood Magazine connected with Sasha Joy to talk about the emotional pull behind “Got You Something,” the beauty of live instrumentation, and learning when to stop polishing a song and trust what’s already there.

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Stream: “Got You Something” – Sasha Joy

A CONVERSATION WITH SASHA JOY

Atwood Magazine: “Got You Something” feels like a really bold step forward for you sonically. Did you know early on that this was going to be a defining track for this chapter of your music?

Sasha Joy: That’s a really good question because it gets to the heart of how production and song creation work in my experience. I felt very early on that this song had a special “it” factor that I wanted to capture. When I find the interpretative angle of a song easily and my voice becomes closely woven together with the meaning and melody, I know I have something interesting on my hands. That’s precisely what happened with “Got You Something.” And yet, there is also that defining element which shines through more fully later in the production. I knew the song had the seed of a new chapter, and the production confirmed and expanded on it.

You’ve mentioned taking a little extra time to really get “Got You Something” right before releasing it. What were you searching for creatively during that process, and how did you know when the song had finally arrived where it needed to be?

Sasha Joy: We wanted to maintain the raw beauty of a warm live recording while also finding the right place for my voice to sit. The instrumental had to be character-rich and immersive, but also leave the voice enough breathing room to lead with feeling, perhaps even more so because we do not use the conventional pitch correction tools common today. In essence, we are walking a line between capturing the charm of classic records while maintaining a fresh production that adds something new to today’s conversation. That balance takes time.

We knew we had arrived at the right place the moment any further change would have weakened, rather than strengthened, the sound of the song.

I believe that as an artist, when you make music for music’s sake, rather than simply building something for an algorithm, you find that each song has a life of its own – a melody, structure, feeling and meaning that asks to be heard and respected, rather than squeezed into a preconceived box. A big part of that process is trusting your own hearing and vision, as well as the input of different collaborators. Sometimes your music, while carrying different influences, does not sound like anyone else’s, and that’s the great adventure I believe artists are called to take on.

You chose to use fully live instrumentation on the single, which feels pretty rare these days. What did that live energy bring to the song that you felt couldn’t be recreated any other way?

Sasha Joy: When we came up with the vocal and lead guitar for the song, we immediately felt that the track not only had a melody we enjoyed, but also a certain rawness, strength, and character at its core. It felt very natural to imagine this vocal sitting inside a rich, layered live instrumental.

Apart from that, it seems like many people today crave the inimitable beauty of live sounds – the way each note is slightly different, or the way air, room size, and human touch alter and enhance each element of the music. When the song emerged in its raw form, it was clear that it had the space to hold live instrumentation with layers and character. We chose not to resist that insight and followed the process the song led us on all the way to the end.

The song touches on finding something meaningful even through difficult experiences. Did that idea come from something personal you went through or more from watching life around you?

Sasha Joy: This is a really beautiful question because the answer feels bigger than a simple “yes” or “no.” The chorus melody of “Got You Something” emerged in a very playful way, and when I listened to the initial melody, the words of the title already seemed contained inside the sound, without me consciously trying to give them a deeper meaning in that moment.

Later on, I could immediately connect those words to moments when I felt I had lost something significant, but still had something left with me to move forward. Whether the words emerged purely because of the melody or mostly because of my own life experience… I think that’s one of those great mysteries of songwriting we may never fully solve 🙂 But if I had to give a short answer, it was both melody and life experience that created the perfect storm for meaning and sound to converge in this song.

I think “Got You Something” lives in a space where grief and clarity, and perhaps even a certain defiance, begin to exist at the same time. Sometimes difficult experiences strip things back enough that you suddenly see what actually matters. There can be a strange kind of gift hidden inside that process, even if it arrives with birthing pains.

Your music blends soul, R&B, funk, jazz and pop so naturally, but it still sounds distinctly you. When did you first feel like you’d truly found your own sound? Do you ever surprise yourself with where a song ends up sonically?

Sasha Joy: I would say finding my sound felt both inevitable and surprising – and it happens as a continuous process with each song. A lot of my songs begin with just voice, chords, and metronome, building mostly on an internal sense of musicality. While creating the first version of a song, we always check that it can stand on its own with just a guitar and a voice, where even a demo already feels like it could be a finished song, with all parts interwoven and working together. This means that a lot of the time, the essence of the song is already clear before we even get to the recording stage.

And yet sometimes, the arrangement later reveals something about the song that I didn’t even consciously understand while writing it. With “Got You Something,” the instrumental made it clear to me that this was not a typical “sad” or “poor me” type of song. It reached a much more layered emotion that also carried hope, intensity, and a certain desperate but very alive playfulness.

I often feel that my work lies in naming emotions we all know, but perhaps feel were never directly addressed. The unpredictability of how a song sounds in the end, and how exactly it carries meaning, is one of the things I love most about making music. It still surprises me.

You’ve talked before about music being a place where people can “feel again.” What kind of emotions or connection are you hoping listeners walk away with after hearing your work, and especially this song?

Sasha Joy: I think a lot of people are emotionally overwhelmed and emotionally disconnected at the same time. Rather than leaning into overly detailed descriptions of the emotion the listener is “supposed” to feel, I find it more interesting to create a moment of recognition – that instant where something inside you feels seen or named without needing to explain itself completely, but you simply know you’ve been there.

Ideally, the interplay between personal interpretation, lyrics, and melody leaves just enough room for listeners to discover new hidden pockets of meaning with each listen. I’m interested in sparking that inner recognition.

A lot of your music feels timeless while still sounding fresh and current. Are there certain records or artists that inspire the balance you strike between classic and modern?

Sasha Joy: I’ve always been drawn to artists where the emotional and melodic core of the music feels bigger than trends. People like Sade, Nina Simone, or Norah Jones – artists where individual perspective and character shape the sound more than genre formulas do.

At the same time, I’m very interested in contemporary textures and space in modern production. I believe a lot of what makes us gravitate toward older recordings, especially as interest in vinyl and past artists is rekindled across generations, is the feeling that the recording we heard was inimitable – that knowing that there was just one voice, one moment, one artist who could do that particular thing.

At the end of the day, I believe the beauty of music lies in melodies and stories that translate a deeply personal perspective into something universal – a space of connection that is widely shared, yet profoundly intimate. That tension between private and public, between what is said out loud and what is internally felt, is where I feel a lot of connection happens in music.

My interest lies in using modern production approaches precisely to center the human touch, with all its nuance, beauty, and slight unpredictability. I believe that’s where the bridge between fresh, current sound and the artists of the past naturally forms – not by recreating anything nostalgically, but simply by following the music.

If someone’s just discovering you for the first time, how would you describe your sound in a sentence?

Sasha Joy: Voice-led modern soul shaped by genre-blurring textures, emotional depth, and a strong sense of atmosphere.

You’ve already earned some really strong praise early on in your career. Has any reaction from listeners or critics genuinely surprised or stayed with you?

Sasha Joy: The thing that consistently surprises me most is how often writers and listeners pick up on exactly what we tried to communicate – the feeling we tried to create through all the choices that go into making a song. People recognize certain layers, textures, or emotional undercurrents that for us were only implied or quietly hidden inside the music.

I’m genuinely grateful for the writers and platforms that have taken the time to engage deeply with the work and approach it with genuine curiosity. I believe those are the kinds of conversations that help us reconnect with the beauty of music in a deeper way again, especially at a time when we are surrounded by constant content creation that can feel overwhelming, and when being fully yourself as an artist can feel both exciting and risky.

I am very moved whenever I receive messages from people halfway across the world saying they found themselves inside a song and felt deeply touched by it. I’ve received responses from listeners ranging from high school students to seasoned musicians who were simply happy to hear a song that felt alive and less digital. Those are the experiences that truly make your day as an artist and remind you why you do it.

Where do you feel this next chapter is really leading you musically or personally?

Sasha Joy: Musically, I want to keep pushing further into live performance and storytelling, and records that feel increasingly human and fresh. I think I’m becoming more myself through the process. At the end of the day, I feel I will go wherever the music takes me.

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