Neu Under the skin: SASAMI

Though only on the cusp of releasing her debut LP, Sasami Ashworth has long-been an established face in Stateside indie-rock. Formerly playing keyboards with explosive rockers Cherry Glazerr, she’s also provided string and horn arrangements for heavyweights like Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst and First Aid Kit. Now, having first picked up a guitar while on the road with her former outfit, Sasami is putting herself centre stage.

It was the somewhat atypical French horn that kick-started her life in music, though. With few other teens choosing the brass instrument, Sasami welcomed early opportunities to travel the globe as part of youth orchestras. “Being part of this insanely massive sound, I knew that there’s no other thing that had any sort of magnitude,” she reminisces. “At that point I was totally in heaven, I was transcending the crazy awkwardness of being a middle schooler.”

However, despite accepting a place at a classical conservatoire, she couldn’t avoid the pull of the vibrant LA indie-rock scene. After studying with the likes of Haim and Empress Of, it was working alongside Nate Walcott of Bright Eyes that ultimately allowed the musician to bring together her formal training with an ever-growing love of grittier sounds. “I was becoming bilingual in the classical world and the rock-folk world here in LA,” she notes.