Asya Satti’s singles, ‘Look At You Now’, ‘Drunk Drive’ and most recently ‘Down Daddy’ introduced the Swedish-Sudanese artist as a distinctive talent. Her distinctive style unites cultures, drawing upon the inspirational music culture of her heritage in a way that’s enticing to an international pop audience.
Her voice is just as beguiling, with pure uplifting soul which matches her positive, empowered personality. These songs have earned Asya a first wave of discovery, with airplay from Tom Robinson at BBC Introducing plus tastemaker attention from Clash, Wonderland, Notion, FAULT Magazine, Women in Pop and XS Noize.
Now her compelling introduction continues with the release of her self-titled debut EP, which is completed by a brand new song in the shape of ‘Block The Sun’ and a live version of ‘Drunk Drive’. She explains: “I wanted my debut EP to be a reflection of the sounds and influences I picked up as I grew up, spending my formative years across such contrasting cultures.
“I wanted simplicity in the arrangements so that the melody and Sufi elements pulsed through. The lyrics, I tried to be vulnerable, I want to stay away from the notion that as a modern woman, I always need to express female empowerment.
“I just want to cultivate freedom of expression as a female. It’s tiring when to be the optimum woman, you need to be a queen or a boss. I want to write stories about the everyday realities of being a woman - all whilst listeners bop to the tracks!”
In parallel with her music career, Asya is relishing opening a window to Sudanese culture. She provides an insight into the nation’s dialect, musical history and food with engaging videos at TikTok, and she also selected a pan-African playlist for Notion’s Selected By feature. Her Spotify playlist goes deeper still, with a genre-blending mix of international artists who draw upon their African roots, including Davido, JayO, Ayra Starr and Idd Aziz.
Asya Satti’s tapestry of global sounds was weaved subconsciously when she spent her formative years travelling between Sweden, Egypt and the UK, all of which added to her innate love of Sudanese roots music. As she focused on her own artistic style she realised she wanted to unite Sufi music with Western and Arabic sounds in a way that was both cohesive and respected each cultural element.
Working with Yaz Fentazi helped her to unlock that sound, and he has become a regular collaborator throughout her upcoming debut EP.
