Britney, Slipknot & Fleetwood Mac: polymathic pop powerhouse Sasami rounds up the tracks that inspired her new album, Blood On The Silver Screen.

An intoxicating blend of potent pop maximalism and decadent technical nuance, LA-native Sasami has, with her new album Blood On The Silver Screen, provides a paragon of the sonic zeitgeist and her most daring body of work to date. Her third project, the opus is deft in its dramatisation of themes like love, sex and self-reflection, whilst the production – concocted by the artist herself alongside Jenn Decliveo and Rostam – is sharp, vibrant and bustling with atmosphere. 

Artful, emotionally resonant and damn good fun, Blood On The Silver Screen nestles in the mainstream and left-field listenership alike, and is one of March’s must hear albums. To celebrate the work, Wonderland asked the pop mainstay to round up the tracks that inspired her when making it in our latest On Repeat. 

Listen to Blood On The Silver Screen…

Sasami’s On Repeat…

Britney Spears – “Hold It Against Me”

I was extremely inspired by the whole “Femme Fatale” and “Circus” eras of Britney while writing my new album Blood On the Silver Screen. I am always so paranoid about accidentally plagiarizing or making something too similar to my contemporaries so I don’t really listen to music made within the last 10-15 years when I am writing something new. This whole album is so, so good and I was kind of addicted to early/mid aughts pop tones and textures while making B.O.S.S. Making a pop album is all about making music that makes the listener feel hot, and frankly Britney is the queen of that.

Slipknot – “Psychosocial”

My last record, SQUEEZE, was extremely influenced by numetal that I listened to in middle school and the teen angst that it portaled me to. B.O.S.S. still carries remnants from that era by way of chugging/djenting drop-tuned guitars and slap bass. Psychosocial is laden with examples of all of the numetal textures, kick-patterns and guitar tones that I used to add some darkness and conviction to this new album of mine.

Lady Gaga – “Born This Way (song and album)”

Along with Britney, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson and all the aughts-pop royalty, Gaga was a huge influence on B.O.S.S. Four on the floor beats, campy use of metal guitars and European electro-industrial sounds made this whole album anthemic from top to bottom. I wanted my album to be guilty-pleasure empowering pop without any guilt so Gaga’s spirit had to be sprinkled into the mix.

Tanner Adele – “Whiskey Blues”

I was very into modern AND classic Country hits while writing this new record. In every era of Country (whether it be Kenny Chesney, The Chicks or Orville Peck) you will find with the use simple chord progressions, witty play on words, and an almost self-deprecating or tragic but horny sense of humour. My music tends to trend serious or sad, but personally I am kind of a clown, so I wanted to imbue the lyrics on this album with some levity/playfulness. I also love how modern Country artists like Tanner Adele use contemporary production along with classic country instrumentation. Some Country enthusiasts are offended by the use of 808 drums in country, but I am not a purist at all!

Shumann – “konzertstück”

I was a serious classical nerd for most of my life. I played French horn for hours a day from middle school all through conservatory until I was 22. I knew that I needed to include some of the ethereal magic of stacked horn chords in the album and live show. “Konzertstück” is an iconic piece performed by a horn quartet and orchestral accompaniment that was a hugely important piece for me during my years of study. Just because it’s a modern pop record doesn’t mean that the timeless magic of horn doesn’t fit! It’s been the pleasure of a lifetime bringing and playing my horn on tour and the album isn’t even out yet!

Prince  – “When Doves Cry”

There is so much to be inspired about by Prince. Songwriting genius, production gold-standard, psychotic work ethic, virtuosic musicality, shameless in overt sexuality, gender blurring, theatrical displays of emotional grandeur, etc etc! I doubt I will ever make any music that isn’t in someway deeply inspired by the work of Prince.

Sandy Denny – “Sweet Rosemary”

Believe it or not before I decided to make a pop record, I was considering making what I would call a “Renn-Rock” record. I was obsessively, listening to Sandy Denny, Fairport convention, Anne Briggs and a lot of other British folk music. I was totally fascinated by the British/Irish folk tradition of melismatic vocal style. I would watch Sean Nós vocal tutorial YouTube videos and generally try to emulate that style of singing just as a vocal exercise/almost spiritual reverence to that magical style of singing. There are a little vocal flourishes here and there on the record that I would attribute to my small stint practicing this vocal style.

Mariah Carey – “Touch My Body”

I listened to The Emancipation of Mimi pretty much every day in 2022 leading up to writing this record so there is really no way that Mariah didn’t somehow influence this record. Even though I don’t really think my music necessarily sounds like Mariah Carey‘s music, I was definitely inspired by her general divadom, grooves, production, and of course her lyrics. She is a lyrical, genius, and even though I think I am in the first grade when it comes to lyrical prowess compared to her multiple PhD’s, I definitely was inspired by her sense of humour and candidness throughout her discography.

Fleetwood Mac – “Save A Place”

Fleetwood Mac were my favourite band in elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. I have listened to them pretty religiously since I was a child. I don’t know if it’s just my anatomy or the fact that I was always obsessed with a band who had three singers with lower vocal range, but I would have to think that a lot of my vocal tone and inflection was inspired by all three of their songwriters. Also, their drum tones and guitar arrangements will forever be deeply embedded in my musical DNA, no matter what style I’m making.

Alicia Keys – “No One”

I mean, can you really make an early aughts-inflected pop album without putting respect on Alicia Keys’ name? First of all, she is just a fantastic pop, songwriter, immaculate vocalist, and top-tier “guilty pleasure pop” anthem queen. I think specifically “No One” had a deep influence on me because that’s an example of a song where, to be honest, the production is pretty minimal and the tones could maybe even be considered bad? But the song is so undeniably good and her voice is so special that it’s hard to not feel amazing when you hear this song and more importantly it’s really hard to not belt along! It’s giving pre-auto tune doused pop vocals and her voice sounds so real and honest. I love it.