Sasha Siem

Sasha Kathrine Siem[1] (born 1984 in London) is a British-Norwegian singer-songwriter and composer.

Sasha Siem was born in London, England, to Kristian Siem, a Norwegian businessman, and his British wife Karen Ann, née Moross.[2][3][4] Her brother is violinist Charlie Siem.

Sasha studied music and poetry at Cambridge University and Harvard University[5] By her early twenties she had written music for the London Symphony Orchestra,[6] The Royal Opera House, Rambert Dance Company,[7] Opera North, The Aldeburgh Festival,[8] Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, The London Sinfonietta, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra .[9] In 2010, she became one of the youngest people to win a British Composer Award .[10] She has also been awarded the Arthur Bliss Prize [11] and the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize.[12]

Sasha has performed at festivals and venues across Europe and the US, including The Royal Opera House, London; HBC, Berlin; the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, (Le) Poisson Rouge, NYC, by:Larm,[13] Joe's Pub and The Forum, London.

While parallels have been drawn with pioneering singer-songwriters such as Tom Waits, Jacques Brel, Björk, and Joanna Newsom the influence of art-song composers such as György Kurtág, Claude Vivier, Salvatore Sciarrino is equally evident in her music.

The Guardian recently noted that Sasha is "making waves in the music scene". CBS magazine has hailed her as a "woman of note" and a talent to watch.

Sasha released her debut EP "So Polite" on 1 February 2013.[14] Her debut album "Most Of The Boys" was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson in Iceland and was released on 2 March 2015 on Vinyl and CD.[15] It was reviewed in Uncut (magazine) by Jim Wirth who described the album as "An uptown fusion of Bjork, The Raincoats and the Cosmopolitan (magazine) letters page" [16]

Talking about Sasha's single, 'My Friend', Tarynn Law from The 405 said, "gorgeous and emotive work, with lyrics that allow for self-reflection".[17] Jamie Skey from Q (magazine) said, "...if you were to construct a Venn Diagram between Bjork and Leonard Cohen, you’d find the tune somewhere in the shaded middle section.[18] Robin Murray from Clash (magazine) said,“sweeping, widescreen grandeur… both contagious and quite, quite affecting”.[19]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ http://www.ancestry.com
  2. ↑ http://www.port-magazine.com/feature/charlie-siem/
  3. ↑ http://www.channel24.co.za/News/Local/Celebs-you-didnt-know-had-SA-roots-20130726
  4. ↑ http://www.ancestry.com
  5. ↑ Harvard Gazette
  6. ↑ LSO Composing site
  7. ↑ Rambert Dance Company
  8. ↑ Financial Times Review
  9. ↑ LPO Times Review
  10. ↑ British Composer Awards
  11. ↑ Arthur Bliss Prize
  12. ↑ Royal Philharmonic Prize
  13. ↑
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ Amazon
  16. ↑ Uncut Magazine, March 2015
  17. ↑ The 405
  18. ↑ Q Magazine
  19. ↑ Clash Magazine

External links


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