London-based American alt pop artist ‘priestess’ releases single “like me and you”. EP “shopping for smiles” to follow in May….
London-based alternative pop artist ‘priestess’ (emphatically with a lower case, styled like most of her songs,) a.k.a. 22 year old Sasha (short for Alexandra) Nadein, grew up in a suburb outside of Philadelphia: the first person in her family to be born in the United States, raised by Russian immigrant parents. Inspired by her rich mixed heritage and equally rich musical influences, this multifaceted artist is writing music that is attracting all the right kind of attention. She releases the first single off the forthcoming EP “shopping for smiles” (May’22). “like me and you” is out now across all the usual download and streaming platforms.
priestess had the best start in life, with parents who actively encouraged her youthful talent, always telling her she could achieve anything she set her mind to. With a natural childhood inclination for music, dance, and performance, they encouraged her to take it more seriously by providing lessons for piano, dance, and vocals. They also helped form her taste in music by playing bands like Queen and Depeche Mode in the same house as Destiny’s Child and Britney Spears. This regular exposure to eclectic genres and classic artists influenced the fledgling musician and songwriter enormously in her impressive musical journey.
Growing up, dreams of becoming a rockstar resulted in priestess taking bigger leaps of faith: auditioning for shows like the X Factor and The Voice. These experiences only further fortified her desire to be a performer and at 15 years old she started writing music with true confidence and determination. By the time she was 17 she had recorded and released 3 EPs ranging from genres of pop, pop-rock, and pop punk, inspired by the performance ethic of Hayley Williams, the punk princess persona of Avril Lavigne, and the raw, heartfelt, soul baring song-writing prowess of Kurt Cobain. Later, she yearned to evoke the cool kudos of artists who were gaining enormous momentum online: The 1975 and The Neighborhood. In a typically bold and inspired move, she moved to the UK to continue fine-tuning her craft, achieving a first-class degree in songwriting from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. More recently her influences include Beabadoobee, Clairo, Harry Styles, YUNGBLUD, Machine Gun Kelly, and Gorillaz.
priestess may be young herself, but she freely admits that her concerns for the young today having to deal with the socio-political darkness happening across the world fuels her musical output: She points to the “.. pressure that is put on our generation to have everything together when we are going through arguably the darkest and loneliest times of our lives…. Using my own experiences, I want to remind young adults that we are still allowed to learn, grow, and have fun even as everything we know seems to fall apart around us.”
As a multi-skilled artist, she is able to convey her message through well-rounded concepts that will always be as honest and relatable as she can make them, whether it’s reflecting on her feelings through lyrics or communicating on social media. She adds: “I want to always be a friend to my generation and to my listeners. I’m a perfectionist, especially when it comes to my art. To me, music will always be about the entire experience, with ‘priestess’ you will always get the full package. The visual, the stories, the music itself… everything. “
The tracks on the forthcoming EP “shopping for smiles” (May ’22) demonstrate her versatile talents: “Sea U N Tea”, “Rewind”, “The Ick” and “Frankenstein Heart”, all vary in melody and intensity, but the overriding themes are very relatable, not only to her peers but, indeed, just about everyone. The songs speak of personal vulnerability, dating, love, loss, heartbreak and recovery. The EP also features the new single “like me and you” – currently championed by BBC Introducing – a bittersweet, raw, vibey tome about misplaced, unrequited love and one that was once very personal to Priestess. She calls it a “…sassy song that I wrote about a crush I had in my first year of university, definitely don’t feel the same now, but it’s a way of honouring my past self and feelings.”
