Spotlight – Sacha | Hidden Beats

We have a new Spotlight – Sacha. This Ontario native grew up with music all around her. We got to sit down and chat with Sacha about her journey in music. Her new release The Best Thing is out now! Check out what Sacha had to say below!

Can you talk about the inspiration behind your latest EP The Best Thing?

The Best Thing is a collaborative effort of Canada’s finest when it comes to songwriters, and producers. The EP is a collection of different faucets of my personality and artistry from “Cheers” a happy-go-lucky celebratory universal salute, to a song like “Standards” which reinforces values when it comes to maintaining or achieving ethical relationships.

The EP was produced by CCMA Producer of The Year Nominee Dan Swinimer. Can you talk about the album process, and the overall sound or direction you were hoping to achieve?

I believe that meeting Dan Swinimer was a pivotal moment for my career. He went above and beyond his producer duties and expressed his faith and enthusiasm in working with an Artist like me. He set the bar high and invited me to rise to the occasion in terms of song selection, vocal delivery, and production to name a few. I was graciously entrusted with a few song catalogues belonging to writers such as Karen Kosowski, Emma-Lee, Mackenzie Porter, Madeline Merlo, Kelly Prescott, Tenille Townes and the list goes on. From there Dan and I made the selection for the EP and he flew out to Toronto where we would head to Newcomb Studios in Cobourg and spend 4-5 full days recording vocals.

Coming from the likes of a more traditional country, folk background, this Ep presented an opportunity to explore some pretty groovy synergistic melodies and hooks, bringing me up to speed in the current commercial country realm today yet with a fresh and unique sound representative of who I am as an artist.

You won “The Next Country Music Star” at the 2016 Havelock Jamboree. You’ve performed alongside incredible Canadian artists including Brett Kissel, Jess Moskaluke, Madeline Merlo, The Abrams, and Terri Clark. You played at venues including Boots and Hearts, Havelock Jamboree and CMAO Stages. What has been a highlight for you so far? What have you learned along the way?

Winning the Next Country Music Star was an unforgettable moment. I put everything I had into that contest. Win or not, one thing I wanted to make clear, my pure passion for music. Country music at that, and my undying love to connect with an audience doing the very thing that I love. Winning the contest opened up doors to bigger platforms.

Somehow I managed to find myself on the stage of Boots and Hearts, which is a dream come to fruition. For several years I remember serving at the festival riding golf carts and driving people to and from their locations. I remember how much I couldn’t wait to end my shift. I’d head down to the front of the stage to see my favourite acts live. I couldn’t help dream that I one day may have the opportunity to showcase at Boots and Hearts. It’s a few years later until that dream was realized and what a surreal moment that is.

As a black female Canadian country artist, you’ve made it your mission to push towards equal representation for people of colour to be embraced in life and the music industry. I would say there’s a general image of what country music is. How do you feel your music and yourself as an artist is challenging that stereotype, and what advice would you give to young emerging black artists interested in country music?

As an artist, it is a personal commitment to myself to be first and foremost authentic and original. In doing so, I have found myself in a position where I have a unique opportunity to pioneer something special in Canadian country music as an under-represented face in this particular genre. To any emerging person of colour who genuinely has a passion for country music, I will share how important it is to pursue what it is you wholeheartedly believe you have to contribute through your gift of music, and to not conform to a specific mold or idea one may portray of what country music is supposed to look like.

How are you staying connected to your fans and the industry during COVID-19? What’s next?

With the release of my new EP and music video for my debut single “Cheers” I have been very active on my socials keeping fans up to date with all of this exciting news. I have been working tirelessly behind the scenes in preparation to launch the new material during this COVID period, which has actually afforded me some really neat publicity opportunities which ties in like a dream for the release.