There is nothing tragic about Tragic Sasha. Despite her moniker (which is, by the way, really terrific), she is a great singer, great composer with fantastic ideas making absolutely fascinating music. What is sadly tragic or tragically sad, please choose your own wording, is that her generation is inheriting a world in a truly tragic state, pun intended. Political upheavals, global warming, looming economic crisis and lack of perspectives after Brexit for young people, are hardly going to make eternal optimists out of the Gen Z. Entering their mid-20’s with a middle life crisis is no fun, but, there is always a silver lining. Tragic Sasha’s brilliant new single, “Fate’s A Bitch” is probably what we all need right now.
“Fate’s A Bitch” single cover
Official bio: Tragic Sasha is the (rather apt) alias of British singer, writer, producer and all-round creative force Sasha Gurney. A true independent musician, Sasha moved to London at 18 to grow her own project and hasn’t really looked back since. Her songs are a real message for these uncertain times, dealing with the insecurities of mid-20s millennial life, flaky friends, drunken parties and useless sadbois. Her deft and blunt lyricism sits amongst a weave of throwback 00s-influenced contemporary pop production created with her musical muse and everyday inspiration Scott Colcombe (aka scott is okay), with her tongue-in-cheek sarcasm only just about kept in check. Her social media platforms meanwhile are a blissful collection of self-deprecating memes and exceptional video content, sprinkled all over with a heavy dose of realness.
Tragic Sasha’s real name is Sasha Gurney, and she has been active on the London alternative scene since 2015. She has performed all over the capital, playing gigs at Sofar (you can see her performance from 2016 here), and at every possible local grass root venue receiving rave reviews. BBC 6 Music Steve Lamacq called her “spellbinding”, Line Of the Best Fit named her as a generally “talented sod” and The Great Escape festival labelled her as “unforgettable”. Indeed, it is hard to forget someone who, at a very young age, writes, produces her own music, sings and observes the world with sarcasm and wit of a person twice her age. So far, she has released at least dozen singles and one EP (5 track “The End Of The World” from 2023). Her newest offering, “Fate’s A Bitch” (spelt “Fate’s A B!tch” on YouTube due to their “offensive” language policies), is a jaw dropping mixture of bedroom pop, EDM and alternative folk. Seriously, in recent months, we have reviewed bands that are blending musical genres like butter, but Tragic Sasha is truly something different. I have been listening to her song since it came out on April 30th, and I swear, you will find elements of jazz, blue-eyed soul, sophisti-pop, electronica, lo-fi, pop, Brit pop and alternative folk in that single. I mean, that’s a lot of influences ranging from Dusty Springfield, Swing Out Sister, Basia Trzecielewska (!!) to Guided by Voices and more contemporary, Adele or Hoku. Everything is mixed so skilfully and competently that Tragic Sasha can’t be mistaken for anybody else. Her influences are subtle and elegantly presented, what we are hearing is very new, original, and frankly unique. She’s an independent artist, without any backing of a label and she has 14k monthly listeners – there is power in what she does and people are listening. Good for them.
“Fate’s A Bitch” comes with a really funny music video that draws heavily from early noughties pop culture: Dance Dance Revolution/Diablo video game series and horror movies (Ju-On, Ring). Sasha’s video game character comes out of the TV screen like Sadako out of the cursed VHS cassette and drags poor Sasha into the game where she is now forced to dance for the next player, trapping her in a virtual reality, probably forever.
If you are looking for new artists with a seriously wicked sense of humour, lyrical observational skills, and pop sensibilities – Tragic Sasha’s your new best friend. Her music is a perfect bridge between alternative music and the world of popular tunes. Radio friendly, well produced and well sung intelligent pop is always in high demand.
“Fate’s A Bitch” is Vanadian Avenue’s song of the week. Highly recommended.
Follow Tragic Sasha online at:
www.instagram.com/tragicsasha
www.facebook.com/tragicsasha
www.tiktok.com/@tragicsasha
https://open.spotify.com/artist/13POEdcy38kG2ZzQD6PnTB?si=Yh90dCzeRoasR7fGhDU6OQ&nd=1&dlsi=81aa469cf2f5423b
https://soundcloud.com/tragicsasha
https://twitter.com/tragicsasha
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMXMsi5MXDZPK2aPp8V9t3w
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 
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