Words by Art Jefferson
Images courtesy of Salt Ashes
Veiga Sanchez, known by her moniker Salt Ashes, has been carving out her lane in the music industry with a steamy combination of dark pop and seductive club. Raised in Brighton and currently based in London, she embodies the very definition of fierce with an uncanny sex appeal that is clearly projected in her songs, firmly standing with a mountainous planting.
Releasing her debut single ‘Somebody’ back in 2014, Salt Ashes dropped her 2016 self-titled album via the U.S. label Radikal Records. ‘Save It’, the lead single from the LP was a nocturnal and blissful shot of lifting dance which was one of those club anthems that was perfect for those late night moments on the dance floor. Whilst her single ‘Wilderness’ contained more of a pop injection, her tune ‘Girls’ dropped down the BPM, highlighting her ability to record full on electronic pop hits without straying too far away from her core sound.
With her latest single ‘Go All Out’, Salt Ashes reflects on her past, offering a stream of wisdom to her younger self. Another electronic pop banger, the cut is not only chart-friendly but also has the strong potential for advert placements.
With all the right elements that go into making a star, Salt Ashes is ready to take her position as one of the queens of pop.
I know that music was a big part of your life growing up, with you listening to a varied range of artists. However, one artist that we share a commonality with in terms of inspiration is Giorgio Moroder. What was it about Moroder’s music that touched your soul?
Salt Ashes – I discovered Moroder’s music first by hearing ‘I Feel Love’ in my early teens. It was the energy and drive behind the continuous lead synth line that initially grabbed my attention…It made me want to dance hard which is what I found Moroder’s earlier music did to me and still does, along with a sense of tension which I can’t get enough of. If a piece of music moves me within the 1st 5 seconds I’m a fan.
Around what age did you start creating music?
Salt Ashes – Singing was aways a part of me from the moment I could speak but actually creating and writing came to me later, maybe around 16. I then turned my hand to producing at around 20 which feels quite late but it really is never too late to start learning!
Going back to your early records, you have always had a keen ear to the quality of your production whether it be disco-driven cuts, dance, dark pop, you name it.
When writing a song, do you already have a general idea of the sonic direction that you want the track to go?
Salt Ashes – It changes all the time actually. Sometimes I write to a bass line or a beat I’ve already created and in this case normally I have a very strong vision of the direction I want to take it but other times I write an entire song on the guitar or piano and it feels complete to me as it is, an acoustic version. I then spend time with it and really tune in to visualise what is going to elevate the song and make it better. I usually do that by trying out different sounds and beats until something sits right.
I read that you describe yourself as a perfectionist. With that being said, how do you know when a track is ready to put out to the world?
Salt Ashes – You can spend forever making small changes and always finding new things you want to add or tweak to a song before you release it but I’ve learnt over the years that once you get it to a certain level to try and let it go. It can be really hard to think a track is completely ready to be released, especially as a perfectionist. I just want to keep hold of them sometimes and wait for it to grow like a foetus until it tells me it’s ready. But obviously you can’t, so I usually confide in some of my best musician and producer friends to get their opinion but ultimately it comes down to a gut feeling.
With your single ‘Go All Out’, it’s a sort of letter to the younger self. Whilst many people do wish they could change certain decisions made in the past, would you say that this is more like a highlighting of the wisdom that you know now?
Salt Ashes – For sure. The older we get the more we learn about ourselves and life and how the trivial things we thought mattered when we were younger just don’t. I wrote the song a year after I broke up with my long term boyfriend so I was in a very reflective mind, realising how I’d forgotten to have fun, put too many restrictions on myself and cared way too much about what other people thought of me for so many years. So I wrote this song in reflection. I also wrote it in hope that young people will find comfort and strength in it and learn to ignore all the negative sides of the media that condition us to believe we need to all look the same, be a size 0 to be attractive or get anywhere in life and conform to what society think is the ‘norm’.
Many people may know you as a phenomenal recording artist but I think it should also be mentioned that you’re also quite talented in the field of video directing with your vid ‘Girls’. When did you first develop an interesting in that medium?
Salt Ashes – The first time I directed was for my video for ‘Save It’ which came about very organically. I don’t think I even realised I was directing it until we had finished making it. Then I was like “ Oh, maybe I can direct!”. I always have a strong idea of how I visually want to be represented anyway so taking the role of director means I have full control over that. I’ve always been into visual arts as well, having worked as a photographer in a studio for a year and after that continued to take travel photography so I know how I want a scene or image to be composed.
But, what I love about directing is having a vision that you’re unsure where it came from and then seeing it come to life like a movie. It’s a beautiful thing.
What do you have coming up in the near future?
Salt Ashes – The music video for ‘Go All Out’ will be released on the 9th November which I cannot wait for and I will be announcing a headline show for the end of this year very soon!
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