‘Real life isn’t like the movies,’ - Tragic Sasha’s ‘Movie Star’

It's been just two months since Tragic Sasha released her last single, 'Shh'. The secretive piece is laced with vocoder and a beat that audiences would dance to if it wasn't for the apocalypse. The video is fuzzy - unclear images bleeding through the lyrics dotting around the screen. Tragic Sasha's new single, 'Movie Star', is an entirely different affair.

The title 'Movie Star' might trick the listener into believing that this song is all glitz and glamour, but this is Tragic Sasha, and her modus operandi is part of her name. Movie Star is about growing up believing that life will be going a certain way, based on the stories we're told. Tragic Sasha has offered the American TV sitcoms 'Sex and the City' and 'Friends' as stories worth noting in this respect. Unfortunately, real life is no fairytale in the eyes of this artist.

Musically, Movie Star takes a softer approach than her former single. With more natural sounding vocals, the dream-like instrumental backing, and the more obvious piano origins, Movie Star sounds more like the singles Sasha was putting out at the beginning of her career. What makes this better than those earlier tracks though is the benefit of wisdom. The opening verse is an indicator of that:

‘When I was a young girl I, couldn't wait to grow older, I thought the world was a disco ball, nothing was that impossible. I dreamed about romance and, I always had a bigger plan for myself, a story for cinema, I thought that I'd be a Movie Star. But real life isn't like the movies, real life isn't all it's cracked up to be, and I'm here and I've got my broken heart, and I wait patiently for my life to start.'

The music video, directed and produced by Dorothy Kay, is Tragic Sasha's best so far. It's the perfect visual accompaniment, from the representation of Sasha's childhood to the styling. The hair and make-up is perfect, the clothes are to die for, and the vintage visual effects go back to the origins of cinema. Who misses when car scenes were all filmed in a studio? What millennials or members of Generation Z sit at the dinner table and read the newspaper? Even the conclusion of the widescreen presentation closing in the centre is a thing of the past. This may all look out of Tragic Sasha's depth, but it maintains the eye-rolling critique of life her music is known for, and I hope that honesty never diminishes.

1. Your new single 'Movie Star' is based off the expectations you had about adulthood inspired by TV programmes such as Sex and the City and Friends, what have you found to be untrue about their portrayal?

So I think I watched these programmes growing up and they really exaggerate how fun being an adult is, especially in your twenties. You watch Friends and they are together in the coffee shop every day, they seemingly never go to work, somehow have endless exciting romantic encounters and they can afford to live in massive apartments in New York even though most of the characters are broke. It’s all lies!!!!!!

2. Was this single recorded at home with Scott Colcombe, or do you typically work on your ideas over the internet together?

We wrote this song a while ago, probably this time last year, so we weren’t doing remote sessions at that point. (Remote sessions are not my forte to be honest, we’ve only been doing them because of the pandemic) So yeah, we ended up writing and recording mostly at Scott’s house and then I recorded the vocals in Kaity Rae’s shed and she sprinkled some additional production magic on it.

3. The production on this single is scaled back to the purer sound of your earlier Sasha material, what inspired that decision?

Yes, I think it definitely feels more like early Sasha material. There wasn’t really a decision to go down that route, but me and Scott started writing and it turned into more of a ballad. I knew I wanted to write it about the expectation vs reality of adulthood and Scott laid down some chords on the piano and it felt right to keep it stripped back.

4. In my opinion, the video for 'Movie Star' is your best yet. Tell me about the team who made this video?

Thanks! I think so too. I just started working with Dottie Kay, an amazing up and coming videographer. We met at the beginning of this year and had a mutual love of colourful bold quirky visuals, such as the work of Nadia Lee Cohen. We loved the idea of taking vintage themes and giving them a modern twist and that’s kind of what we did with Movie Star.  

5. The house and the garden in the video is beautiful! Where was it shot?

It was shot at Dottie’s stepfather, Tony’s house! We were very lucky to have it.

6. I have to ask, will the reworkings of your favourite children's movie classics be available to download in the future?

Haha. I would never say never, although not in the near future. Maybe I would revisit a song for a live show though…

7. With the future being uncertain, or even the next fortnight, have you considered performing a livestreamed gig? It would be nice to see these new songs in a set.

God, I don’t know. I’m trying not to think about the future at the moment. Yes, we’ve been thinking about livestreams. I have to say, they are not my favourite things in the world though- I am a massive technophobe and staring down a screen whilst I’m performing isn’t really my vibe!! However if there was a demand, I’d definitely be open to It. 

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Listen to 'Movie Star' on your favourite streaming service here.

Follow Tragic Sasha on facebook, instagram and twitter @tragicsasha.