Sabrina Song is truly one of the most talented and adorable new artists I’ve discovered. With influences from artists such as Billy Joel and Norah Jones, she’s curated her own sound and a name for herself as a singer-songwriter. We caught up with her during SXSW after her showcases and talked to her about her creative process, favorite festival moments, and of course, what’s next.
Hi! I am so glad we got to finally meet! How was your SXSW experience so far?
Sabrina Song: Ah! Yes, me too! I came last year but I felt like it was SXSW-Light. This year, it feels like everything was in full swing. I had a band and everything was just really fun. I’m very happy but also very tired.
What was your favorite part of the festival?
Sabrina Song: It’s fun in such a chaotic way. I think my favorite was just to be able to be in the radius of the city and walk and see new bands as well as bands you’ve been listening to for forever. It’s full circle when you get to see all of these people in such a short amount of time in one place.
It’s a very intimate setting to talk to them after all this time, yeah?
Sabrina Song: Yes! Very intimate and just awesome.
For you, when finding inspiration for your songs, what’s that like?
Sabrina Song: Yeah, honestly, I feel like I write the best and the most organically when I'm not like sitting down to do it. I find that like when I'm just on a long walk or like in transit going somewhere or like letting my mind wander and I'll kind of come up with a concept and then sing that to my phone or write it down. And when I do have time to sit down with a piano or guitar, I’ll try to flesh it out from there.
I think sometimes when you’re sitting down or intend to sit, it feels more forced.
Sabrina Song: Exactly, so when I’m just sitting with my feelings, I let myself daydream and stew over things, and then I'll just kind of return to the idea when I actually have the time to flesh it out.
Is there a song that you're particularly proud of that you've created?
Sabrina Song: I would probably say “Doors” because that was not one of those times. It came about through another process. It was where I was finishing school and I had a access to a bunch of equipment. I remember being there like, “I should check out a bass.” Because I don’t play one, I pushed myself to be creative and then started plunking something out. It’s just become one of my favorite songs I’ve written.
But I think if I hadn't tried to just like, try something different and push myself. That song might have never been written in that way. The song just showed me to trust the process and to keep going.
What's next?
Sabrina Song: Just a lot of writing! I don’t have specifics, but I’m very excited about everything and what is to come so all I can say is stay tuned!
Samantha Fong
"At 15 years old, I begged my mom to take me to Walmart to get Taylor Swift's debut deluxe album and I never turned back. This was my very first entry point to stan fandom. Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee I was exposed to a ton of music - from rapping 3 6 Mafia to bopping to Justin Timberlake's solo discography. Now, in LA have a day job working in nonprofit development, but by night, I'm a full-fledged fangirl. I'll listen to generally any genre, but I'm a sucker for a good pop song. If you ever need someone to scream sing Carly Rae Jepsen's E·MO·TION with, I'm your girl. No, I still have not gotten over the One Direction hiatus. Please continue to respect my privacy. Twitter : samfonggg, Instagram : samantha_fong"
