top of page
Writer's pictureBUZZ LA

Release Pent Up Emotions With Sasha Smith's Relatable Single, "Been Waiting So Long"



Coming in from San Sebastián, Spain, the alternative artist and singer-songwriter Sasha Smith releases an emotional installment to his '#pinkfridays vol. II' collection entitled, "Been Waiting So Long."


Spending his time creating art and yearning for a slower-paced life, Sasha Smith calms his mind by letting his artistic abilities speak for themselves. Struggling to fit into a box or specific genre, Sasha Smith expresses a similar tone to that of Phoebe Bridgers, The 1975, and Bon Iver. With each release, Sasha Smith continuously strives to engage listeners through his honest and genuine lyricism.


Releasing the third installment to the collections of singles '#pinkfridays vol. II,' with the emotional piece, "Been Waiting So Long," Sasha Smith offers a blend of Ray Lamontagne and Chris Cornell through his reflective lyricism and chilling vocal abilities. Singing of loneliness, isolation, and despair, Sasha Smith states, "It just serves the need for an outlet for all the emotions that rack up year after year of trials and failures."

Taking a listen to "Been Waiting So Long," the piece opens with soothing acoustic guitar melodies and a whaling electric guitar that sweetens our speakers in honest emotion. As Sasha Smith makes his vocal appearance, he takes us by the hand and guides us through each relatable theme he exclaims. Singing of prolonged isolation and the dreadful toll it takes on lives everywhere, Sasha Smith belts his vocals on the hook while heightening the song's emotion.

As the instrumentals begin to expand, we can't help but feel a psychedelic 60s flair to The Beatles through Sasha Smith's layered vocals on the hook and unconventional yet strikingly melancholy melodies. Reaching the end of the piece, we're met with a powerful outro through the tight and soulful instrumentals and Sasha Smith's enthralling vocals.


Catch Sasha Smith's single, "Been Waiting So Long," on his collection project, '#pinkfridays vol. II,' and prepare yourself for his upcoming EP shortly.



We genuinely admire your vulnerability within the emotional single, "Been Waiting So Long." What inspired you to create this piece?


To me, this song feels a little like screaming out into a void. I’m not expecting anything to come back or change; not even anyone to hear me or help me. It just serves the need for an outlet for all the emotions that rack up year after year of trials and failures. I needed a raw and sincere way to express the feeling of loneliness and invisibility you go through as a tiny indie artist. There's nowhere to hide, and this song is just that: me talking to myself in the mirror working through how the hell I'm gonna keep going.

Did you encounter any challenges when writing your song "Been Waiting So Long?" Was it easy for you to open up and write such emotional lyricism?

I think the most important part of my job as a songwriter is to actually write what I feel and want to express with a song. I know that sounds simple and straightforward, but actually following through on it can be quite challenging. It's easy to start with an idea and then deviate into clichés, rhyme schemes, and standard topics. I've found that as years go by, I really take the time to slow down and let the image or story I'm trying to convey come to life in my mind, and then very intentionally write the lyrics. The key here is: slow and meaningful.

With "been waiting so long" in particular, finding the right imagery for the second verse ("a dusty paper doll in the attic of my soul" and "sand dunes and I'm falling handcuffed to a watch") and the closing line in the chorus ("my hope, it blankets my pain") were two of the most important pieces of the puzzle.

Could you take us through the recording/creative process for "Been Waiting So Long?" Did you have any help when crafting the powerful and emotional sounds of the single?

I write, record, and produce all my music by myself. Then I always mix the track with my long-time friend and mixing engineer Víctor Sánchez from Elkar studios. And for my releases in #pinkfridays vol. II my friend Adrián Viñas is taking care of the design. I'm continually surprised by the beauty of his artwork. Musically, the production of the track evolves a lot, painting different landscapes for each section, while continually growing until a big release in the second part of the bridge and the final chorus. My main focus was not to overdo it, because the song already felt strong on acoustic + vocals. It’s very easy to add a layer on top of the layer and end up clogging the track. I just released a video breaking down the production of the track on my YouTube channel. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/INdmmu1f7js

I go deep into every part of the arrangement and structure of the song. It's almost 2h of me in Ableton going through the entire production process.

What should we anticipate from your forthcoming EP? Why did you choose to center it around the angst of the millennial generation?

Well, the millennial generation is my generation, and I felt the need to tell this story through my own lens. I wanted to visit some of the stigmas and insecurities associated with us, and how our catharsis might come about. The whole EP is a story developed in a hotel during a 13 to 15-hour window. The songs happen in chronological order, and as a teaser, I'll say that the opening track is called "Egomaniacs in Gucci flip-flops" and introduces the main character by the hotel pool with the crude image of "taking selfies by the hotel pool, you wanna tag me and I wanna f*ck you."


 

Comments


bottom of page