KATIE BROWN - 27 JULY 2021

Auckland indie artist Sabreen Islam is back to rejuvenate the Aotearoa indie-pop scene with new single ‘Glow’, a fresh and lively take on the adventure and joy of falling in love. The product of a collaboration with Auckland pop producer Will Henderson, the track, a three and a half minute jaunt into the sunlit delights of new romance, sees Sabreen transition into a new pop direction from the softer indie-folk feel of her three previous singles released throughout 2020/early 2021.

A multi-instrumentalist, Sabreen cites the likes of Hozier, Conan Gray and dodie as inspirations in her songwriting, which she has been intending to shift towards pop for some time. The opportunity to work with Will Henderson provided a space for this shift, and beneath his touch the dreamy pop essence she had envisioned for the track bloomed into life. Invoking visions of colour, youthfulness and summertime bliss, ‘Glow’ is carried and elevated by the purity and sweetness of Sabreen’s vocals dancing above layered 80s synths and lush harmonies. Unsurprisingly, the catchy single gained her a place as semi-finalist in the renowned International Songwriting Competition 2020, an honour offered to just 9% of contestants.

A talented artist across multiple platforms, Sabreen is also a poet, and her debut collection of poetry ‘Spring Clean’ reached #4 in Oceanian Poetry and #1 in Children’s Poetry upon its release on Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited in April 2019. Other achievements include playing Auckland’s beloved Others Way Festival in 2018, performing and working alongside the likes of Jamie McDell, and recently playing the Sunday Sessions at the inaugural GRRRL FEST 2021 in Kirikiriroa-Hamilton in May.

‘Glow’ marks the first in a series of three pop singles slated for release throughout 2021.

Follow Sabreen on Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music

Read our interview with Sabreen below.

KATIE: WHAT’S YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUND? DID YOU STUDY IT THROUGH SCHOOL, AND WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY?

Sabreen: I’ve been surrounded by music since I was a little kid. My dad loves music and made it a huge part of my childhood. I started piano lessons at 5 and have been music-ing ever since! I studied it all throughout school, playing in bands, groups and solo. My main instrument is guitar, but I also play piano, ukulele, a bit of bass and I sing.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING YOUR OWN SONGS?

When I was six! I have this vivid memory of muttering a melody to myself on the playground at school — something about a rose I think. But I first put pen to paper when I was ten, when my older sister and I wanted to start writing songs. It was a cutesy little song on my ukulele that I still remember the words to, though I like to think I’ve improved since then. I hope, anyway.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTS, AND WHO INSPIRES YOU?

Taylor Swift. She’s been soundtracking my life since I was seven and heard ‘You Belong With Me’ for the first time, and inspires me with every amazing album she releases. She’s the reason I wanted to start writing songs, so I could be just like her! She pretty much raised me, and I find it amazing to see the new generation of artists who have all been inspired by her the way I have. Other than Taylor, I love Passenger and dodie, and recently have become addicted to Olivia Rodrigo. She really inspires me and it’s mind-boggling that she’s just a few months younger than me!

‘GLOW’ TAKES YOU IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION FROM YOUR THREE PREVIOUSLY RELEASED SINGLES, WHICH ARE MORE STRIPPED-BACK AND SINGER-SONGWRITER IN FEEL. HOW DID YOU FIND THE SHIFT ACROSS TO THE MORE POP-ELECTRONIC FEEL OF ‘GLOW’?

It’s funny, I didn’t intend to release three indie-folk songs and then follow them with three pop songs. I’ve always written across genres and I love writing a good old-fashioned pop song that’s fun to sing and dance to. It felt really natural to shift to pop because I’ve been writing pop for some time, but have never had the means to produce it until now. I wrote Glow with dreamy pop production in mind, and meeting Will and working with him was such a blast and it definitely feels like a step in the right direction to expand the type of music I’m putting out.

HOW DID YOU PRODUCE AND RECORD YOUR PREVIOUS SINGLES? WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WORK WITH WILL HENDERSON ON ‘GLOW’?

I was so lucky in my high school to have access to the school studio. I think I annoyed the sound guy at our school into being friends with me, and he was gracious with his time and kindness to record my songs with me in the studio. I was also really supported by my music teachers to record and it was like being given the keys to candy land. I would recruit string players from my music class to play strings, and then we would record and produce them there. With Will it was awesome because it switched it up — it was crazy meeting for the first time and immediately bouncing ideas off each other, and it gave me a glimpse of how I can continue to record music now that I’ve finished high school.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICAL EXPERIENCE?

Ooh, that’s a tough one. I think if I had to choose, it was the response to my first single ‘Can’t’. It’s a vulnerable song about mental health, and the messages I got from friends and listeners telling me how much they could relate to it, and how much it meant to them was everything. I feel so honoured that something I wrote could be ‘that’ song for them, you know? I had one person tell me that no other song has come close to describing how they feel, and that nearly made me cry. Seeing how music brings people together is just amazing to me.

YOU’RE A TALENTED POET AS WELL AS MUSICAL ARTIST – IS THIS SOMETHING YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE? DO YOU FIND IT FEEDS INTO YOUR MUSIC NATURALLY?

Thank you! Yes, it’s something I’ve always done. I was known as the angsty poem girl at my high school, which honestly isn’t the worst badge to wear out of all of them. It really does feed into my music and vice versa — sometimes I’ll write a poem based on a song, or a song based on a poem, and there’s a lot of crossover between the two. It’s like my own little cinematic universe in a way, but no one gets the references except for me!

YOU’VE PLAYED SOME GREAT SHOWS AND FESTIVALS, INCLUDING THE OTHERS WAY FESTIVAL IN AUCKLAND IN 2018, AND THE SUNDAY SESSIONS AT GRRRL FEST 2021 IN KIRIKIRIROA-HAMILTON IN MAY. WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THOSE EXPERIENCES?

I was so lucky to play those shows. I actually get really severe stage fright, which I’ve worked on over the years but it’s still there to a degree, and I think the highlight about both of these shows was that the festival organisers and the audiences were so kind and welcoming. The people running the show behind the scenes really make a world of difference! Because of them, I got to have that amazing moment during a show when the stage fright melts away and I really start enjoying the performance.

HOW DO YOU FIND PERFORMING LIVE AS OPPOSED TO WRITING AND PRODUCING?

Performing is kind of a mixed bag for me because of how nervous I get. I think I prefer writing and producing because the creative process is my favourite thing about music. You can do as many takes as you want and bounce around ideas for as long as you want, whereas with performing you only get one shot. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy performing — it’s such a rush playing live — but I definitely find it more stressful and a bit more nerve-wracking than when I’m in the studio.

CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING A SEMI-FINALIST WITH ‘GLOW’ IN THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION! THAT’S A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF TAKING YOUR MUSIC NEXT?

Thank you so much! I’m still over the moon about it. I love ‘Glow’ so much so it really was the greatest gift to be a semi-finalist in such a cool competition. I want to keep expanding my discography with all the genres I love; at the moment, I’m planning two follow-up pop singles to come after ‘Glow’, as well as a concept EP full of new songs. I want to get better at playing live and play more shows, and I’d also love to work with some other Kiwi artists in the future!

WHAT’S ON THE GO FOR YOU ON THE PROJECT FRONT? ARE YOU WORKING TOWARDS AN ALBUM, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS?

At the moment the show front is still in the works, but I have so many projects swirling around! I’m in the initial stages of an EP; I love the idea of creating a body of work centred around a theme, so that’s what I’m working on at the moment. I want to do it completely by myself — writing, mixing, recording, promotion and even photography! An album is also on the horizon, and I’m super excited to get cracking with creating it all.

WHAT OTHER AOTEAROA ARTISTS SHOULD WE BE KEEPING AN EYE ON?

Katie-Lee and CHAII!! They both have incredible music, and I’ve been following Katie-Lee for a number of years, and she has the most beautiful voice. CHAII is doing so well and has achieved so much in just a few years. I adore both of them, definitely keep an eye on them!