Born and raised in South London, Sacha T, ‘The British Sunflower’, is an up and coming singer-songwriter who is passionate about using her music to spread joy and positivity. Music has long been Sacha’s creative and emotional outlet, guiding her through difficult times and out of negative headspaces. She wishes for her music to provide her listeners with small pieces of sunshine and hope. 

Blending indie pop and soul with an acoustic sound, Sacha has released a series of inspiring, uplifting singles including her 2024 release ‘Will You Catch Me’. Sacha has performed at venues such as the Royal Festival Hall and Pizza Express Live. In 2022, Sacha’s single ‘Sunshine In My Pocket’ was played on the BBC Radio 4 programme Loose Ends. 

Speaking with True Cadence, Sacha shares her songwriting process and how she has navigated the complexities of the music industry. Sacha discusses how creating a clear, identifiable brand has helped her to cultivate her musical identity. Sacha expresses the importance of celebrating small achievements and enjoying the process of creating music. 

When did your passion for music begin? 

When I was younger, my mum and my dad played music around the house so I grew up with music around me. I would tag along to my mum’s choir rehearsals and try and pick up the harmonies. When I was in school, I used to sing in the playground, making up songs with my friends and performing Girls Aloud songs in assembly. I did music in secondary school and stopped enjoying it and hated music for a long time. The real passion started in my third year of uni when I thought maybe I can be a musician. That’s when I decided to pursue it properly. There was a little flame from when I was younger which grew into a big, passionate fire during university. 

Who were your musical inspirations? 

Growing up, it was a complete mix. My dad had a really eclectic taste so I grew up listening to classics like Queen and my mum would play Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and some gospel songs around the house. My own inspiration started from Disney, the Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez. That’s when I decided I could write my own songs and find my own sound as a musician.

Tell me a bit about how you approach songwriting. What’s your creative process? 

It varies. It’s very rare I’ll sit down and think today is songwriting day. Usually, I get an urge to pick up my guitar and I will play around with some chords. I have a segment on my Instagram called Freestyle on the Stairs. I’ll sit on the stairs and strum some chords, hit record and post it. It’s the urges that I get which ignite my process and get me to write depending on how I’m feeling. 

How have you found using social media for music? Do you think it has been helpful for you as an artist? 

I have a love-hate relationship with social media. As an artist, I just want to make music. We’re in an era where you have to put time and effort into your social media. There are people that have dedicated teams who make sure their artists’ social media represents their brand. It’s hard coming up with posts and feeding into the algorithm. However, I do think it’s great because I have been able to reach people I wouldn’t normally be able to connect with. I’ve been lucky enough that some of my posts have got a good enough traction to get me a following, share my message and re-enhance my brand. It’s really hard to maintain but I’ve decided I’m going to do things I enjoy and keep posting things I think people want to see. I have got a lot of opportunities through social media, people reaching out to me asking if I want to do interviews or perform shows in other countries. It’s definitely beneficial but can be hard. 

On your TikToks, I have seen some of your covers. How do you choose what songs you want to cover? 

It’s based on songs I like currently or have affected me in the past. What I really like to do is put my own spin on it. One thing I really love is harmonies. If I hear a song with really great harmonies, then I want to recreate the harmonies in my own way. Playing around with other people’s songs helps me with my own music. If I hear a song and love it, I imagine what I would do with it if I had it as my own little project. The good thing about doing covers on social media is you get to steal someone else’s song for a bit, pretend it’s your own and add your touches to it. It’s always fun to experiment with things that have already been released into the world. 

Something I noticed about your branding was how you market yourself as the British Sunflower. Tell me how you came up with your brand. 

A few years ago just before Covid, I was lucky enough to get some funding from Help Musicians and part of that was support from professional marketers. One of the conversations we had was how to brand yourself as an artist. That was something I always struggled with as I didn’t know who I was an artist and what type of sound I wanted to make. One day I remember sitting thinking I’ve got all these songs and I need to get myself together. I need an identity. 

One day, I was on my phone and the sunflower emoji came up. That’s me, that’s how I would describe myself. I have my dark days but I see myself as this little, brown girl with a ray of yellow around her. From that day, I thought if the sunflower is my thing, I can think about how to perpetuate that message. It really helped everything I do. Once I knew sunflower was my thing, it made my branding clearer. I’ve got sunflowers all over my house, it’s been my good luck charm and I found it by accident. It summarised me perfectly and I’ll always say to anyone if you can find something to identify you then use it. It definitely helped me as an artist not just in how others saw me but also how I saw myself. 

In your 2022 single Sunshine In My Pocket, one of your lyrics is ‘if you ever need a little bit of sunshine/ take a look in my pocket’. Why is it so important for you to advocate for good vibes and hope through your music? 

I went through a rough time with music. When I was fifteen, I was convinced music was the source of all my problems and hated it but music saved my life. When I was going through my dark days and depression, music was the thing that pulled me out of it. I always thought if I got the opportunity to make music, I would want at least one of my songs to pay back what was given to me. Even if I’m writing something which looks like a love song, there is always a message of hope and positivity within it. I always want to try and bring some light and good energy to people. 

The song ‘Sunshine In My Pocket’ was actually an urge to pick up the guitar during Covid. Every single day I would wake up and think good vibes, we can get through Covid together and be happy. My sister wouldn’t be feeling it so I would give her my sunshine. The next day, I would be the one struggling and she would give me her sunshine. Every day, if we forgot to put on our sunshine, there would be someone who would give us some positive energy. In the song, I’m reminding everyone a smile goes a long way. If someone doesn’t have their sunshine you can give them yours. 

What challenges to your mental health have you faced working in the music industry and what do you do to safeguard your emotional wellbeing?

Mental health and music is such a tricky conversation to have because for a lot of artists like me, I write music to get through difficult times and to escape things I might be struggling with. The difficulty is whilst some people might hear your music and receive healing from it, you are also opening yourself up to criticism. People are judging not just your work but also the things you have gone through, matters that are so personal to me. It’s hard having people watching your every move and seeing the constant stream of comments and feedback on social media. 

One thing that has always stuck with me is the idea that you’re going to get judged in whatever you do, people will hate you anyway. The best thing to do is to do what you love and keep going. There’s nothing worse than pretending to be someone else and getting criticised for it because it’s not you. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in social media, marketing and the business side of music. Take a step back from the noise and keep focusing on the creativity because that is where you find your joy. Talk to people, find someone you can lean on and who you can share the pressure with. They can be your compass in the madness of the music industry. 

Has your family been important in your musical journey?

Definitely! My mum and dad’s musical tastes opened me up to all kinds of music. My mum comes with me to every single show. My dad works in a school so he is always sharing my music and listening to it in his office which is lovely. Whenever I record something, they are the first people to hear it. We have a listening session and they’ll give me their honest feedback. My sister has the final say. If she doesn’t like something she will tell me. My family are my soundboard, I can lean on them when I need to film content and make videos. I will always appreciate them. 

What kind of experience did you have when you were first entering the music industry?

It was difficult. I had two stages. The first stage was me saying yes to every opportunity even if I didn’t feel like it was benefitting me. I felt like I couldn’t say no. Collaborations, open mics, performing at an event, I’d do everything. It had its advantages but I also learnt really quickly I needed to set boundaries. For example I’d be doing shows in a terrible venue, not getting paid and no one cared about the music. I wondered why am I doing this, what am I getting from this? 

I will always say to artists if you’re doing a show make sure you’re either getting paid or a decent bit of exposure. Make sure you’re getting the opportunity to perform to an audience who are listening to your music or use it as a chance to perform songs you want to test out. It might be hard turning down opportunities but one thing that really helped me was finding my brand and being specific. In the first stage, I know I was actively doing too much. I decided I’m going to do what I enjoy and go with the flow. When you know who you are, the right things will filter to you. It was a journey and it’s not easy. Artists and musicians are expected to do everything but for now I’m going to enjoy the process and everything will build on that. 

Looking back on your early stages, is there anything you wish you had known going into the music industry? 

I wish I had known how to say no in the right way and understood why I needed to say no to some things. Also, you need to be really weary of certain promoters. Some people just want to put on an event and don’t think about protecting the artist. Sometimes, you go to a show and it’s damaging to your career because you get attached to something you don’t want to be linked with. People know how hungry aspiring artists are so you can come across a lot of scammers. Checking contracts, emails and paying close attention to details is important because sometimes you want it so badly you miss little red flags. Make sure everything is right for you before you agree to anything and it is in line with who you are. I would say getting a mentor in the industry to help you with the business side of things is really helpful.  

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far? 

Probably performing Sunshine In My Pocket on BBC Radio Loose Ends. Doing an interview with Clive Anderson and having the song replayed on the Christmas special as one of the top Lounge Sessions was definitely a highlight. It was a great experience and opened so many doors. After that performance, I was back at the BBC for the next few weeks doing different shows. It was last year but it still hasn’t sunk in yet. 

What’s it like performing in front of a live audience?

I feel like I have two personalities: Sacha who is very introverted and Sacha T who is ready to go and do it. There is a moment leading up to the performance where I think I don’t want to do this, I want to go home and I’m overthinking. Stepping onto the stage, Sacha T takes over. 

If I’m in front of a receptive crowd, I love engaging with the audience, explaining the songs I’m performing and getting their feedback. When I come off the stage, I don’t remember what I’ve said. Thinking about it now, I don’t know how I do it but when I get up there, I think I can do this. 

Do you have any dream venues you’d like to perform in?

Maybe the Jazz Café or the Indigo O2. I don’t know if I want to do any arenas or massive stages. If I was to do something a lot bigger, maybe Glastonbury. I’m honestly grateful for any stage I get to play on. I was lucky enough to play at the Royal Festival Hall which was on my bucket list so that’s done!

What are your next steps and upcoming projects? What do you envision in the near future? 

I’ve got some songs I’ve been working on and I’m thinking about how I should merge them into my brand. At the moment, I have a lot of performances coming up so I’m going to do those and work on putting out more music. Maybe at some point I will put everything together into an EP or an album but right now I’m focusing on my visuals, getting content out and enjoying the process of creating music. 

I want to enjoy what I’m doing now because every little achievement matters. I’m doing all the things I want to do as an artist right now. It might not be on the scale I want to be in the future but when the next opportunity comes, it will be a little bit bigger than the one before it and will grow from there. Celebrating little wins is so important because it’s easy to miss them if you’re too busy focusing on the distant future. You have to follow your own path because everyone’s journey is different. You might think someone is further ahead than you are but there will be other people looking at you wondering how you’re doing it. If you’re enjoying it, no one can take that away from you. 

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Sacha’s relationship with music has not always been straightforward but music has grown to become a source of optimism and positivity which she hopes her music can be for others. During her time as an artist, Sacha has navigated the intricacies of the music industry and has harnessed the lessons she has learnt to her advantage, carving out a promising music career as the British Sunflower. Sacha articulated her experience so far with warmth, clarity and honesty and I am looking forward to seeing what she does next. 

You can listen to Sacha T’s latest single ‘Will You Catch Me’ on Spotify and Apple Music and find Sacha on Instagram, TikTok and X!