Two Sasamis exist in harmony. First is Sasami Ashworth, the conservatory-trained classical French horn player, producer, and composer—an artist with a studious approach to craft. And then there is all-caps SASAMI, the fearless performer and protagonist of her three increasingly audacious albums. For Blood On the Silver Screen, these two sides fused for her most epic and realized music to date: the all-out Sasami pop record. After establishing herself with the poised melancholia of her eponymous 2019 debut, Sasami embraced volume and control on 2022’s Squeeze—touring with a metal band—but her goal on Blood On the Silver Screen was to speak her truth with conviction by singing. Working with co-producers Jenn Decilveo and Rostam, with Sasami as sole writer, each Blood On the Silver Screen track viscerally captures a different thread of love, sex, power, and embodiment. “Pop music is like fuel,” Sasami says. “It’s just invigorating.” Across Blood On the Silver Screen, Sasami’s lyrics narrate the ecstasies and agonies of being “a modern lover,” she says—writing about “big city dating endeavors” even as she found herself relocating, on a whim, from Los Angeles to rural Northern California. The anthemic “For the Weekend” explores “modern intimacy, where you can get deep without the relationship being defined,” while the irrepressible “Just Be Friends” bottles the dizzying longing that can overtake those in-betweens. “I wanted to go all out with this album,” Sasami continues. “I wanted to, in my tenderness and emotionality, have the bravery to undertake something as epic as making a pop record about love. I hope it makes people feel empowered and embodied, too. It’s important to not box yourself in.”
