It's rare to be gripped by new music these days. It is for me, at least. There's so much of it, coming at us every day from every direction, and a great deal of it isn't interesting enough to persuade us into a second listen. That's why it's particularly affecting to come across someone like Sacha Mullin. From the first moments of Whelm, Sacha's debut solo album, you know you're in for listening that will allow you to temporarily escape from the gray norm. The singer-songwriter's snaking, soulful vocals bolster music that's often dark and fragile, sending you on a journey throughout the course of Whelm's ten tracks.
Moving from Minnesota to Chicago sometime in the recent past, Sacha has been part of the locally-based avant-rock group Lovely Little Girls. On this solo release, he's backed by prog/metal band Guzzlemug. No matter the collaboration or project, it's clear from Whelm that Sacha is a musician worth your attention.
Sacha took the time to answer some questions for WCR to give us deeper look into Whelm and what's behind his music in general. Read on, and then be sure to further explore his music for yourself.
WCR: There’s a lot of emotion that comes through on these songs, particularly the way you sing. What inspired the sounds we hear on Whelm?
SM: To be blunt, I was coming from the point of view of recovery. It was like all at once that I'd attended a sequence of funerals, been overcome with debt, was romantically interested in dead ends, and was being emotionally abused by several people close to me. I felt simultaneously fragile and angry, and I think that a lot of that anger was at myself for not coming to my senses sooner. I'd moved to Chicago to try and restructure myself after having a nervous breakdown. I'd never been that vulnerable. Naturally, it was a real party. (laughs) I wrote and produced this record out of need, really, and I tried my best to make a sonic imprint of how I was feeling. It's pretty claustrophobic, don't you think? All those voices? The character in which I sing just follows suit to the songs.
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