Sasha Kathrine Siem (born 1984, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) is a British-Norwegian singer-songwriter and composer.

Early life

Sasha Siem was born in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, to Kristian Siem, a Norwegian businessman, and his South African wife Karen Ann, née Moross. Her brother is

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

Charlie Siem Charles Maximilian Siem (born 14 January 1986) is an English contemporary classical violinist. Life and career Charlie Siem was born in London, England, to Kristian Siem, a Norwegian billionaire, and his South African-born wife. He has three ...

Career

Siem studied music and poetry at

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the un ...

, where she was awarded a BA and MPhil, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. By her early twenties, she had written music for the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

The Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

Rambert Dance Company Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays a ...

, The

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festi ...

, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, The London Sinfonietta, and the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

. In 2010, she became one of the youngest people to win a British Composer Award. She has also been awarded the Arthur Bliss Prize and the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Composition Prize. Siem has performed at festivals and venues across Europe and the United States, including The Royal Opera House, London; HBC, Berlin; the

Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival is a Norwegian music festival for contemporary music. Background Ultima is Scandinavia's largest contemporary music festival, and since 1991 it has been a key arena for contemporary music and related art ...

;

(Le) Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space was ...

, NYC; by:Larm, Joe's Pub,

The Forum, London The O Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England, owned by Live Nation Entertainment and originally built in 1934. History The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the cinem ...

, Latitude Festival by:Larm, Barbican, Southbank Centre and Sadlers Wells. While parallels have been drawn with pioneering singer-songwriters such as

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

, and

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. After recording and self-releasing two EPs in 2002, Newsom signed to the independent label Drag City (record label), Drag City. Her debut album, ''The Milk-Eyed ...

, the influence of art-song composers such as

György Kurtág György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. According to ''Grove Music Online'', with a style that draws on " Bartók, Webern and, to a lesser extent, Stravinsky, his work is c ...

, Claude Vivier, and

Salvatore Sciarrino Salvatore Sciarrino (born 4 April 1947) is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music. Described as "the best-known and most performed Italian composer" of the present day, his works include ''Quaderno di strada'' (2003) and ''La porta d ...

is equally evident in her music. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' noted that Siem is "making waves in the music scene", while ''

the Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' said "she is clearly a gifted musician". Siem released her debut EP ''So Polite'' on 1 February 2013. Her debut album ''Most Of The Boys'' was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson in Iceland and was released on 2 March 2015 on vinyl and CD. It was reviewed in '' Uncut'' by Jim Wirth, who described the album as "An uptown fusion of Bjork, The Raincoats and the

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

letters page". Talking about Siem's single, "My Friend", Tarynn Law from ''The 405'' said, "gorgeous and emotive work, with lyrics that allow for self-reflection". Jamie Skey from '' Q'' said, "...if you were to construct a Venn Diagram between Bjork and Leonard Cohen, you’d find the tune somewhere in the shaded middle section. Robin Murray from ''Clash'' said, “sweeping, widescreen grandeur… both contagious and quite, quite affecting”. In 2016, Siem released her second album ''Bird Burning'' to critical acclaim. Pip Williams at ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' wrote: "Bird Burning is a spectacular record on several levels, successfully tackling concepts other artists would rightly shy from. Scandinavia regularly yields musicians of extraordinary talent, but Sasha Siem’s startling ambition stands Bird Burning head and shoulders above the rest." Siem’s songs have been remixed by

Matthew Herbert Matthew Herbert (born in 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, Wishmountain, and DJ Empty, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. ...

, Susanne Sundfor, High as a Kite, East India Youth, and Rabit.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siem, Sasha 1984 births Living people British women classical composers Musicians from London British women singer-songwriters British people of Norwegian descent British people of South African descent Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Harvard University alumni 21st-century British women singers