It’s a beautiful day in Hollywood Hills while we’re having our chat with up and coming Portland artist Sarah Tromley. The sun is peeking through the ample windows and Sarah is wearing some very glam purple see-through shades. So far so good.
Sarah is very open and easy going so we get right to the juicy stuff. She hails from Portland, OR and her journey to LA took her straight through the hallways of G.O.O.D Music as an intern.
“This EP tells my story. I took the internship at G.O.O.D Music while I was still living out of my car and paying my dues. Nothing glamorous about it: a lot of late nights and cleaning up.” she reveals jokingly.
One of her songs “My Way Up” was actually inspired by her first steps into the industry.
“It’s a letter from me to me. It’s sort of an encouraging song that wants to tell that younger, innocent girl that we all have a way up in this industry.”
Sarah is going after a timeless sound that draws from her experiences and life lessons. Sarah’s music explores the depths of sexuality and layers of vulnerability. She sings what we’re all feeling even if they’re captive raw emotions of loneliness and uncertainty.
She’s edgy and wants to push the envelope. Especially when it comes to her own sexuality.
“I’m bisexual so very often I’d be talking to or about a girl and sometimes it’s a guy, sometimes it’s either or. I like to play around with that a little. It’s ok to be different and most importantly that’s what makes you cool! That’s really the message I want to convey with my music!”
Her sound reflects that mixture between the innocence of a good girl and the free-spiritedness of an alluring provocateur.
“If you listen to ‘One Step’ you will immediately get struck by the familiar and straightforward, radio-friendly PG aspect but it’s actually about me going down on a girl for the first time. The lyrics read ‘One step at a time, don’t trip it’s your first go don’t pressurize it.’”
Quite alluring, indeed!
Sarah covers iconic songs hailed as generational classics. But her debut original tracks like “Maybe” explores themes of a partner’s infidelity and “Love$ick” strikes at our innermost desires to feel wanted. She anchors the music with “Burnside”, an ode to nostalgia in a new world of feelings and womanhood.
Her team is quite is enviable, too.
She has worked with award winning producers and engineers responsible for the projects of Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator and the late Mac Miller.
Her style is kickass and we love that (duh!)
Nothing is left random in her act. Her aesthetics are as curated as her music.
“I’m always looking to experiment more aesthetically. Even when I go to a studio session, I like to try a new perfume, or outfit. I love fashion and my music reflects my passion for it. This EP is super modern and if it was a visual project or a design it would almost look like a modern take on 90s fashion and its iconic characters like Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss etc.”
Sarah is in full bloom and she recently performed a virtual festival and is up for a virtual tour in the near future. You may wanna keep an eye out for her!
